IN COLORADO THE BROKER WRITES THE CONTRACT, SO THE BROKER EXPLAINS EVERY CLAUSE.

The consequence is simple. Each clause in the Contract to Buy and Sell is filled in by the broker, with a date, a dollar figure or a checkbox. If the client cannot restate the clause in their own words, the client did not decide it; the broker did. Explaining the clause in plain English is therefore not a courtesy some agents extend. It is the difference between a contract you signed and a contract you agreed to.

The site's method page says the rest: most of this job is not showing houses. It is the contract, the calendar, the negotiation, and staying steady while the money is decided.

The contingency guide at /tools/contingency-guide asks the plain question for each: which right are you giving up, and what does it cost? It works out earnest money at risk and appraisal-gap cash from your own numbers, so a buyer deciding whether to waive inspection in a competitive offer sees the figure, not the adjective. The checklist on /buy/read-the-house and the HOA document tracker on /data/condos run inside the inspection window, so every unknown becomes an inspection, a document request, a specialist, a reserve or a contract term before the right expires.

The agency clauses come first, before the purchase contract. Without a written single-agency agreement the broker is a transaction-broker by default (VERIFIED, C.R.S. 12-10-403(2)). Since 2026-08-12 a Colorado broker may not perform licensed duties without a signed written agreement stating the amount or rate of compensation (HB26-1426, bill and date VERIFIED, amended text PROBABLE). In plain words: you will know whether the broker is your advocate, and what the fee is, before any clause is filled in.

The same boundary applies to the numbers. The CPA leads tax on the gain, withholding exemptions and basis. The title company leads its premium, closing fee and paperwork. The inspector and the specialist lead what the showing cannot show: sewer line, roof condition, crawlspace, grade against the foundation. Robert gives referrals first and you choose your own: inspector Wade Hunsinger, Aspire Property Inspections; title Jill Walkingstick, Homestead Title, and Faith Vincent, Chicago Title.

The test for any agent is the same as for this one. Ask them to explain the inspection clause, the appraisal clause and the loan clause in one plain sentence each, and to put a dollar figure from your own numbers beside each one (PROBABLE, since the figures depend on your offer). An agent who can do that in writing is the one who carries the whole thing.