Colorado Divorce Decisions blog
How to choose your first home after divorce: a new chapter checklist
Choose your first home after divorce in Colorado by writing what you need, want and refuse before you tour, then scoring every home against the same 10 questions.
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Choose your first home after divorce in Colorado by writing down what you need, what you want and what you refuse before you tour a single house. Pick a size you will use, upkeep you carry alone, a commute in minutes and a room for the kids if you share parenting time. Score every home against the same 10 questions, and buy the one that feels new, not a smaller copy of the old house.
Your last home was a compromise between two people. This one is your first decision with no one else in the room, and that is harder than it sounds. Start with the buying after divorce hub for the money steps, then use this page for the choice itself.
What is the wants-and-needs worksheet?
Fill in one row per category before you open a listing. Needs are what you cannot live without. Wants are nice to have. Refuse is what you will not take again, even at a discount.
| Category | Need | Want | Refuse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | Bedrooms and baths you use weekly | A guest room | Rooms you never enter |
| Upkeep | Hours a month you give the yard | A yard at all | A roof or lot you cannot pay to maintain |
| Commute | Minutes to work | Minutes to the other parent | A drive you dread |
| Kids | A bed for each kid | A room that is theirs | A couch as a bedroom |
| Feel | Light in the room you use most | A view | A layout copied from the old house |
| Money | Payment on one income | Cash left for furniture | Zero reserves after closing |
How big a home will you actually use?
Walk the old house and mark every room you used in the last month. That count, not the square footage, is your size. If you used half the rooms, a home with half the rooms saves money and cleaning time.
Two pages help you decide: downsizing after divorce and downsizing from a house to a condo. If you are 55 or older, see 55 plus communities by area.
How much upkeep can you carry alone?
A house has a to-do list in Colorado: blow out the sprinklers in October, clear the gutters, change the furnace filter, shovel the walk, and inspect the roof after every hail storm. In a couple, two people split it. Alone, you do it or pay for it.
The chart shows an example yearly upkeep budget by home type. Read running a home alone after divorce for the monthly schedule, and browse Colorado condos if you want the exterior handled for you.
Where should it sit: commute, parks and the other parent?
Measure by minutes, not miles. Write down the drive to work and the drive to your ex's home at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and choose a ceiling you can live with, for example 30 minutes. Add a park or trail within 10 minutes of the door if you plan to use it weekly.
If you share parenting time, read two homes after divorce, divorce, kids and the house and moving kids after divorce. Give each kid a bed and a shelf. Add storage for two households, because the toys and gear travel.
How do you tour without your ex's preferences in your head?
- Write your worksheet before you open a listing.
- Walk in alone for the first five minutes and say nothing.
- Score the home on paper at the door, not in the car.
- Bring one person, not a committee, to the second showing.
- Ask one question at each home: would I choose this if no one ever saw it?
Two guides speak to the emotional side directly: women and divorce in Colorado and men and divorce in Colorado. The page on sorting a house full of memories helps with what moves into the new home and what stays behind.
What is the 10-question checklist?
Score each home one point per yes. Nine or ten is a buy. Seven or fewer is a pass.
- Will I use every room at least once a week?
- Does the payment fit one income? Run it on living on one income.
- Can I do or pay for the yard, snow and roof work?
- Is the commute under the ceiling I set?
- Does each kid have a bed and a shelf?
- Does the room I use most get light?
- Is a park or trail within 10 minutes?
- Does anything in it copy the old house?
- Do I feel calmer when I walk in?
- Do I keep six months of payments in the bank after closing?
Question 8 is the trap. A smaller copy of the old house keeps the old life in your view. Pick the layout, color and street that belong to you.
Should you rent first or buy now?
Renting for a year gives you time to learn what you want. Buying now locks in a payment and starts equity. The rent or buy after divorce page puts the numbers side by side, and buying a house after divorce on one income shows what the payment looks like in the Denver metro. Do not rush a purchase because the move date is close. A three-month rental costs less than the wrong house.
How do you pay for it and who helps?
Mike Oswald, VP of Mortgage Lending at Rate, NMLS 261003, Equal Housing Lender, runs a payment check for divorced buyers before you tour. You are free to use any lender. Start with his lender page and the mortgage after divorce guide, then read the first-time buyer guide.
Where to go next
- The free buying after divorce guide
- The free monthly divorce and the house Zoom
- Meet the Kenna Real Estate Group divorce realtors
- Book a discovery call
- Search every home for sale in Colorado
- Denver homes for sale
Talk to us before you sign anything
The Kenna Real Estate Group prices the marital home in a written Smart Pricing Report if it is still unsold, runs a payment check with the lender and sets up a search on kennarealestate.com from your worksheet. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. Free and confidential. You do not need to be ready to buy.
Quick answers
What should I look for in my first home after divorce?
Look for a size you use every week, upkeep you carry on one income, a commute under your minute ceiling and light in the room you use most. Score each home with the 10-question checklist.
How many bedrooms do I need if I share parenting time?
Plan one bed for each kid and a shelf for their things. A shared room with a door works when the parenting plan splits weeks evenly.
Condo, townhome or house after divorce?
A condo carries the least upkeep and a two-story on a quarter acre carries the most. Match the choice to the hours you give the home each month.
How much should I budget for upkeep each year?
Use $1,200 for a condo, $2,400 for a townhome, $4,800 for a ranch and $7,200 for a two-story as example budgets, then replace them with your inspection findings.
How do I avoid copying my old house?
Write the refuse column before you tour. Any layout, color or lot that matches the old house scores zero on question 8.
How much cash should I keep after closing?
Keep six months of payments in the bank. Your lender confirms the reserves the loan requires.
Should I rent first if I am not sure what I want?
Yes, when the answer to the worksheet is still blank. A 12-month rental costs less than a home you sell in two years.
Plain-language education from a Colorado real estate group, not legal, tax or financial advice. Numbers are as of September 2026. Disclaimer.
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Tell us where you are in the process and what you are trying to figure out. We will answer honestly, including when the honest answer is to wait. Free and confidential. You do not need to be ready to sell, and there is no pressure to list your home. Or bring your question to the free monthly Zoom, Divorce and the House, second Saturday at 9:00 AM.
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Divorce Decisions™: Colorado divorce workshops and education. Real estate services provided by The Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams DTC. Not legal, tax, lending or financial advice.