Buy the house, and everything attached to it.

Before the search alerts, decide where. On the Front Range that means weighing commute, lot size, age of housing and how close you want to be to the foothills. In the mountains it means choosing a point on the valley’s gradient between resort and town.

Amy has lived at one end of that range and now works at the other. She can describe the trade-offs between a Park Hill bungalow, an Arvada ranch and a place in Eagle without having to look anything up.

Before touring homes you will sign a written agreement with your broker. It sets out what she will do for you, for how long and how she is paid. Amy goes through it with you line by line, and nothing is signed until it makes sense.

A Colorado contract gives a buyer a series of deadlines: inspection, title, association documents, appraisal, loan. Each is a chance to learn something and, if necessary, to renegotiate or leave.

Amy treats them as working time. Sewer scopes and radon tests on older homes. Well permits and septic records on acreage. And for anything with an association, a close reading of the budget, reserves and minutes, which is the work she did for years.

Price is one term among many. Dates, contingencies, inclusions and the way an offer is presented all carry weight. Amy writes offers with the support of her colleagues at The Nest, whose specialties include negotiation, financing and new-build contracts.

Some purchases need a specialist’s eye. Amy lives on a horse property and competes in eventing; she knows what to look for in water, zoning, fencing and ground. And she understands resort ownership from the inside.