Colorado has an unusual combination for a Non-QM borrower: high property values and an enormous independent-contractor workforce. That puts a lot of investors into alternative documentation and jumbo loan sizes simultaneously a narrower intersection than most people expect, and the reason a Colorado file that would be routine in Alabama can be difficult here.
It also has the most aggressive short-term rental regulation of any state in the Mountain West, and that regulation varies by jurisdiction rather than by state. A property’s STR status is frequently worth more to your returns than a quarter point of rate.
Two Things That Kill Colorado Files
Before the lender list, the two constraints worth knowing.
Loan size. Front Range and mountain pricing pushes many Colorado investment purchases past conforming limits, which moves you into Non-QM jumbo. Investor appetite narrows sharply above certain thresholds, reserve requirements rise, and some 1099 programs cap well below what the property costs. Confirm the maximum loan amount on the specific program before you go under contract.
Wildfire insurance. Carriers have tightened substantially across the wildland-urban interface. Some Front Range foothills and mountain properties are now difficult or expensive to insure, and a few are effectively uninsurable through standard carriers. This functions the way coastal wind exposure functions in Florida it belongs in your carrying-cost model before you make an offer, not after inspection. Because premiums sit inside your DTI calculation, an insurance surprise directly reduces what you can borrow.
The Lenders
Featured: Select Home Loans
Select Home Loans is a Non-QM mortgage broker (NMLS #2384002) writing 1099 investor loans in Colorado. Working across multiple wholesale investors matters here specifically because of the two constraints above maximum loan amounts and appetite for wildfire-exposed properties both vary considerably between investors, and a file that stalls at one shelf frequently moves at another.
We quote the DSCR and bank statement alternatives alongside the 1099 program so you can compare products rather than take the first number offered.
Get a quote · (888) 550-3296
Other lenders worth calling listed in no particular order:
719 Lending A Colorado Springs brokerage that shops bank statement, DSCR, P&L, asset-depletion, 1099, and ITIN programs across multiple investors. Explicitly positioned around beating individual lender overlays by moving files between shelves, with strong El Paso County market knowledge.
LendFriend Mortgage A brokerage specializing in bank statement and other Non-QM programs for 1099 earners and business owners, serving Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and the mountain markets including Aspen, Vail, and Breckenridge.
LBC Mortgage A Colorado broker writing Non-QM including bank statement, 1099, and asset-depletion qualifying, with stated focus on Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs borrowers.
Capital Home Mortgage Colorado Maintains Colorado operations with 1099, bank statement, asset, and DSCR programs, plus ITIN lending.
Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions A Non-QM wholesale investor licensed in Colorado with a dedicated 1099 income program. Reached through a broker.
Griffin Funding Publishes qualifying on 90 to 100 percent of gross 1099 income, 620 minimum credit, and loan amounts to $4 million relevant in a state where jumbo sizing is common.
NASB (North American Savings Bank) 1099-NEC based program; availability varies by property type and location.
Verify current licensure and program availability before relying on any listing. See the disclaimer at the end of this page.
Short-Term Rentals: Verify the Address, Not the Town
This deserves its own section in Colorado in a way it does not in most states.
Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, and multiple Summit and Eagle County jurisdictions operate license caps, zone restrictions, or both. Denver restricts short-term rentals to primary residences, which rules out the classic investor STR model inside the city entirely. Licenses are frequently non-transferable with the property, meaning a listing advertising established STR income may convey nothing of the sort.
None of this affects whether you qualify for a 1099 loan. All of it affects whether the investment works. Verify the specific parcel’s licensing status with the jurisdiction before you close, and do not rely on a seller’s representation or a listing description.
How 1099 Qualifying Works
A 1099 loan qualifies you on income documented on your 1099 forms rather than the net profit your tax return shows after deductions. Everything else about the loan appraisal, assets, credit, reserves, ability-to-repay analysis works normally.
The number that matters most
Programs split into two camps. Some qualify on gross 1099 income at 90 percent or more with no expense deduction. Others apply an expense factor of 10 to 25 percent first.
On $180,000 of annual 1099 income:
| Method | Qualifying income |
| 90% of gross | $162,000/yr — $13,500/mo |
| Gross less 20% expense factor | $144,000/yr — $12,000/mo |
| Net profit from your tax return | frequently under $80,000 |
In a state where jumbo sizing is common, that spread between the first two rows frequently determines whether you clear the loan amount you need at all not just how much house you get.
One year or two
Colorado has an unusual amount of income that argues for the two-year lookback. Ski-industry and outdoor-recreation contractors earn in concentrated seasons. Real estate agents in a high-value market can have a single closing swing a year materially. Construction trades work a compressed season at altitude.
If any of that describes you, the 24-month average is likely to represent you better and a lender who quotes only the 12-month program without asking about seasonality has not looked at your file properly.
Separately: the two-year self-employment history requirement is a different thing from the two-year income lookback. Ask about both.
Colorado’s 1099 Population
Real estate agents and brokers, a large 1099 group in a state with high transaction values, and one where a strong year and a weak year can look very different.
Construction and specialty trades across the Front Range growth corridor.
Outdoor recreation, guiding, and instruction, heavily seasonal.
Technology and consulting in the Denver and Boulder corridor, often a mix of 1099 and K-1 income worth flagging early, since K-1 documents differently and some programs treat it separately.
Mountain-town property managers and STR operators, whose own income is frequently 1099 and whose businesses depend on the licensing regime discussed above.
Other Colorado Specifics
Public trustee foreclosure. Colorado’s public trustee system is unusual nationally and generally faster than judicial foreclosure. Investors view it favorably, which supports somewhat better LTVs than you would find in a judicial state.
Altitude and property condition. Freeze-thaw cycles, roof loading, and radon are routine appraisal considerations at elevation. Deferred maintenance flags more often here than at sea level.
Two very different markets. Denver metro, the northern Front Range, and the mountain resort corridor behave differently on pricing, rental demand, and appraisal support. An investor applying Denver assumptions to a Pueblo or Grand Junction purchase or vice versa will misjudge both.
Investment Property Terms
- Down payment: 20–25 percent typical, and expect the higher end on jumbo-sized files
- Credit: 620 floor at most investors; meaningful improvements at 680, 700, 740
- Reserves: 6–12 months PITIA, rising with loan size and with each additional financed property
- Prepayment penalties: common on investment property, typically 1–3 years, often buyable at a quarter to a half point
1099 or DSCR?
Colorado is a state where DSCR frequently does not work, which is the opposite of the Alabama situation. At Front Range and mountain prices, rent often fails to cover the payment a property can be a perfectly good long-term hold and still miss a 1.0 DSCR.
That is precisely when a 1099 loan earns its place. Your documented contractor income carries a file the property cannot carry on its own.
Use DSCR where the rent genuinely covers the payment, typically in the lower-priced Front Range submarkets or on properties bought with substantial equity. Use a 1099 loan where it does not, where there is no rental history, or where the STR licensing picture makes projected rent unreliable.
Questions to Ask
- What is your maximum loan amount on this program? (Ask this first in Colorado.)
- Do you qualify on gross 1099 income, or apply an expense factor?
- Will you run both the 1-year and 2-year scenarios, given my income is seasonal?
- Have you placed a file on a wildfire-exposed property recently, and what did the insurance review look like?
- Can you quote the DSCR and bank statement alternatives too?
- If part of my income is K-1 rather than 1099, how does that document?
Disclaimer
The lenders described on this page are listed in no particular order, with the exception of Select Home Loans, which is featured because we publish this page and originate these loans. We have a commercial interest in this category. No lender listed has paid for placement.
This page reflects our opinion based on publicly available information at the time of writing. It is general information, not a recommendation, an endorsement, or an offer of credit. Lender programs, guidelines, licensure, pricing, and availability change frequently and without notice, and nothing here should be taken as a guarantee that any lender is currently licensed in Colorado, currently offers the program described, or will approve your file.
Consult a licensed mortgage professional and where appropriate a tax advisor, attorney, or financial advisor before making any borrowing decision. Short-term rental licensing, insurance availability, and local ordinances change and are specific to individual properties; verify them independently with the relevant jurisdiction. Verify any lender’s licensure through NMLS Consumer Access at nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
Select Home Loans, NMLS #2384002. Equal Housing Opportunity.
