Hi Logan, I live and invest in Pueblo, and what the others are saying is very true, it can be a hard market. I am fairly new to it as I only have 2 rentals. I have had pretty good success so far, but it not the case for a lot of others I know. The good thing about Pueblo is the price of house and the price of rent. Most houses are renting for 1.5 to 2 percent of sale price which is pretty good. The bad news is here is a of rough area of town. If you do not mind me asking what price range are you looking in ?

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Bill S.Pro Member
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Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
@Logan Halliburton this is just my 2 cents and just so you know where I am coming from. My step mother owned a few rentals in Pueblo. A reasonably successful agent there pointed her to these properties. One caused so many headaches she sold it after 3-5 years (taking a small loss if I recall) and invested elsewhere. The other she rented to the same tenants for several years (10+) and in the end sold it for what she paid for it. I won't call her a sophisticated real estate investor but she is no dummy either.
Spent the better part of 3-4 months looking at and pursuing property in Pueblo. In the end, I couldn't pull the trigger. I found drug houses and talked with local officials. They told me meth was rampant and you could probably test any house that was a rental for a number of years and have it test positive for meth. The cost to address that was more than some houses were worth. In general, I was warned away from property South of the river and around the downtown area on either side of the interstate. Not sure if that still holds true as it's been a few years since I was actively looking there.
Bottom line is be careful. Better to not do a good deal than to do a bad deal.
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Ali Barghelame
Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 1 vote
10y
I used to live in Pueblo. Great people, but it is a very blue collar market. If you proceed I would make sure to find a really good management company, and I would only buy deals where the cash flow alone justifies the deal--Pueblo has not enjoyed the appreciation that has been prevalent in many other parts of Colorado.
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Jason Eberhardt
Investor · Pueblo, CO · Member since 2016 · 99 posts · 33 votes
10y
Hi Logan, I live and invest in Pueblo, and what the others are saying is very true, it can be a hard market. I am fairly new to it as I only have 2 rentals. I have had pretty good success so far, but it not the case for a lot of others I know. The good thing about Pueblo is the price of house and the price of rent. Most houses are renting for 1.5 to 2 percent of sale price which is pretty good. The bad news is here is a of rough area of town. If you do not mind me asking what price range are you looking in ?
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Jake Oreskovich
Rental Property Investor · Cleveland · Member since 2016 · 29 posts · 16 votes
10y
@Logan Halliburton all of my rentals are currently in Pueblo. Born and raised in Pueblo. Yes, it can be rough but it's no rougher than any other town and I believe there is a market anywhere if you know where and how to buy. I would be more than happy to give you some insight about the town and the rental market. I have rentals in every part of town as well as Pueblo West!
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Logan Halliburton
OP
Denver, CO · Member since 2015 · 16 posts · 7 votes
10y
thanks for the feedback everyone! I think I'll keep looking for now but it'll probably have to be a pretty amazing deal for me to jump in down there
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Joseph Graeve
Investor · Claremont, CA · Member since 2014 · 150 posts · 36 votes
10y
Hey @Logan Halliburton
probably a good decision to only pull the trigger if its an amazing deal. That is currently my stance on Pueblo. One flip I renovated there we found someone breaking in and sleeping in one of the units at night and putting his blankets and pillows in the kitchen cabinets during the day.
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Luke F.
Littleton, CO · Member since 2015 · 59 posts · 14 votes
10y
For those investing in Pueblo, what are the best areas to invest in? Any areas to avoid?
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Jason Eberhardt
Investor · Pueblo, CO · Member since 2016 · 99 posts · 33 votes
10y
I have 2 houses, 1 in the lower Bessemer area and 1 on the upper East side. I would say the East side is much better. I get higher rent ( 650 V 550 ) for the same 2 bed 1 bath. And I have had great renters that really like the area. In Bessemer, I had so many things stolen when I was working on the house as well. Just my experience.
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Michael Wentzel
Investor · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2013 · 643 posts · 280 votes
10y
@Logan Halliburton
We own 16 rental properties in Pueblo and love the community. It is true that you need to be careful. You can't just buy something that is cheap and hope that it works. But if you do your homework and put a good team together, it can definitely work. Our properties our East Side, South Side and West Side. We have a great Realtor and property manager down there. Let me know if you would like me to get you their details.
Mike
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Luke F.
Littleton, CO · Member since 2015 · 59 posts · 14 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Michael Wentzel:

@Logan Halliburton
We own 16 rental properties in Pueblo and love the community. It is true that you need to be careful. You can't just buy something that is cheap and hope that it works. But if you do your homework and put a good team together, it can definitely work. Our properties our East Side, South Side and West Side. We have a great Realtor and property manager down there. Let me know if you would like me to get you their details.
Mike
Do you have a preference on the age of the home?
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Michael Wentzel
Investor · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2013 · 643 posts · 280 votes
10y
I prefer the home to be brand new... but that doesn't quite fit my budget. The homes we purchase are often 50 to 100 years old. If the structure and foundation are good, we go in and try to update as much as we can. This often means a new roof, updated electrical and HVAC, some new windows, new plumbing and new paint and flooring. My hypothesis was that this would significantly reduce our costs for maintenance and repairs over the next five years and so far that has been true.
Mike
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Daniel Fitzgerald
Littleton, CO · Member since 2016 · 5 posts · 0 votes
10y
Hello,
I'm new to REI and I'm researching the Pueblo market. I'm interested in single family and multi units. This conversation thread has some great information. Does anyone have an update on the Pueblo market? Also, I live in Denver. What are your general thoughts on whether or not Pueblo is too far from Denver to be worth the risk?
Thank you and have an awesome fourth of July!
Dan Fitzgerald
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Bill S.Pro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
@Daniel Fitzgerald welcome, if you are thinking of venturing into Pueblo, you should read THIS STORY. That market requires lots of education so you don't end up with the wrong property.
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Daniel Fitzgerald
Littleton, CO · Member since 2016 · 5 posts · 0 votes
10y
Bill S, thank you very much for the article. yikes.
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Scott TrenchPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 6k+ votes
10y
I'm not one to knock Pueblo, as I've never been there. I think that if I lived in Pueblo, I would consider investing there. However, I am fortunate enough to live in Denver, CO, in my opinion, the most desirable city in the entire country, and an opinion that an increasing number of people seem to be sharing.
I do not think that I will look back in 30 years and say, "Gee, look how smart I was for putting my money into Pueblo, CO, when I could have bought property in Denver instead." Again, not to knock on Pueblo, but if you have a long-term outlook, I would encourage you to ask yourself which market you think has the truly better prospects.
That said, you can be successful investing anywhere - it's just a matter of how you want to play the game.
Podcast Guest on Show #223
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Silviano Olivares
Imperial Beach, CA · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 3 votes
10y
Pueblo sounds bad but I need to get started some were right?
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Silviano Olivares
Imperial Beach, CA · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 3 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Scott Trench:

I'm not one to knock Pueblo, as I've never been there. I think that if I lived in Pueblo, I would consider investing there. However, I am fortunate enough to live in Denver, CO, in my opinion, the most desirable city in the entire country, and an opinion that an increasing number of people seem to be sharing.
I do not think that I will look back in 30 years and say, "Gee, look how smart I was for putting my money into Pueblo, CO, when I could have bought property in Denver instead." Again, not to knock on Pueblo, but if you have a long-term outlook, I would encourage you to ask yourself which market you think has the truly better prospects.
That said, you can be successful investing anywhere - it's just a matter of how you want to play the game.
What if you can't afford to buy in Denver?
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Rick Thomas
Real Estate Broker · Pueblo, CO · Member since 2015 · 35 posts · 37 votes
10y
Hi Silviano,
This is an old thread started before I actually started paying much attention to the site. Pueblo is not a bad area to invest in. It has it's **** holes, but please don't ask me where they are since I'm a licensed agent, a little homework will answer those questions. I do know investors that have come from Denver and having a heck of a time selling their flips. Wrong location, over renovation, the list can be long, simply because they don't understand the market here. The median price depending on who you talk to and what numbers you use is around $150,000. Some of the most successful flippers in this area are agents simply because they know the market and recognize the deals. Are they making flip or flop gross on their flips.... no there not. There is little risk with marginal renovations in good neighborhoods with homes that have good bones but are simply dated if you're willing to look. Low risk, low reward and unfortunately that turns away a lot of investors. Plus our $150,000 homes in Pueblo are $250+ in Denver, so if you wanted to spread your capital further it makes sense to consider Pueblo. I can say because it's public knowledge there is an EPA Superfund designated area that has stigmatized approx 1900 homes in Pueblo resulting in no lending in the area so there is some long term potential for the buy and hold crowd. Just my 2 cents
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Account Closed
Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 736 posts · 582 votes
10y
I've had my eye on the Pueblo market for quite a while. To me, it's a dangerous place. Quite frankly, if you can pick up a 2 or 3 bedroom for under $20k I think you'll do OK (not great, but OK) - but keep in mind, there are quite a few 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom homes that have been renovated selling between 20 and 30k. I've seen a lot of 1 bedroom homes for $15k or less. Price appreciation (check Zillow if you don't believe me) has been stagnant for a very long time.
There are other areas of Colorado that are just as inexpensive but have much better prospects. My advice is check where the jobs are - aside from the Front Range popular cities. There's a lot of energy (oil & gas, wind farms, solar, etc.) going in out here and there are a lot of smaller towns outside of Denver, Fort Collins, etc. that currently have a housing shortage.
It's worth doing your homework, having patience, and hunting for deals.
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Kurt Pourbaix
Rental Property Investor · Loveland, CO · Member since 2014 · 77 posts · 15 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

There are other areas of Colorado that are just as inexpensive but have much better prospects. My advice is check where the jobs are - aside from the Front Range popular cities. There's a lot of energy (oil & gas, wind farms, solar, etc.) going in out here and there are a lot of smaller towns outside of Denver, Fort Collins, etc. that currently have a housing shortage.
Hi Ed,
I am curious, what areas of Colorado are you thinking of that are a good rental market (better than Pueblo) that have a shortage of housing?
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Account Closed
Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 736 posts · 582 votes
10y
@Kurt Fort Morgan is a current area. I'm rehabbing a house up here right now and I've had folks try to rent it from me before the rehab is complete. One neighbor even walked up to me and handed me the phone so his buddy could try to talk me into letting him move in. The oil and gas industry is pushing a housing shortage in the city.
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Account Closed
Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 736 posts · 582 votes
10y
Kurt Pourbaix ...in addition, Brush (close by) is feeling the squeeze as well. I know one of the Sheriff's deputies there and she sees the same thing. There is indication Brush and Fort Morgan will be connected to each other within the next 5 years.
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Kurt Pourbaix
Rental Property Investor · Loveland, CO · Member since 2014 · 77 posts · 15 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Fort Morgan is a current area. I'm rehabbing a house up here right now and I've had folks try to rent it from me before the rehab is complete. One neighbor even walked up to me and handed me the phone so his buddy could try to talk me into letting him move in. The oil and gas industry is pushing a housing shortage in the city.
Good suggestion. I have been wondering about that area. Do you have a management company you trust out that way? Sounds like you do flips out there? Maybe we should talk about some kind of partnership.
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Account Closed
Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 736 posts · 582 votes
10y
haven't found a management company yet. Need to get this house on the market but I'm a couple of months out. Folks here are on mountain time :)
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Bill S.Pro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
@Silviano Olivares perhaps the question should be, "How can I afford to buy in Denver?"
@Rick Thomas knowledge is power. I think Pueblo takes a bit more knowledge than some other markets. I firmly believe there are opportunities in every market so you just have to find them. All true opportunities come about because of knowledge and hard work although there are some that just fall in our lap on a rare occasion.
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