My Thursday Three's!

[David Urena-Amaro]

I'm going to try and keep up three questions every Thursday to get closer to my real estate goals. All will be for the Colorado market. I'd love to hear everyone's input! 

1: How do taxes work with property?
2:Where do you recommend picking up a realtors license?
3:What is in your opinion the most minimal risk doing real estate?

Thank you guys.

[Scott Trench]

Hello! Great idea here. 

1) Property taxes are computed based on the market value, discounted to an "assessed value" and then asssessed a millage rate. 

The short answer is that a $430,000 property would be multipleed by a 7.15% assessment rate, and then taxed based on a millage rate of 76.112 mills. 

A typical Denver residence would be taxed like this (note that this will differ based on your city!): 

$430,000 x 0.0715 x 0.072116 = $2,217.21 in annual taxes

2) I'd do an online program to get your agent license. You need to complete a 168 certified educational program and then pass the test, among other requirements. I'd focus on a low-cost program that is online and doesn't do the BS that mine did a few years ago (where it periodically forced me to type numbers into a screen to make sure I was paying attention to the videos). Overall it's fairly easy, but time consuming. And getting licensed will cost you $1,500 - $2,000 all in, between the education, the exam, registration with DORA, and getting set up with MLS access.

3) In my opinion, the lowest risk way to invest in real estate is to buy completely paid off properties with a "forever" time horizon and enjoy the cash flow.