High return Duplex/Multi-Family owners in the Denver area?

Question

Hey Bigger Pockets!

My name is Chris, I am fairly new to BP. I love this website and the knowledge I have already gain from it.

I thought I would hop on here and see if there are any Duplex/Multi-family owners who are seeing great returns in or around Denver (within about 50 miles). Alternatively if you own multiple House Hacks (renting per room), what does your setup look like?

I am currently one year into a very successful house hack and I’m hooked... looking to add a few Multi-family’s to the list and would love to stay in the Denver area for the first few.

Any advise would be appreciated!

Cheers,

Jenny Bayless · Answer

@Chris Leigh the best way, is to link up with an agent who can set you up on a search, that way you get the notifications as soon as they are posted on the MLS.

James Carlson · Answer

@Chris Leigh

Thought I'd circle back on this to see if you've taken any steps toward a Colorado Springs multi-unit. I echo the above sentiments. It can be tough to find a good multi-unit that cash flows in Colorado Springs, but once you factor in the other ways of making money off real estate, the city starts to look really good. We own three doors in the Springs and are under contract on a fourth. We are pretty bullish about the future of Colorado Springs, the people moving in, the development we see, the diversity and growth of industry, etc.

I wish you luck!

Steve K. · Answer

Hi @Chris Leigh. I got started with a few house hacks/live-in flips here in Boulder, renting by the room and have since moved into multifamily in the Denver/Longmont/Lakewood/Boulder market. House hacking/renting by the room is a great way to get started. Multifamily is easier to scale but difficult to break into (hard to find deals and they're expensive in this area so big down payment needed). Once you reach a point where you can afford a quad or bigger, I think multifamily is the way to go (duplexes and triplexes that cash flow are hard to find because there's competition in that space from owner-occupants so they tend to sell for a premium, although they can be found). It's important to build up good deal flow by networking with agents, prospecting, and leveraging your personal network to find premarket/off market deals, as most good deals are traded off market (although I've bought a few off the MLS and making aggressive offers on stale MLS listings is a strategy that works fine too). I've been implementing a value add strategy, buying small apartment buildings that have below-market rents either due to being in poor condition or being poorly managed, then fixing them up and raising rents over time to add value. The hardest part is probably finding the deals, but once you get your first building all the commercial agents who are working that area find your info from that sale and call you with their premarket stuff, so it get's easier as you go.

Daniel Haberkost · Answer

Hey @Chris Leigh I have to second @Jenny Bayless in that CO Springs is a great place for house hacking. Duplexes and fourplexes (there are very few triplexes here) are extremely hard to come by but there are quite a few single family homes that are built like duplexes, especially over by me in 80917/80918.

I've been house hacking a 4/3 single family for several years with tremendous success and am in the process of buying another to repeat the model in the same neighborhood.

The Springs is a bit over the 50 mile mark but is worth considering.

-Dan

Jenny Bayless · Answer

Hi @Chris Leigh, congrats on the house hack!  I would recommend checking out Colorado Springs as another market to check out.  Duplexes come up a few times a week on the MLS, and they perform pretty decently!

Jenny Bayless · Answer

@Chris Leigh I am personally searching for a 4-plex in Colorado Springs to add to our portfolio.  They are in very high demand, but they are certainly out there.  I can set you up on a MLS search if you are interested!

Below is a deal analysis I worked on, using a 4-plex that came on the MLS a couple weeks ago- I thought it was really good for being "turn-key"!

Chris Leigh · Answer

@Jenny Bayless thank you for the quick reply! I will definitely check out the springs. In your experience, what is the best way to keep up to date on new listings hitting the MLS?

High return Duplex/Multi-Family owners in the Denver area?

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