Hi y’all. My name is Lindsay and I live in Denver, CO. I am very green to real estate investing but I thought it be time I took massive action!!! Haha. I am a project manager/ GC for a design build company, Lumen Homes. We mainly build new construction but also take on some homeowner remodels. I love what I do and the company I work for but thought it was time to start really investing in my future.
I have no idea what I am doing but want to learn everything. I would love to start building a portfolio of rental properties both short term and long term. I am excited about learning and using the tools that Bigger Pockets has to offer. Looking forward to getting to know all of you!!!
As for Colorado Springs prices, you might find a tiny meth condo for $85,000 these days but not much else for that price. While our prices are still behind Denver they are skyrocketing up as we continue to sell more homes than what's on the market making the inventory shrink for 8 straight months. If this trend were to continue, pretty soon the only homes for sale will be new listings under 30 days.
This is the time of year we start to see an increase in new listing inventory which is what we need right now. Like years prior, that uptick is starting. Give it a few weeks and we might see the inventory decline begin to slow down but I would expect to continue to see multiple offers on most homes for 2021.
Either way, Colorado Springs is a great place to be investing for the appreciation with great long term projections outside of any black swan events, in which case, we are all going to be in for it.
@Lindsay Massengale Welcome Lindsay! You live in very hot market indeed. I invest down the road in Colorado Springs (small stuff) and have a connection in Denver. PM me should you want a free sounding board. Best time to get started is now, even in a sellers market - just gotta work harder.
Hi @Lindsay Massengale!! Welcome! I live in Colorado Springs and am about as green as they get as well! I am actively looking for my first property that will not be my primary residence. Being that you are in Denver, I would definitely recommend listening to the Denver Real Estate Investing Podcast with Chris Lopez! I think they have some great points about the market there that could be useful! Like @Andrew Rosenburg said, free to reach out if you need a sounding board!
Thank you to both of you!!! I am so excited about getting started and just jumping in! It all seems a little overwhelming but I am definitely willing to work. I would love to touch base! I will check out that Podcast as well. Thanks again!!!
@Lindsay Massengale, Welcome! I'm a new BRRR investor and also located in Denver. I'm planning on investing out of state, first in SD. PM me if you'd like to meetup for coffee or lunch.
@Lindsay Massengale, Welcome to the world of real estate investing! It sounds like you are coming with some unique skills with your background. I'm sure you will do great! I would love to network with you, feel free to reach out and/or connect. I am also a newbie.
@Andrew Rosenberg, You live in HI, but invest in the Springs, that's awesome! I have family down there, so I am there a lot. I caught a BP podcast (I don't remember which one exactly) with a lady investing in the Springs, but she lived in Denver. I swear she said she purchased a place to fix up @ $85k. I must have heard this wrong... or do you see these prices and I need to look harder?
Please feel free to reach out if I can be "boots on the ground" for you or just to connect.
I'm taking your recommendation to listen to that podcast, I hope you don't mind.
I am in Denver but in the Springs a lot. I am green too, but feel like we could definitely learn and help each other.
@Nicole Skorka, PM me if you would be interested in meeting up too (here in Denver too). I have one strategy I am looking at for in-state. Out of state, I will definitely be using the BRRRR, starting in OH. -------
Side note to anyone in the MST time zone & interested in a Mastermind Group (mostly online), please feel free to PM me. If you are interested and not in MST, that's ok too. Just know MST is the priority.
Thank you Nicole and Ben!! I would love to connect with y’all. I would love to understand how to really analyze property. To understand a good deal! I tried using the rental calculator but I found it a little confusing.
@Lindsay Massengale and @Jessica Hawkins - I am going to private message both of you as I run a free, monthly, female investing club online that covers Denver and Colorado Springs. Our speakers include real estate lawyers, real estate CPAs, investors from the local market, inspectors, appraisers, real estate agents (me), etc., etc. It's existed for two years and we have a pretty strong contingent of female investors at different levels. It could be a good resource for both of you. And for anyone else reading this, you can join as well as long as you are female. :)
Thank you so much! This is amazing!!! The support of this community has been awesome and already has shown to be so valuable. So exciting. I look forward to your pm!
As for Colorado Springs prices, you might find a tiny meth condo for $85,000 these days but not much else for that price. While our prices are still behind Denver they are skyrocketing up as we continue to sell more homes than what's on the market making the inventory shrink for 8 straight months. If this trend were to continue, pretty soon the only homes for sale will be new listings under 30 days.
This is the time of year we start to see an increase in new listing inventory which is what we need right now. Like years prior, that uptick is starting. Give it a few weeks and we might see the inventory decline begin to slow down but I would expect to continue to see multiple offers on most homes for 2021.
Either way, Colorado Springs is a great place to be investing for the appreciation with great long term projections outside of any black swan events, in which case, we are all going to be in for it.
@Lindsay Massengale Welcome to Denver Lindsay! Denver is a great market for buy-and-hold investors since you can long-term appreciation (6% per year on average the last 40 years), tenant class, and some cash flowing properties as well.
For straight investment properties, the best cash flowing ones are probably the east Aurora around the 200-220k mark for 3/2s.
For the greatest appreciation, you will pay a premium for areas such as Wash Park, Highlands, Sloan's Lake, Cherry Creek, etc.
For most people, it is somewhere in the middle.
Therefore, it depends on your goals and wants long-term.
Because of Denver's high cost of living, it is easiest to house hack properties, which is simply buying a house/condo/multifamily property and living in part of it and renting out the other part. Because you are living in that property, you can utilize a low down payment loan product vs. 20% for buying an investment property.
Also, most people like a little privacy, so a popular choice is a single family house with a mother-in-law basement apartment that people Airbnb or rent out to normal tenants.
From my experience, house hacking is basically subsidizing your living costs while you live there, and after you move out, cash flow positive or break even. It is buying a future investment property as your primary residence.
@Candice De - As a person that views skiing as too cold, too crowded and requiring too early of a morning, I judge you for that, but probably most people fully understand skipping a zoom call for outdoor recreation. :) Shoot me your email in a private message and I'll get you on the distro list.
@Lindsay Massengale Welcome to Bigger Pockets and real estate investing. I say you have a leg up with your project manager and home building background. I'm a construction management grad and have always worked in construction, and I think it translates well to real estate. Your company looks really cool, some neat projects on your website. I work as an estimator for a custom home builder and I love my job too.
@Lindsay Massengale. Welcome to the world's greatest real estate investing forum! I recommend you consider finding a coach or mentor. You may be able to find one on BP or at a local real estate investor meetup.
You may also want to consider starting with "Subject To" deals. Like a lease option sandwich for example. This is a way to get rental homes with virtually no money out of pocket, no debt in your name, and very low risk overall. Other than your time. You may want to check out Brandon Turner's book on owner-financed deals. Good luck!
Thank you for the advice!!! I really appreciate it. I am actually in a mentorship program right now. Starts this week! I am really excited to get the work started and see what I can do.
I want to focus on buy and holds but the mentorship program that I am in say that you need to go by the 1% rule when you are considering a rental property. I live in Denver and I am not sure I will find anything that will rent for 1% of what I buy it for!!! Would you recommend that the 1% rule is a good rule of them for rental properties? If so, I might need to look elsewhere. Not sure where these exist right with this market!!!
I will definitely look into subject to. I need to become more familiar with this strategy. Thank you again for advice. Have a wonderful day.
@Lindsay Massengale Hey! I’m a newbie investor in Denver too (bought my first rental last year) and just wanted to say hello and also give props to @Erin Spradlin’s Denver Women Invest group. It’s a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere and I’m learning a lot from them. Erin and her husband also do a real estate podcast focused on Colorado Springs, and I will also second Chris Lopez’s Denver-based podcast. Lots of great information here!
@Lindsay Massengale hi!! Welcome to BP! I am a newbie here too and am so excited to learn as much as I can about real estate investing.
What do you do at Lumen Homes? I looked it up and WOW! All your designs are amazing!! I'd love to hear about how you got into it and what you do there!
Hi y’all. This platform has been so great and so welcoming!
Emily, do you meet up with the women’s investment group or is everything online? I joined that group but I am not sure if it was ever excepted. I need to look into that.
Kayla,
I am a project manager/ GC for Lumen. We are a small company. It’s two guys who are the owners, myself and an administrative assistant. I am running the projects, dealing with the contractors, on site everyday. It’s a lot of fun and I love watching a project go from nothing to these beautiful buildings or homes. I have been working for Lumen since 2014. I was able to start out part time and it just grew from there.
And, @Lindsay Massengale - the group is online, once a month. You should be getting emails from me the week of and the day of with reminders. Since we just talked, you may not be getting any yet since the next meeting is February 25th. Just a heads' up though: Emily is our March speaker (March 25th) and our March podcast interview, so that might be a good place to hear more about local investing.