Denver duplex soon for sale, not sure how to price it

Denver duplex soon for sale, not sure how to price it

Adam HamanPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 45 posts · 20 votes

Good morning!

I'm looking at selling one of my rentals in Clayton at 3305 Cook St in Denver, and am looking for advice as to how to market it and for what price. Here are a few considerations:

--I've rented it for years as a 6 bed/2 bath section 8 rental, nearly 2000 sqft. 

--It is zoned for a duplex and was previously a 4bed/1bath and a 2bed/1bath unit. Separate furnaces, separate hot water, separate electrical. 

--7 blocks to the new light rail station to the North, 7 blocks to City Park to the South.

--No garage, but has a concrete pad poured, the perfect area to build a 2-car garage.

--Large side yard.

--Newer electrical, windows, furnaces, roof

--Large basement for storage, or could be made into laundry facility for the duplex.

Here is the rub:

--The original garage for the home, located just behind the house, was split off into a separate address before I purchased the home. I do not own the garage unit, so this amounts to a neighbor being very close. How off-putting is that to an owner occupant?

A few questions for Denverites:

1) What cap rate are you seeing for duplexes around town? With about $7k of rehab, I could make this ready to go as a duplex, and feel the 2-bed would rent readily at $1,000, and the 4-bed closer to $1,500. Is a price of $375,000 out of line?

2) Is there any scenario in which this home has more market appeal as a single-family vs marketing it as a duplex?  Very few homes have this kind of square footage in the area, but very few buyers need 5 or 6 bedrooms as well.

Thanks for any insight, and yes, I would definitely consider inquiries if anyone is interested. I'm looking to 1031 into a property I've already identified. The current tenant does not vacate til the end of the month, and barring an earlier sale I would go through and spruce up the joint to have it on the MLS by mid-April hopefully.

Have a great morning and thanks for your insight!!

0Reply
31 views

Most Popular Reply

Bill S.Pro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
11y

@Adam Haman cap rates are not typically used for duplexes. Comparable sales are. $375,000 would be the top of the market for that area but I don't think it's too much of a stretch. I think it would sell better as a duplex. 

See this reply in the discussion

7 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Bill S.Pro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    11y

    @Adam Haman cap rates are not typically used for duplexes. Comparable sales are. $375,000 would be the top of the market for that area but I don't think it's too much of a stretch. I think it would sell better as a duplex. 

  • Realtor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    Sell it as a duplex. The garage neighbor definitely hurts especially if you keep it as just a SFR. I agree with @Bill S. on price, however I have seen some crazy stuff in this market. 

    I might have a client that is interested in it. Did you have any issues with Section 8 on your last inspection? I have a good 1031 intermediary if you need it.

  • Adam HamanPro Member
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 45 posts · 20 votes
    11y

    Thanks @Bill S., that is the direction I was leaning, and it's good to have more expert insight on the situation!

    @Matt M., this home has always passed Section 8 inspections with flying colors. My first year I needed $40 of trinkets from Home Depot and one hour of my time, and since then I haven't had a single issue. I would definitely take a recommendation for 1031; I do have someone I like, but it never hurts to run it by one other set of eyes before making a decision. Feel free to PM me if your client seems interested, I'm happy to try to get them over there before I list it on the MLS, and let's face it, that can make all the difference in this market! Thanks for your input and interest :)

  • Bill S.Pro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    11y

    @Adam Haman something else to consider is to price it to get great interest and let the buyers set the price. Make sure that you convey up front that you won't accept offers until a specific time and date (4-5 days in the future). You then put it in the MLS and advertise like a mad dog. The buyers will then set the market for it. It gives you power with the appraiser if that becomes an issue as well.

  • Adam HamanPro Member
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 45 posts · 20 votes
    11y

    @Bill S., I may consider doing that as the time draws near. I think if I price it at $349,900, we'll get a lot more looks from those who would max out at 350k or so, and it is always nice to be able to pick the buyer you want to work with. Certainly that is a nice position to be in as a Seller. With the buyers I've been representing recently, 8-10 offers is very commonplace in the hot older neighborhoods for an aggressively priced (or mis-priced, imho) home.

  • Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 135 posts · 37 votes
    11y

    @Adam Haman is there any way you could buy the garage, unite the properties and sell it to someone looking to house-hack as a quasi-triplex? I could see that potentially fetching $375k.

    You may be able to get $375k if you turn it into a duplex but that seems pretty expensive for the area and with it having the feel of someone living on the property, I have a really hard time imagining someone buying it as an SFR at that price.

    I was a part of a duplex purchase in Clayton in November and while it didn't have the same sq. ft. and needed about $10k of work, it sold for only $240k. The market has been going nuts lately though.

  • Adam HamanPro Member
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 45 posts · 20 votes
    11y

    Hi @Walker Hinshaw, thanks for your input! I've tried multiple times over the years to get in touch with the owner of the garage unit (it's a carriage house with people living there), and have never gotten a phone call or response back. I would love to get my hands on it, but no dice!!

    I'm having trouble trying to reconcile the 4-bed unit with the rest of the comps in the area. From a pure cashflow perspective, the 4-bed unit is far superior to the 2-bed units in most duplex comps in the area (my feeling, anyway), reflecting a $500-700 premium in rent rates, especially if rented to Section 8. I feel like this would be a great "house hack" for someone who wanted to live in the 2-bed unit nearly for free while waiting on appreciation in the area, but as the Seller I probably won't be able to plant that bug in the ear of potential buyers like I'd like to; I'll do my best on the MLS listing though!

    That said, you're right, this market is definitely nuts right now. I'm leaning towards trying it at $350k, and if I can't get my price, I'll sit on it until the new light rail opens up next year. Every year Clayton becomes a better neighborhood, so maybe a few of the flippers in the area can do the heavy lifting for me in the meantime :)

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.