Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2015 · 492 posts · 267 votes
Ok, so I sold my investment house in Commerce City, Colorado.
Denver area, for out of state people.
We bought it 2 1/2 years ago for $120,000
Mortgage was aprx $900/month
Rented it out for $1,900/month
Listed for $225,000
Sold for $215,000!
Now to send all this money down to Pueblo, co to invest in the #15 top county in America... According to BP. Only one in colorado in the top 25.
I already own 8 properties down there... and they are all cashflowing Great
Happy Investing Everyone!
@Matt M. I've worked with almost a dozen clients this year moving into the Pueblo area. Some leaving the sprawl from the Denver area and some just liking the area. I recently sold a geodome to a couple of guys moving here after selling a successful coffee business in San Antonio. I think the low cost of living, still the very much small town feel, the Riverwalk area and the summer activity around it (Pueblo comes together to party) is such a huge draw , even though it doesn't compare to San Antonio.
There are not a ton of fix and flip opportunities with the usual 70% ARV but they do come up. Their is a great opportunity to buy and hold as noted in the increased rents. Many of the homes that @Robert Herrera mention in the $30-100k price range are 1900-1950 built homes. Structural integrity is the biggest issue with these older homes and of course desperately needing updating. There is approximately 1900 homes in the Eilers Superfund area where loans simply aren't happening. That area presents a great buy and hold opportunity. 25% of our mls inventory is vacant homes. It's definitely a sellers market at the moment, new construction is picking up and hopefully if it continues it will relieve the inventory pressure.
There really isn't much to discuss about marijuana that you probably don't already know being from the Denver area. There is going to be 4 dispensaries in the city.
What about Pueblo? It's an interesting question and one that if you asked me to succinctly define I'd have a hard time explaining. I'm a native Puebloan, I've lived in Colorado Springs back in the late 80' when it was a commercial desert, I've lived in a few places in California. Pueblo doesn't have the amenities/employers mentioned in the few previous posts, but we are 2 hours, 3 at most to just about everything Colorado has to offer. Perhaps the mill slowing in the 80's I believe was a great thing, although there were boats and RV's in every other driveway back then. But do you really want to invest in an area where their is only a handful of major employers? Pueblo has survived over the past 30 years or so by diversifying in a lot of little areas.
I thought this was an investing forum, not a lifestyle forum? The opportunities for buying and holding are prime, fixing and flipping, they are there but not Flip or Flop numbers. The numbers work. I was always told, job growth, population growth and affordability was the top 3 factors in determining a market. Are we growing like Las Vegas did 10-15 years ago, nope, good thing. When you have empty nesters moving out of Denver into Pueblo, that's a lot of discretionary money to float in the local economy. Buying and holding is what the tortoise does, fixing and flipping is what the rabbit does. There is ample room for both.
I don't live in Pueblo, but I love to invest there. Some others have talked about cost-of-living that is likely to continue to draw new residents and businesses over the long-term. There is plenty of sunshine, mountains, the lake and the riverwalk for recreation. There are educational institutions like CSU- Pueblo and Pueblo Community College. There are hospitals and a still a fair bit of manufacturing that is going on in the area of the steel mills.
People also talk about the decline of the steel mills, but the worst of those lay-offs happened in early 1980's. I heard something like 5,000 jobs were lost in that period. And yet the population of Pueblo city and Pueblo county have continued to grow. I'm from Ohio, where many of the industrial towns didn't survive the industrial lay-offs and now populations are half or a quarter of what they used to be. That didn't happen in Pueblo and I don't see it happening in future.
I appreciate @Robert Herrera and @Rick Thomas giving some local insight into the local market. I often get tired of people from northern Colorado speaking ill of Pueblo with little knowledge of the local market. When the next bubble pops, I would much rather be invested in Pueblo than Denver.
Very interesting thread here on Pueblo. I am a r.e. investor specializing in the cannabis industry and commercial real estate. I have seen articles / data showing that Recreational Cannabis is a multi million dollar impact in Pueblo County. Many many people from Denver and Colorado Springs in the Cannabis space go back and forth to Pueblo and in vest there. I have a Canadian client with national expansion plans who started in Pueblo. Cannabis for Pueblo is a significant economic driver. Thus, more r.e. investing opportunities there.
Kerry Blasdel I picked up a lot of commercial land in Pueblo west. It's business zoned for Marijuana. It's is right next to Joe Martinez blvd. That is going to be the new highway they are building from Pueblo Blvd. it's off of the 1st exit in Pwest. It's down the road a little ways from an existing Dispensary. Is there anything you could show about how to generate the most from this lot? I've never built up a commercial lot, but would like more info. I am willing to do a ground lease as well, or owner open to selling.
Do you want to custom build for the cannabis industry? If you do, the first thing to know about this industry is the licenses. I would go to the City to find out who is in charge of approvals, and ask them if they know of a company who needs to expand. This will give you good info to start with. There is constant merger and acquisition activity in the Industry, and the City people will know who is active and who is looking. Also, look up Southern Colorado Cannabis Council... they are an industry group who may know who needs space. Also google all the other Cannabis Industry groups in Colorado and contact them
Kerry Blasdel I am also acquiring a lot zoned I-2 in Arvada. Near I-76 and Sheridan. It's .91 acre. We close in just under 30 days. I'm willing to learn how to make more from industrial.
It's refreshing to see the positive viewpoints of Pueblo. Most of what I have seen in the BP community is negative. I'm currently a real estate agent in central Texas, and I plan to relocate to Pueblo soon. After getting my real estate license in Colorado, I intend to work in the Pueblo, or Colorado Springs area, and invest in rental properties in Pueblo. I appreciate the insight from people in the Pueblo real estate market.
Congrats! Sounds like your momentum has continued to roll.
The range of viewpoints on the market are appreciated too. I’m at the stage where I’m learning to analyze/identify deals, and planning a trip to Pueblo in the first weekend of November.
Gregory Flores, Jr. let me know when you will be there. I can meet up with you and show you a few things. I'm at 18 properties at this time, 1 of which is for my Daughters. That way they have their own Cashflow to cover clothes, gifts, birthday parties, Christmas, etc.
@Robert Herrera that would be much appreciated. I was going to drive down with a partner, and possibly my fiancé. We would like to take you to lunch if we could meet. Right now the plan is to be down there during the afternoon on Nov. 5th. I'll PM you to follow up before then. Thank you!
@Tearance Lewis, feel free to pm me when you're in the area and I'd be happy to share with you what we've learned of Pueblo. We moved here May 2016 from KY and absolutely love it! Less than 1 hour to Colorado Springs and less than 2 hours to Denver. Weather is mild and the people are welcoming. :)
@Tammy Tivis , That would be great! I currently have my house on the market, hopefully it will sell sooner than later. I lived in Colorado Springs for a few years, and my wife is from Pueblo, so I am familiar with the area. However, I have been gone a few years, and I would certainly appreciate hearing about your experiences.
Oh @Tearance Lewis, good to know you have the inside 411 on the area already. Not sure if much has changed since you were here last but feel free to reach out if I can be of assistance.
@Tearance Lewis to "mention" someone. Type the @ symbol followed by the first three letters of their name and pause. A drop down menu will appear with matches. You pick the one you want and their name appears highlighted in blue and they get an email notification. I had to learn this myself.
Ryan Jones where do you invest? What properties do you recommend? The 15% curve has already flattened out. That house I sold has only appreciated $5,000 since I sold it. At 15% It would have to move just over $30k, and yet it hasn't.
@Tammy Tivis Curious what your thought is regarding the homeless population in Pueblo and it's relation to recreational marijuana? Per capita, I'm told the homeless population is larger there due to rec marijuana. I live in Colorado Springs and have interviewed many homeless folks who confirm they are here for marijuana (only medical allowed here so far). There have been a lot of problems area there and I'm skeptical the area would turn around because if anything, people will keep building east of Colorado Springs and Denver.
Hmm, I'm probably not the right person to ask about the homeless population in Pueblo as that's not something I have knowledge about. From personal experience, we have a warehouse in South Pueblo (biz unrelated to real estate) located only a few hundred feet from 2 dispensaries. In the 18 months we've been here, I haven't seen anyone walking the streets nearby that I would think was homeless. There are 2 neighborhoods nearby, one with older homes and one with newer homes... both well kept by working class families (my parents among them). I've lived in the Foothills of Northern CA, on the outskirts of Louisville, KY and now in Pueblo... drugs, gangs, home invasion robberies and other problems in all, concentrated in certain areas but even "the A areas" have issues. No city I've ever visited (in the US or abroad) is without those in need... some may choose to come here for marijuana but there are a variety of reasons why people become homeless. The tents of homeless people along the freeway in Springs near Cimmaron are an eyesore for those driving by but your heart certainly goes out to anyone living in such a dire situation. Not sure if any of them are using drugs and where they might be getting them?
In regards to a previous post, you mentioned "Pueblo??? The drug capital of Colorado? So many problems in that town.... Pueblo's home's appreciated at about 2% (lower than inflation) while Denver areas were going up 15%. No one wants to live in Pueblo."
We are fortunate that we have a successful internet business that allows us to live anywhere. We weighed the pros and cons of several cities and states, but ultimately chose Pueblo because there are so many positives... the mild climate, the proximity to Denver, Colorado Springs (without the traffic), affordability, recreation (not marijuana! lol)...
You mentioned that you've interviewed the homeless so you definitely have more insight on that than I do. Ultimately, each person needs to invest where they feel their money will be best spent. We feel blessed to be in Pueblo but it's a good thing that it's not for everyone or it would be a little crowded! :)
Ryan Jones just stop talking about Pueblo. You haven't done your research. Pueblo is barely allowing dispensaries NOW, as in just the last few months. They have been banned from Pueblo for the last few years. This is something new from the last couple months, so NO, the marijuana market has had nothing to do with Pueblo area. Yes, the Springs is over run with Homeless because of marijuana.
How has that affected your area?
Again, where do you invest?
Where do you see the best spots for rentals?
Did you even watch the video from Pueblo and at least get a little education on the area and how much it's moving?