Housing Hacking in Colorado Springs
Hi all! I am currently house hacking a condo in Washington, DC that nets me $10 per month! There is definitely a space trade off but currently have two low key renters that are covering all my expenses, utilities, etc. It has been great!
I am looking to house hack in Colorado Springs as I lived in the area briefly (4 months for ski season!) a couple of years ago and am looking to move back. I would love to get into my next property as a house hack and would love to get into some sort of -plex but it seems like SFHs may make more sense there.
In the SFH context, I know the Denver per room market is strong. However, could anyone give me a read on the per room house hack market in CO Springs? Is it strong? I know there are a lot of military people so do they typically go for room rentals? I am seeing $700-$800 depending on the area on Facebook, seem right?
I am open to any and all insight as I scout places, thanks all!
Thanks so much, always great talking to you all!
@Robert Durden I work with the FI team down in So cal and we were started in Denver. I would give them a google all the agents are house hack investors themselves! We actually work as a part of Craig's team and he wrote the book on House Hacking
#2 House Hacking Contributor
- Real Estate Agent
- Los Angeles, CA
Every neighborhood is different, so trust your judgement. When I was house hacking by the room and what I tell my clients is look up what's happening on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to see what others are charging. You also need to factor in what you are including versus others. For example, are you including internet? Cleaning? Utilities? Parking? It just depends on what you are planning to do.
Roomies.com is a great source as well because you can comp out the roommates looking to find rooms in that area and they will have on their profiles what they are looking to pay. Hope this helps!
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Real Estate Agent CA (#02147150)
- Masters Realty LLC
- 503-551-0730
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Thanks everyone! Helpful information all around, much appreciated!
@Robert Durden on average, your estimate per room is about right - $750. Master bedrooms with a masterbath suite can get more and separate basements can earn you more as well. You usually need a 5 bedroom house in decent condition to make the numbers work as best as possible.
The other option I would recommend considering is finding a SFH with a walk-out basement or exterior access to the basement so you can operate a STR out of it. This strategy has netted us the greatest house hacking revenue in the area, especially if you combine it with renting out additional bedrooms in the other part of the home.
Hey Robert, I am currently rent-by-room house hacking in Colorado Springs! Similar to you, I also found that RbR SFH made more cash-flow sense than small multi-family.
We are renting 3 rooms in our 5bd house. 2 of the rooms share a bath, and the smaller of those is rented for $700 while the larger is rented for $800. The room with the private bath is rented for $800 also (to a military guy like you mentioned).
ALSO, we pay for all utilities and provide all shared supplies (cleaning supplies, pans, utensils, trash bags, etc). So be sure to think about that when you are analyzing.
We are -$500/month to -$1200/month while we live here (depending on capex/repairs), and we are occupying the whole basement So it is definitely cheaper than rent in our case. When we move out, we will be right around break even, but over time our projections predict mega-cash flow. Also, I think we are going to add a room, so we will make instant cash-flow in that case.
Let me know if you have any questions!
@Robert Durden- if you are possibly needing financing - make sure you have a loan pre approval started and in place for your CO plan
Quote from @Miller McSwain:
Hey Robert, I am currently rent-by-room house hacking in Colorado Springs! Similar to you, I also found that RbR SFH made more cash-flow sense than small multi-family.
We are renting 3 rooms in our 5bd house. 2 of the rooms share a bath, and the smaller of those is rented for $700 while the larger is rented for $800. The room with the private bath is rented for $800 also (to a military guy like you mentioned).
ALSO, we pay for all utilities and provide all shared supplies (cleaning supplies, pans, utensils, trash bags, etc). So be sure to think about that when you are analyzing.
We are -$500/month to -$1200/month while we live here (depending on capex/repairs), and we are occupying the whole basement So it is definitely cheaper than rent in our case. When we move out, we will be right around break even, but over time our projections predict mega-cash flow. Also, I think we are going to add a room, so we will make instant cash-flow in that case.
Let me know if you have any questions!
@Miller McSwain - congrats on this man! Sounds like a great deal. Living in the basement sounds like a great idea! The upstairs of these homes I am see are typically huge. Two questions if you don't mind me asking:
- Do you mind me asking WHEN you purchased your home?
- When you are running your house hack numbers, do you include everything like CAPEX, maintenance, etc.? Seems like you have been
Thanks so much!
Quote from @Jordan Malara:
@Robert Durden on average, your estimate per room is about right - $750. Master bedrooms with a masterbath suite can get more and separate basements can earn you more as well. You usually need a 5 bedroom house in decent condition to make the numbers work as best as possible.
The other option I would recommend considering is finding a SFH with a walk-out basement or exterior access to the basement so you can operate a STR out of it. This strategy has netted us the greatest house hacking revenue in the area, especially if you combine it with renting out additional bedrooms in the other part of the home.
@Jordan Malara - thank you so much for this detail, it is super helpful! I am fine living in anything so renting out a master bedroom sounds like a great idea.
I hadn't thought of the combo 'room by room' house hack AND an STR in the basement, that's a great idea! Does your walk-out basement have a door at the back of the house or the front? I am from a city where if (and when) a house has one, it is always in the front.
@Robert Durden Depending on where in the area you buy, some homes have walk-out basements and some have rear entrances. Two of our homes have rear entrances that required us to add a wall and door to section of the upstairs and downstairs. This is a relatively simple and cheap addition that would turn a 1 unit house into a 2 unit house.
Quote from @Robert Durden:
Quote from @Miller McSwain:
Hey Robert, I am currently rent-by-room house hacking in Colorado Springs! Similar to you, I also found that RbR SFH made more cash-flow sense than small multi-family.
We are renting 3 rooms in our 5bd house. 2 of the rooms share a bath, and the smaller of those is rented for $700 while the larger is rented for $800. The room with the private bath is rented for $800 also (to a military guy like you mentioned).
ALSO, we pay for all utilities and provide all shared supplies (cleaning supplies, pans, utensils, trash bags, etc). So be sure to think about that when you are analyzing.
We are -$500/month to -$1200/month while we live here (depending on capex/repairs), and we are occupying the whole basement So it is definitely cheaper than rent in our case. When we move out, we will be right around break even, but over time our projections predict mega-cash flow. Also, I think we are going to add a room, so we will make instant cash-flow in that case.
Let me know if you have any questions!
@Miller McSwain - congrats on this man! Sounds like a great deal. Living in the basement sounds like a great idea! The upstairs of these homes I am see are typically huge. Two questions if you don't mind me asking:
- Do you mind me asking WHEN you purchased your home?
- When you are running your house hack numbers, do you include everything like CAPEX, maintenance, etc.? Seems like you have been
Thanks so much!
I bought in April 2022, so the market was more competitive than now and interest rates were lower. My purchase price was $460k and interest rate was 4.8%.
I definitely included capex and maintenance in my analysis!
@Jordan Malara - great intel, ty!
@Miller McSwain thank you sir!