All Forum Posts by: Ben Einspahr

@Darien Miller-Gowan, Yes you can take HELOC our on your primary to purchase new primary. But, I question is the juice worth the squeeze? You will need maybe 40-50k max to purchase new primary house hack. Are you able to do that with your house as is? Adding a room or 2 will be worth it from a post move out rental prospective, but I would not go converting garage into room. That will cost you twice as much as purchasing a new primary when it comes down to permitting + costs

Also, have you started looking to see how your primary will act as a rental? Ill send you some resources that will help.

@Jerome Jong If this was a small multi (2-4 units), I would be all for it. But a 24 unit is a lot to chew off being your first time self-managing. There is a huge difference between what a book says and executing in reality. Also you briefly touched on compliance with laws. Leave that up to someone that does it professionally. Especially with a little one on the way (congrats!). 

@Charles Frazier Welcome to the forums! $150k is a little on the low end if you are wanting to purchase an investment property + furnish in the Denver Metro Area. Having to put 25%+ as a downpayment will be very tight leaving you in a price point that would require a significant amount of updates. If you plan on staying there at least 14 days out of the year, you can put down as low as 10% using a second home loan. Worth looking into. 

Additionally, there are pros and cons investing in each. The only area that is still allowing STRs as investment properties in Wheat Ridge is "district III". T (check out this link). There is a waiting list for the rest. Coming from someone that has STRs in both Wheat Ridge and Arvada, I have noticed that supply has seemed to outpace demand over that past year or so. 

Investing in Arvada/ Wheat Ridge can be nice because it is your own backyard which can help decrease some of the PM costs. If you are leaning towards investing in mountain towns, you will need to lean on a good realtor like @Stacy Rozansky that can bring that team to the table for you. Best of Luck!

No, I was in your same situation. Transferred it into LLC after the operating agreement was creased and LLC set up.

@Viktor Singh it does not need to be a business account. For my rentals, I just open up a standard checking account and have all expense and income go through it. Really helps break it out as a business from my personal expenses. Hope this helps.

@Farshid Faww. Good job being proactive and following up with your forums post. Sounds like you are making the llc and trust a road block from making progress any progress. 

Why do you want an llc or trust? asset protection? any good lawyer will tell you that good insurance is the best first line of defense this early on.

Here are some action items to help move you forward:  

  1. Let everyone know what market you are interested in so we can give local recommendations. Keep it simple. Might be worth stating a new post and tagging that market so investors in that market will get the notification and chime in and plenty of eager agents and lenders wanting to help you out.

  3. After you post the market you want to invest in, connect with a investment friendly real estate agent and lender. A good agent will typically provide you with a good lender. (

4. call that lender, let him/her know what you are wanting to do and see much you can qualify for and what the financing looks like. This will require pre-approval. Will be a good reality check.

post back and let us know how it goes. 

@Garet Gavito Denver is an excellent place to invest but $40k downpayment will not go too far with the minimum downpayment for investment property. I would recommend checking out Norther CO (North of the E-470 loop) and Pueblo. Yes pueblo :) As Colorado Springs prices increase, investors are moving further south.

With this being your first investment plus being OOS, I would highly recommend KISS avoiding heavy renovations. 

Next would be building your team. Find yourself a good RE agent that is familiar with investment properties and have a couple of their own, they will bring you the rest of the team. 

Here is my rule of thumb for Team:

Tier 1: Investment Friendly RE Agent and Lender

Tier 2: PM, Handyman, Title, Insurance, Legal, etc.

Best of luck

@Dillon Heinaman There are definitely some pro's and con's when using an FHA loan that I will not dive into. Just know that traditional conventional 30 year fix are still a great option. Also look into the 2/1 buy down.

I would second your investing criteria but with a few edits. 4+ bed home with 2200 or greater sqft. Higher inventory than mult's. You will typically be able to add additional rooms for very low cost. Rent by the room. Would not get caught up on the ADU.

What is your business plan after moving out? Depending on city rules and regs, you can not rent out ADU separately for main portion of the home unless it is your primary. Keep in mind that the numbers after moving out are more important then while living here.

@Michael Leccese pretty general question. Can you clarify with more details? My quick answer is the MLS.

Hi @Stephania Ramirez, I love the idea house hacking a condo or townhome. Mainly due to lower acquisition costs and they turn into great rentals after moving out!

As already mentioned, HOA health and restrictions play a big factor. But finding a good investor friendly agent will help you navigate those.

One thing that was not mentioned is utilities. All depending on the HOA, some utilities after covered into the HOA payment. After moving out, make sure that costs gets covered by the tenants or billed back. Will help with rental income.

Best of Luck!