All Forum Posts by: Ben Einspahr

Thank you for sharing @James Carlson. I filled out the survey and recommend others do the same.

@Patricia Berman, yes Denver does have a lot of restrictions which can make STR's a difficult long term business plan. Great plan B is MTRs and still using the airbnb platform.

With todays current market conditions, investing in Denver with cashflow as the goal is not a great business move right now unfortunately. It is very difficult to cashflow in the Denver Metro, but can definitely still be done. However, the real longterm wealth will be made from the other 3 quadrants (appreciation, depreciation, and debt pay down)!

You have struck the nail on the head. With rentals a quick drive away, the "I might as well just take care of it myself" mindset is very easy to fall into... coming from personal experience :)

Saw you are writing a book on leverage. Excited to read it after it is published.

Keep on crushing it!

@Serge Pedroza, most of my STR specific cleaners have been found though networking and right here in the BP forums. The most recent cleaner I connected with was while I was on a walk around my neighborhood. Some someone pulled cleaning supplies out of their car and I just simply asked if they were taking on more clients :)

Quick tip. Cleaners can make or break our STR. Send them a small gift card for their birthday and Christmas to show your appreciation. Does not matter what part of the business you are in, its a people business.

For handyman, I use task rabbit. After you have built a good relationship with someone off the app, you can typically work directly with them to save some money.  

I'll shoot you a message with some great people to reach out to.

@Patricia Berman, that is very impressive you have some STR investment properties out of state. Nice work! My STR's are in the Denver Metro Area. I would say it is more metro area area than vacation. 50% of people staying are here for vacation. Other half are here for work, looking for housing, and to see family. Why are you giving up on the CO REI market :) ?

@Patricia Berman, really great advise all around. It is easy to tell you know your stuff. The only thing I would respectfully disagree on is that "STR's are not as easy as some people want you to believe to operate". They are not easy by all means but with only a few systems set in place (STR specific cleaner, auto messaging, keyless entry), they are not that much work to self manage. Then again, "easy" is a relative term depending on who it is coming from :) Once you get past 4 or 5, yes it can be a lot of work. But for context, all of my STR's have been smaller 1 bed/1 baths. Not entire homes.

Golden is a great area!

One of the main things to keep in mind when thinking about purchasing a tri-plex or quad to House Hack is the FHA self sufficiency test.

FHA self sufficiency test defined as: You need to prove that 75% of the rental income you're likely to receive will exceed the full monthly mortgage payment.

For Denver market, to make that work you will need to put more money down and by that point you might as well buy it as an investment property. 

Just listened to this podcast @Chris Lopez. Really helpful having a lender on these podcasts.

Read through your Colorado Springs Investing Guide. Excited to 1031 some of my equity in Denver down to the Springs. 

Great market update @Chris Lopez!  K.I.S.S. Econ 101 Supply vs. Demand.

All of the spreadsheets showing previous deals (house hacks) in todays market conditions were very helpful. Thank you for putting this all together.

Welcome @Christine Lindsay
Denver is an excellent market to invest in plus it is in your own back yard. If it has not already been mentioned in this thread, House Hacking would be a great strategy to start off with to start your REI journey.

One thing you mentioned is cash flow. Keep in mind cashflow is not everything. That is only one very small piece of the pie. (Cash flow, Appreciation, Depreciation, and dept pay down)

I just finished a report with various house hack case studies for Denver with the new higher interest rate environment. I'll shoot you a DM so you can take a look. It should give you a good foundation for the current market.

Thanks

@Alex Mounivong, thank you for your services. Multifamily house hacking is definitely possible but just a little more challenging due to low inventory and most will take some work to get up to speed. Reason we see more single family house hacks is b/c they are more affordable and more favorable from a pier cash on cash return.

To answer your question about where and how to find the properties, 99% of our house hacks closed were found directly off the MLS. I will send you a DM with more specifics.

If you are a fan of diving deep into the numbers like I am, here are details of some clients that recently purchased some great single family house hacks that still have the privacy of a duplex. (New build town home Airbnb, and Cap Hill House Hack).