All Forum Posts by: Ben Einspahr

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment in Arvada.

Purchase price: $435,000
Cash invested: $32,000

This is a house hack purchased in April of 2019. This property was a 4 bed/ 3 bath (main lvl= 3bed/2bath and separate mother-in-law suite above garage= 1bed/1bath)
While living there for we operated the M.I.L. as an airbnb and lived in in the main lvl.
After moving out in February of 2021 on to House Hack #2, we rented the main lvl out to a family on a 24 month lease and turned the M.I.L from a STR to Furnished MTR for traveling nurses and your professionals. They make excellent tenants!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

At the time (late 2018, early 2019) I was looking to get out of renting rabbit hole as well as get my foot in the door in the competitive Denver real estate market. House Hacking was a win-win. The challenge was getting my wife on board. Only way to make this work was to find a SFH with separate dwelling unit so we had our own living space and privacy. All of the multi-units out there were over priced and needed a lot rehab. This house was the perfect fit!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This property was right off the MLS. Came on the market on a Thursday. We saw it Friday morning. Offered that day. There were 3 other offers on the table. Our real estate agent with suggested we do a quick close (my memory is a little fuzzy but I believe we closed in just over 2 weeks). That was the deciding factor that got us under contract. Not the offer that was $5,000 over our asking price. That is the benefit of having an investment friendly agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Nothing fancy here. 5% down, conventional, 30 year fixed.

How did you add value to the deal?

Main lvl was 100% remodeled so no work was needed there. The M.I.L suite was a bit out dated. We wanted to go with the airbnb route so we remodeled kitchen and bathroom. Total rehab and furnishing cost was +/- $5000. All labor was self-preformed by my wife and I. Rehab took about 2.5 months
Rental comps in M.I.l as is on 12 month lease were $1,100/month.
Airbnb comps in M.I.L after update was +/- $1,800.

What was the outcome?

Average mortgage payment through out the whole time we were house hacking was around $500. Our mortgage was not 100% paid for but it was still a hug win. With the decreased fixed expenses, this property was able to snowball me into house hack #2 that was purchased February 2021.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Rehab will always be more expensive and take much longer than expected. When you run into a challenge, someone else out there has ran into that same challenge and probably also made a video about it too!! Youtube is a great thing!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Chris Lopez and the Envision Advisors have their process dialed in from their market specific podcasts, deal analyzing spreadsheets, and investor friendly agents. 5 out of 5 stars.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment in Arvada.

Purchase price: $435,000
Cash invested: $32,000

This is a house hack purchased in April of 2019. This property was a 4 bed/ 3 bath (main lvl= 3bed/2bath and separate mother-in-law suite above garage= 1bed/1bath)
While living there for we operated the M.I.L. as an airbnb and lived in in the main lvl. We also rented out one of the room on the main lvl to family member for just under a year. Win Win!!!

After moving out in February of 2021 on to House Hack #2, we rented the main lvl out to a family on a 24 month lease and turned the M.I.L for a STR to a MTR. MTR being furnished rental from anywhere between 1 month stays to 6 month stays. We focus on using platforms such as Furnished Finder and Kopa to rent to traveling nurses and young professionals. They make great tenants!

Numbers reflect both while living there and after moving out.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

At the time (late 2018, early 2019) I was looking to get out of renting rabbit hole as well as get my foot in the door in the competitive Denver real estate market. House Hacking was a win-win. The challenge was getting my wife on board. Only way to make this work was to find a SFH with separate dwelling unit so we had our own living space and privacy. All of the multi-units out there were over priced and needed a lot rehab. This house was the perfect fit!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This property was right off the MLS. Came on the market on a Thursday. We saw it Friday morning. Offered that day. There were 3 other offers on the table. Our real estate agent with suggested we do a quick close (my memory is a little fuzzy but I believe we closed in just over 2 weeks). That was the deciding factor that got us under contract. Not the offer that was $5,000 over our asking price. That is the benefit of having an investment friendly agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Nothing fancy here. 5% down, conventional, 30 year fixed.

How did you add value to the deal?

Main lvl was 100% remodeled so no work was needed there. The M.I.L suite was a bit out dated. We wanted to go with the airbnb route so we remodeled kitchen and bathroom. Total rehab and furnishing cost was +/- $5000. All labor was self-preformed by my wife and I. Rehab took about 2.5 months
Rental comps in M.I.l as is on 12 month lease were $1,100/month.
Airbnb comps in M.I.L after update was +/- $1,800.

What was the outcome?

Average mortgage payment through out the whole time we were house hacking was around $500. Our mortgage was not 100% paid for but it was still a hug win. With the decreased fixed expenses, this property was able to snowball me into house hack #2 that was purchased February 2021.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Rehab will always be more expensive and take much longer than expected. When you run into a challenge, someone else out there has ran into that same challenge and probably also made a video about it too!! Youtube is a great thing!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Chris Lopez and the Envision Advisors have their process dialed in from their market specific podcasts, deal analyzing spreadsheets, and investor friendly agents. 5 out of 5 stars.

@Jon Michael Patterson, congrats on the new investment property. Coming from a local house hacker (Arvada/Wheat Ridge), being a savvy investor like yourself and partnering up with the investor friendly realtor, you should have no problem finding a SFH House Hack that will give you that sweet spot between privacy and enough income.

On the topic of ADU's, I personally do not feel the juice is worth the squeeze. @Chris Lopez and the Envision Team did an terrific job diving deep into the numbers, planning, design, and permitting ADU's back in2019. Check it out here!

You do not need that ADU to give you your privacy and help offset that pricy mortgage everybody loves. I am right there with you and agree that house hacking by renting by the room is not for everyone, especially with a wife and daughter like myself.

There are SFH's out there that are already set up for what you are looking for with a mother-in-law suite in a walk-up/walk-out basement or even above an existing garage. Depending on the area you choose to invest, operating a is short term rental (airbnb) out of that separate living space is where you will get the most bang for your buck. Be sure to check local rules and regulations first.

Best of Luck!!!!

@Allemreh A. Smith-Daniels

Welcome! I know this sounds like an echo but I am going to second both  @Jeff White and @James Carlson. They know their stuff! Even better, all of the types of properties mentioned above can be easily found right off the MLS with just a few search filters vs. going through wholesaler trying to find off market deals. Some builders are even jumping onboard and building town homes that are set up ready to house hack!

Best of luck!! 

@Justin Bourn

Just going back on some old forums. Looks like this was a productive post that led to your first House Hack as well as featured on a podcast too!!!

Nice work!

Hello @Ashley Tulare! You have reached out to the right people. I am currently on HH#2 and have used Castle & Cooke Mortgage for both of them. I highly recommend their services as they are very familiar with savvy investors like yourself. The only reason I was able to get my foot in the door with my first HH in Arvada is b/c of their suggestion of a quick close. Put my offer in front of the 3 others.

Also, I have heard nothing but great things about the Bank of America Grant Program. You have the potential to get up to $10,000 towards your down payment and $7,500 that will go towards closing costs. However, there is certain criteria you need to meet to qualify and I know a couple local investors that have successfully used it. Personally, I have not so that is as far as my knowledge goes but it is definitely worth looking into!

Best of luck!!

Great explanation and info!! @James Carlson

@Jim Stanley, Check out Airdna.co. That is a great tool for running comps for similar properties to yours. It will give you average nightly rate along with monthly occupancy rate.

Before I started Airbnb’ing my property in Arvada, I had the same concern with my neighbors you did and ended up doing the same exact thing James mentioned above- I talked to all my surrounding neighbor and explained to them my intentions of operating an Airbnb in the mother-in-law suite above my garage. Most importantly, I gave them my cell to contact me ASAP if there were any issues with parking or noise. However, this was for a 1 bed/1bath. Not an 5 bed/ 2.5 bath.

If you do decide to go the STR or MTR route, I have a cleaner I have used for about 3 year- super affordable. She covers areas from Arvada to Aurora and even down to Littleton.

Feel free to shoot me a message if you would like my cleaners contact info.

Cheers

Hi @Alexa Ferguson, This is a great post. Thank your for sharing. I am seeing the same for my properties in Wheat Ridge and Arvada. I have an Airbnb in my primary residence here in Wheat ridge and only available dates are a few Tuesdays and Wednesdays hear and there and some weeks I purposely block to have family and close friends come stay and visit (the beauty of STR's ability block out certain days out of the month vs LTR's). When I started filling up over 2 months out, I realized my nightly rates are a bit too low. I also have a furnished MTR (1-6 months) in Arvada that I operate through Furnished Finder and Kopa. Current lease ends 8/31 and did not have any trouble having new lease in place starting 9/1.

@Nakota Crow My rental in Arvada was an Airbnb when we lived there as a house hack and I definitely experienced seasonality. This was pre-covid. Winters were much slower than summer but was still able to maintain a high'ish (>80% occupancy rate, just at much less of a nightly rate. $70/night vs. $95/night for 1 bed/ 1/bath 600sf mother-in-law suite. 2021 is a much different story. Demand is very high right now!

Travis Jacobi. Went to college with him. Owner of H2 Construction. Great honest guy. He is not on BP but his number is 402-871-9476

Welcome @Jullian Keller!! Glad to see you have a wealth of investors looking to network. I personally got my real estate bug through House Hacking. My wife and I absolutely love it! It is an excellent strategy you get your foot in the door in an expensive real estate market with low money down and an opportunity to take a stab at Landlording.

I personally have a mixed portfolio of out of state rentals (Nebraska) and house hacks/turned rentals in the Arvada/ Wheat Ridge area. Would love to connect to hear what some of your long term goals are with RE.

Also, big congrats on graduating college!!  I have got my degree in the construction industry as well.

Cheers