All Forum Posts by: Ben Einspahr

@Kevin Brown, coming from someone that is in the construction industry as well, I love your ambition to reestablish a family contracting business with your end goal of being a builder/real estate developer. Any one of @Jeff White strategies listed above will help build you a financial runway to achieve that end goal of yours. Maybe house hacking a single family home with 4+ rooms is not what you initially had in mind, but it will help greatly reduce some of your fixed expenses to move forward to you next step being a real estate developer.

I highly recommend looking into Jeff's 3rd strategy he mentioned- buying a single family home with an ADU or with the potential of adding an ADU (that's where your construction background will come in handy). So you will be living in a SFR but will feel like a duplex.

That is what my wife and I did in Arvada! We bought a SFR with a mother-in-law suite above the attached garage. The MIL was a little outdated so we completely updated the whole thing because we know we wanted to Airbnb it. That is where my construction background came in handy.

Some of the home transitions and remodels I have seen very close to where I live is:

• Basements with either walk out or walk up exits have small kitchenette's and bathrooms installed so it can be rented out separately, therefore acting as a duplex.
• This one is a bit more challenging but I also have seen garages get turned into ADU's as well.

If you do decide to go down this road, it could create 3 things:

• Decrease your living expenses because your tenants will be paying your rent.
• All of the hard work you have put in will help force some excellent sweat equity.
• By marketing some good before and after photos could start some foot traffic to that construction company you are wanting to kick off.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing your future success stories in the BP Forums.

Ben

@Amanda Young, I am glad you enjoyed the first episode of our new house hacking masterminds series! I am really excited to help build the house hacking community in Denver. 

We purchased our house hack in Arvada, about a mile northwest of Old Town. House Hacking is definitely achievable with little ones running around. Having a separate entrance or ADU was a necessity in order to get my wife on board. Others may disagree, but I do not feel like they are a unicorn in Denver. Once you narrow down the location you want to invest, develop an understanding of the inventory so when something new pops up on the market you can jump on it quickly.

When we were searching, we narrowed down our location to Arvada'ish area because its close to my wifes work and great area to raise a family. We were searching for a little over a month looking at properties about ever weekend before finding the one we currently have. 

@Mike Paisley

I am currently house hacking in Arvada. My wife and I love the area.

Keep in mind, it is not necessarily a deal breaker if your rental income is not covering 100% of your mortgage. After all expenses you are out $500/month, that is still a win in my book. More importantly focus on number after you move out.

If you are planning on repeating the process again and again, your first HH does not need to be a home run. Its important to get your foot in the door vs. sitting on the sidelines for 6 months looking for the "perfect investment". By getting creative and sacrificing a little of you living space you can make just about any 4+ bed SFR work.

Best of luck!

@Joe Wang, I would have to second @Amanda Young recommendation and reach out to Chris Lopez and his team. He helped my wife and I purchase our first house hack with a mother-in-law suite above the attached garage. We absolutely love it. Through the principles he taught us, in 2021 we will purchase a second house hack and turn our current property into a renal. 

Additionally, his website has great free education content focused specifically on the Denver Market. I would recommend watching his deal analysis videos that dive deep into the numbers of his clients he has helped find investment properties for.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Best of luck!

Welcome to BP @Justin Bourn! I am a huge fan of house hacking. My wife and I just landed our first house hack April 2019 in Arvada CO. We absolutely love it and plan on jumping into our second mid 2021 which was, at the time, beginning of peak buying season. Once you dial in the area you are set on, know the inventory so when something new properties pop up on the MLS, your are able to jump on it quickly and put an offer in. Ours came on the market on a Thursday evening. We offered Friday around noon along with 3-4 other offers over asking price. What set our offer above the competition was that we could close in less than 10 business days. Something to consider when searching for a lender to get approved.

The agent we used was an investor himself and specialized in house hacking clients like me and you. They are awesome at it! They also have website full of free content including blogs, podcasts, and analyzing spreadsheets that are very helpful. What got my wife and I really over that hump was watching his youtube “deal analysis” videos that dive deep into the numbers of former clients they found house hacks for.

Here is the link if interested:

https://www.denverinvestmentrealestate.com/

Feel free to PM me if you have any further questions or want to discuss the house hack we currently have.

Best of Luck!

Hi @Casey Helmick! I live in Colorado and know the feeling all too well! There is so much information out there that we over analyse everything and spend countless hours reading and listening to podcasts educating. Before you know it, a year goes by and no actionable or measurable steps have been taking. It also does not help that Denver is one of the most competitive and expensive markets out there.

Luckily my wife and I stumbled across house hacking. It is a very achievable 1st step to getting your foot in the door with real estate investing and being a active landlord. We landed our first Denver House Hack April of 2019 and we ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!! We plan on diving into a second one in late 2021 and turning our current house hack into a full time rental.

There are some very reliable realtors out there that are specialized in this unique type of investing. I would have never been able to get my wife onboard with real estate investing w/out there help.

Feel free to reach out if you would like more information or to hear more about our house hack process and financials.

Best of luck

Ben

@Mateo Steele. You are still able to attain your privacy factor you are looking for w/o going the multifamily route. My wife and I just landed our first Denver House Hack about a year ago during prime buying season. W/in a hour of running financials I realized multifamily was not the route nor could we afford it.

I agree with you 100% on the privacy factor. I am married and the only way I was able to get my wife on board was no shared living space with tenants. For a few months every weekend we were touring every walk out and/or walk-up basement we could find. We were able to land a perfect 4 bed/3 bath with a attached mother-in-law suite above the garage that we could house hack and we absolutely love it. We are not cash flowing every month but owning a home in Denver with a mortgage under $500/month is a win in my book.  

Like @Craig Curelop said, be creative and look to create deals that others look past. Your first one does not need to be a slam dunk.

Feel free to reach out if you want to chat in more detail.

Best of luck

Ben

@Kendra Levy, no this was not a brrrr. The mother-in-law suite above my garage was livable but a little outdated. I was doing a short term rental through Airbnb, I wanted everything updated and flashy. 

That’s great to hear you plan to repeat the process again in a year or 2. Looking forward to hearing more success stories of yours. 

We have that same challenge in Denver, CO. I would have to second @Conn G. about renting by the room. You would be surprised how many young professionals are interested in renting out a single room with a shared living space.

If you are wanting more privacy and willing to sacrifice a little less rental income, you may also consider SFR w/ walk out or walk up basements where you are able to add a small kitchen to. When I was searching for my first house hack, I noticed quickly that there was very little inventory of multi-units and they were all well outside my outside my price range. We ended up finding a perfect SFR with a mother-in-law suite above an attached garage with a separate entrance.

Excellent work @Kendra Levy!!! This looks like an excellent investment to set you up for long term financial freedom! Does the basement have a separate entrance? My wife and I have a house hack in Arvada and absolutely love it. On the flip side, doing all the rehab work ourselves after work during the weekdays and every weekend, not so much haha

Do you plan on eventually moving out into another house hack and turning this one into a rental?