All Forum Posts by: Brian Armstrong

@David Hooper You're right that it's impossible to find 20-30% discounts on the MLS in Fort Collins (and most/all of Northern Colorado). I'm in the process of stabilizing my investment properties and I'm not acquiring at the moment but I do know people who are driving for dollars and/or sending direct mail.
If you're looking to hire repairs and take every penny back out when you refi you'd likely have to get an even steeper discount than 30% ... and in NoCo people know the market is hot and aren't willing to part with that much equity unless the circumstances are dire and you can provide a win-win scenario (quick close if that's what they need, all cash, etc.). 
If BRRRR is your only strategy in NoCo you'll have to be awfully creative!
Successful Investing,
Brian

@Nathan Patterson It's been at least a year since I've been to ICOR - they were a great springboard to help me get started. Nothing like being in a room with 100 other people with the same focus, going the same direction you are! It creates great energy and they have great info. 
Successful investing!

Welcome Michael! 
There are a few great groups. I live up in Fort Collins and attend Northern Colorado Real Estate Investment Group (NCREIG). It's a great community, taught by super knowledgeable people for free! NCREIG meets weekly. Investment Community of the Rockies (ICOR) has a Northern, Denver, and Co Springs branch which would be more local for you and I believe they meet once a month. Best of luck as you begin!

Hi Jeff! I like your idea about converting the single family into a duplex. I live in Fort Collins as well and have seen some properties that would be great candidates for this but you'll want to check city zoning to see if they'll allow it. For many places the city won't issue a permit to legally turn the property into a duplex so if that's your only exit/cashflow strategy I'd be sure of zoning before you purchase! :) Otherwise the city can fine you $1,000/day if you're breaking occupancy laws. Best of luck!

I agree with @James Orr both on renter's preference of gas as well as safety. As an independent insurance agent I also see higher homeowner premiums with wood burning fireplaces. Hope that helps your decision!

I bought it a few years ago when foreclosures were still all the rage - in fact it was a foreclosure! I learned a lot of lessons between buying a foreclosure and multi-family all in one. The most important was to test the major systems: my property had a boiler room where all the copper was removed and the HVAC company didn't air test the lines so we found over 300+ leaks INSIDE the complex which naturally made for lots of drywall repair too. 

Basic Numbers were: Purchased for $240K with 5% down; rents at $700/unit originally plus garage rent; 2 beds, 1.5 baths each; townhome style. I had to paint, and put new flooring in basically everywhere. I've since updated many of the bathroom vanities and commodes. I also had to replace the main gas line from the street to the building (for the new boiler I installed) which cost just under $10K.

Major lessons: Vet contractors; screen tenants extremely well; don't allow security deposit to be financed; buy property in NoCo as soon as possible - it's treated me very well.

Regarding the (financing) step after my 4plex: I think I was unclear above, my apologies. Forget everything I said after BRRRR. You likely won't be able to get two, back-to-back, owner occupied loans for 4plexes in a row. This isn't a detail to get hung up on but if you have specific questions, I suggest you talk to you lender.

I agree with @James Orr when he says to act now! Or as Mark Twain says, "Don't wait to buy real estate - buy real estate and wait!" Go after a deal that makes sense and if it's multi-family, all the better! 

Best of luck and take action soon!

My first 4plex I bought as an owner occupant. At the time I was able to get FHA 5% down financing. It's a great way to House Hack or even BRRRR ... though my mortgage guys tell me buying a second 4plex as owner occ might be tough; they suggested moving down to a duplex after that to have six units in two purchases.

Feel free to contact me with any specific questions! 

Hey @Brannan Davis, welcome! 

Come check out the Northern Colorado Real Estate Investment Group (NCREIG) on Wednesday nights from 6-8 for some amazing free teaching and fantastic networking. Be sure to leave some time for 'the class after the class' for your networking :) I've been going for about two  years and can't believe the value they give!

Hi @Earl McFarland - NCREIG meets every Wednesday from 6-8. Check out the meetup site and make sure to rsvp. Some of the classes are overflowing with people ... you can also check out the topics there. I've been extremely surprised with some of the titles that I didn't think applied to me and my situation and walked away super thankful that I attended and came away with great nuggets of practical wisdom. Every class I've been to is phenomenal. 

Make sure to keep time for the "class after the class" too - people stick around and dive into current needs/wants/tips/tricks/conversation that is just as powerful as the class.

There's also a Thursday night class that focuses on a specific method of real estate investing called "Nomad". Basically you buy a house, move in and live there for a year. At the end of the year you buy another house and move into it, while keeping the first as a rental. Repeating that process for ten years you can outpace virtually any other investment and end up with a very high net worth. (I think this is one of the methods BP calls "House Hacking".) Stop by on a Wed or Thurs and the guy that teaches the class even wrote a book he'll give you for free detailing the whole process with charts, graphs and actual conservative examples of how practical this strategy is. 

Hi @Derik S.,

I'm also in Fort Collins and I'm part of Northern Colorado Real Estate Investment Group (NCREIG). We meet Wednesday evenings from about 6-8 at the Fort Collins Board of Realtors office off Drake. Rather than try to explain good vs bad neighborhoods on here why don't you swing by and check out NCREIG? It's free too! 

@Account Closed is right on the money as she hints at finding your own investor identity before you find a particular neighborhood. Some people like student rentals, some people hate them. Some love short term (VRBO/Air B-n-B) and some people can't stand them. Investing has more to do with you than a particular neighborhood. 

Start thinking about things like:

-What's more important to you - monthly cashflow or long term appreciation?

-Would you rather deal with students or families?

-Are you more comfortable with single family residences or do plexes appeal to you more?

As you start putting these on a continuum and force yourself to choose A or B it helps begin to form your investor identity. This might change over time - as you get into one class of building/tenant you might discover you love it more than you could have imagined or you might figure out you'd rather navigate mall traffic at Christmas. 

Swing by NCREIG - there are a lot of great people, it's taught by some super smart people, and there are tons of resources from people who are current active investors!

Cheers!