All Forum Posts by: Bridget Brazelton

Hey Sean! Welcome to Denver. I grew up in Washington and moved here from the Seattle area, too. Much like the Seattle metro area, there are so many different neighborhoods and areas that it's hard to summarize or recommend one without knowing more about what you're looking for. But if you ever want to chat, feel free to message or call. We can discuss whether Aurora is like Tacoma, and why Sloane's Lake is like Green Lake in 2006. And welcome...I hope you enjoy the sunshine here as much as I do :)

Hey Ryan,

I'd be happy to do a CMA on it if you want to message me the address. And, I actually know someone looking for a duplex in that area, so we should chat!

Bridget

@Eric Shiva

So much of the best way to get started depends on your personal goals. Some people want maximum appreciation in 20 years, whereas other people want cash flow in the near term.

You’ll find that a lot of us got started in investing with a good ole’ house hack, and that’s something I would highly recommend you consider. Reducing or completely eliminating your housing expenses, while gaining equity and having other people pay off your mortgage, is an extremely powerful way to springboard yourself towards your second investment!

Hey Erandi,

A lot of this depends on how much equity you have in your home, the costs to refi, what you have saved up already and what you can qualify for. I’m happy to give you an opinion and help you strategize if you need help. DM me if you want to talk!

Hey @Mark Cermak, I’m always looking to participate in more local investing meetups. Sign me up! 

@Shedrick Boyd, I'll shoot you a message. So much of what the right move is depends on your goals. But, if we work backwards from where you want to go and what you might be able to qualify for to start with, I'm happy to help you strategize.

@Shedrick Boyd, yes, HOA dues can be all over the board. I think sometimes it depends on amenities. Buildings with things like pools, gyms, or front desks tend to have higher fees to cover those costs. Other times, buildings will set their HOA dues too low for a number of years and their cash reserves begin to deplete. When they realize they're in trouble, they pump up the HOA dues pretty high in order to scrounge up the cash to fix and maintain things. That may be the case with the example you gave above.

So, Airbnb in Denver is a delicate dance. It must be your primary residence in order to get your short term rental license, but people make that work in a number of ways. I have a friend who posts his house on Airbnb and stays at a friend's house when his place is rented. Other people might have a 2 bedroom condo and list 1 bedroom on Airbnb (This strategy isn't for everyone, but I know people who have done it and made lifelong friends with some of their guests). Another strategy is to buy a place with a basement apartment and Airbnb one half and live in the other. Or if you can swing a place with an ADU you can live in the ADU and Airbnb the house, or vice versa. Most of the Denver metro area has these primary residence restrictions (exceptions being Arvada and Littleton, but there are still rules to be aware of there as well).

Hey @Shedrick Boyd,

@Emily Martorano is correct about short term rentals in the City of Denver needing to be your primary residence. However, a lot of people find success in medium term condo rentals (ex: traveling nurses on a 3 month contract). These leases typically bring in higher rent than long-term leases but are longer than 30 days so they aren't governed by short-term rental restrictions.

I think that condos are becoming more interesting in Denver. The pandemic encouraged an outflux of people from downtown to less populated areas and a lot of condos have been sitting longer than before or even dropping in price. Things that I would encourage you to look at when investing in a condo include:

1) Know the HOA's policy on renting units: A lot of buildings have caps on how many of the units can be rentals at one time, and require a certain percentage to be owner occupied. If the rental list is full, they have waiting lists to be able to rent out your unit. Your agent should get this information for you, but if not, make sure to ask about any and all rental restrictions. It'd be a real bummer to buy a condo and then find out you can't lease it out!

2) Investigate the HOA's financial health: Low HOA dues can make your numbers look great when you're analyzing a deal, but if the HOA dues are suspiciously low, it could indicate that the building isn't collecting enough money to properly maintain the building. This shows up in either deferred maintenance or special assessments down the road. You should be able to get information on current cash reserves, etc., to make sure they're planning for the future.

Those pointers seem negative, but I don't mean them to be. Just do your due diligence! Many HOA's are very well run. Condos have great upsides, too. There's so much less maintenance that you need to be planning for and responsible for since you only own what's inside the walls of your unit. You don't have to worry about landscaping on a property, etc.. Some people build big portfolios of condos and swear by them for these reasons.

Hey Caleb,

@Jeff White covered the bases pretty well. I think that considering your exit strategy when investing in Airbnb properties in the Denver metro is really important, given the prolific primary residence restrictions. Even in places like Arvada, that are currently more investor friendly as Jeff mentioned, there are still restrictions to consider such as only being able to Airbnb an investment property for 240 nights per year. If you run the numbers in advance and it cash flows when you move out (as a medium or longterm rental), and you can maximize your cash flow while you're living there by using it as a shortterm rental, it's a win-win.

I've seen several people find a lot of success with this strategy. One of my friends in the Sunnyside neighborhood does what you're proposing, but flipped (lives upstairs and Airbnb's the basement apartment). I think that the pandemic has given a lot of people pause about starting an Airbnb, but most owners I know in the Denver area say they're as busy as ever. Last Spring, they almost all say that their calendars were suddenly filled with cancellations. A few of my friends in the Highlands and Boulder turned their Airbnbs into medium or longterm rentals, but those who stuck with STR say their booking calendars started filling right back up, oftentimes with newfound remote workers. Vacancy is so dependent on price/value, location, etc., but I guess my point is that even in such a strange year, people are still finding success with Airbnb, especially in catering to this new, mobile workforce (desks, fast internet, etc!). Whereas before I would have suggested all of the neighborhoods near the restaurants and bars, I would now also recommend properties further west towards outdoor recreation hotspots.

@Jeff White, that's great news! There were 152 members of the public speaking at the meeting last night. I listened to the first 5 hours of comments but by 11PM the debate was still going strong....

@Matt M., the city says that most of the properties governed under Chapter 59 zoning are in pockets with site specific development plans or had custom zoning. When the city rezoned the rest of the city in 2010, it prohibited any further amendments to the old zoning code. Its intent in doing so was to ensure that all properties would be eventually rezoned into the new code. They're kind of all over, but if you go to the Community Planning and Development's page on the issue here, it shows you the names of the zone districts covered under the old rules.

@James Carlson I agree, that's an important distinction, and was very intentional by the city. They did not want to encourage people to buy up a multitude of large houses and rent them all out by the bedroom. However, in following this debate over the last few years, I think the spirit of the new regulation is intended to allow a homeowner to have roommates/rent rooms in the home that they occupy. Great for house hackers who rent by the bedroom, but it's always smart to ensure the numbers work on the property when you move out, too, in case you need to rent it by the unit or in another manner. Either way, it's a giant step forward. The 'two unrelated adults' regulation was from the 1940's!