All Forum Posts by: Erin Spradlin

@Taylor L. 

Perhaps because Airbnb was a new form of investing and/or because it immediately did so well, I think there has always been skepticism and paranoia around it. From the left, there is an argument that it drives up neighborhood prices (I happen to believe this/worry about it for certain zip codes) and for the right, there's a reticence to embrace change and, consequent, fear of pot smokers and partiers. Anyway, anyone invested in the community knows that it can be an education play trying to get others to embrace it. Looks like that is to continue during corona times. 

@Joe Splitrock
Thank you for your measured and thoughtful response. I agree that you can't have it both ways. That said, I think for the past 8-10 years, Denver and Colorado Springs have been solid investments and barring corona, people had every reason to think the appreciation trend might continue. I'm not denying that they may have stepped outside of what they should have responsibly been doing with reserves, but I do understand why they got excited and went for it. Full confession, inspired by @Michael Vialpando's remarks- we also were not totally responsible. (We're fine and advocate other people being bold- but I can't say we followed every rule of investing to a T.) 

@Robin Searle
My brother has also reported that after having his reservations completely canceled, his Colorado Springs Airbnb properties have come back and people are interested. Agree with you that this may end up being advantageous for people that can weather the storm (just like the new law may have been advantageous for people willing to get the license, adhere to the city.)
Re responsible investing, agree on knowing your numbers and being smart about how leveraged you are. On the flip side, there is just some risks with investing and no way to predict absolutely everything that can go wrong. I think to be an investor, you have to avoid being careless, but also a certain risk tolerance. 

@Craig Curelop
We did something similar with our Colorado Springs Airbnb properties, which was not that big of a jump, since we had already been forced into doing that with our Denver Airbnb properties. (Clarity on that point: we had condo investments that we used for Airbnb in Denver until the city and HOAs implemented laws, at which point we turned them into furnished medium-term rentals: 30+ days.) Since we already knew this market and client set well, it was easy enough to go after people that were not travelers but had professional or personal reasons for needing a furnished, medium term property. (Likewise, we advised all of our clients to do the same.)

This may have been hasty, but I think it's too soon to tell. Also, I am completely fine giving up a little bit of money one year to have peace of mind that the places stay occupied during the next six month stretch. 

@Taylor L. 
To be fair, the Wall Street Journal does A LOT of questionable reporting, and is not the institution it used to be. That said, I was taken aback by their hostility directed at short-term rental investors. 
While I agree that recessions/depressions/etc. are the best time to invest, and that media misses the mark on that, I also feel like this time around- there were some early predictions about this being a V curve (rather than a U curve) that seemed irresponsible to me given that we've never had a situation like this. To be clear: I'm not saying this is a bad time to invest, but it was crazy to me that in late March (about 1-2 weeks after things got "serious") everyone was talking about it like business as usual when we had no idea at all which way it was going to go. 
I think what I'm trying to say (and not succinctly) is that when trying to gauge the market, it's definitely smarter to stick to your local media sources: Westword, The Denverite, Denver Post and various business journals to see what is going on with the economy/investing options. 

@Eric Teran
Given that you are limited in your ability to convert your condos to a medium-long term strategy and have chosen to not do so with your VA basement, how are you faring? For now, will you be able to keep all three properties? I ask because a lot of new investors in Denver and Colorado Springs that I work with hesitate because they are afraid the sky could fall... For the most part, and for now, it feels like people are still doing okay as investors, even though the "sky is falling." That said, I want to be transparent with them so I also want to report back if it is not.

I'll try to limit my rant here, but since the Wall Street Journal published a somewhat nasty article about Airbnb investors in late April and I represent a lot of Denver Airbnb Investors and Colorado Springs Airbnb investors, I think it's important to point out a few things, and see if my fellow BP-ers are of the same opinion or a totally different opinion. 

• Airbnbs (and short-term rentals) have classically been a good investment, with returns that were often 2-3 times that of traditional long-term investments. By that standard, even with the downturn, you have a 2-3 year pocket against a long-term investment 
  
• Yes, a lot of short-term investors leverage their properties to buy more properties (utilizing a HELOC), but that's not any different than what many standard long-term investors do

• This situation is awful for a lot of reasons, and may keep short-term rental numbers depressed for the next year- but a lot of short-term investors already know what a depressed season is like because rentals don't do as well October-March. In that case, they get converted to medium-term rentals, and that can and has been happening here as well
• We're a little vulnerable right now, but not making decisions because a once in a lifetime pandemic might show up does not seem like a wise investment strategy to me 

CORONA SUCKS(!) UPDATE: The meeting will be online v. in person. Hope to see you. 

MEETING LINK: https://meet.google.com/zdi-osff-ikp

@Joshua Zapin - Have you looked at Security or Widefield? It's still pretty cheap, located between Pueblo and Colorado Springs, has good views, a military base and an Amazon facility coming soon. (Amazon is coming to south Colorado Springs, but that is relatively close to Widefield.) I think this is an area that has a lot of potential and sits between two very attractive investing cities. 

@Maria N. - I would look in the Widefield and Security areas. It is supported by multiple military bases and has a large population open to having roommates and needing temporary housing. Added to that, it is between Colorado Springs and Pueblo, both of which have been hot markets the past few years, and Colorado Springs is getting an Amazon facility on the south end (close to Widefield/Security). Right now, this location is cheap, but it has very good mountain views and you are seeing business interests move in that would suggest more money is coming (aka, Starbucks.)