All Forum Posts by: Garry C.

So, I'm at my wife's uncle's house for dinner tonight, and it's gossip time. Turns out, the guy next door just passed away about a week ago. Half the family thinks that his wife is probably going to want to sell the place soon. They didn't really like the guy, but say that his wife was super sweet and must be a saint for putting up with him for all those years. Bets are on her wanting to go travel around for a while.

It's a 3/1 on about an acre of land, mixed zoning in Lakewood, CO just west of Denver. There are several 6-12 plexes in the neighborhood, some even on the same block. Lots of new apartments going up all the time. If I don't buy it, someone else will. Since I've got a head start, what's the best way to make sure that it's me instead of that someone else?

Naturally, I'm thinking 'I need to send her a letter'. But what to say?
Should this have a personal touch? Be completely honest, send my condolences, let them know about my relationship with the neighbor, and ask if I can help by buying her out?

Or (and this is the way I'm leaning), should I keep it business-like, as if I've sent this letter to everyone in the neighborhood, and I just happen to have good timing?

@Brian T., I do have one that must be accepted as part of renting the property through VRBO or AirBNB and the like. It's kind of like the software EULA that no one reads, but you'll be held to it if necessary, because you checked the box that says 'I agree'.

Disclaimer: Mine has not been vetted by a lawyer, but looks very official.

PM me and I'll be happy to send you a copy.

@Drew Fein does REI law and may be able to assist as well.

Offered $75k for a townhome worth $90k, asking $92k. Agent didn't want to do it, said no way they would accept it. Told her to just make it happen or I could find someone who would. She made the offer and they accepted that day. Turns out that they were about to foreclose or try to short sale.

Found a condo for $90k, a bank owned unit in another building came on the market for $75k. I offered $60k on the first one that I wanted, my logic being that the cheaper one was nicer, and $15k less, so I should go another $15k lower for my fixer upper.
They countered at $67.5k. I told them 'Yes, but I'll have to go get a loan. That might take a month or more. And by then I might change my mind. I was prepared to pay cash at $60k.'
They countered at $62.5k. I bought it.

There are a few in my neighborhood, Roxborough. And I mean 'few'. But the market has slowed a bit, as it does at the end of summer. They are a bit above $300k, although I feel they are overpriced. You should be able to pick them up for a bit under that and then value add to get a bit above.

It's 50% it many areas of Colorado. If you bring your own guests to the PM, they will only charge 35%. It doesn't make sense as a business venture, but can work well if you just want to break even.

Self management can be very lucrative. And easy, with the right systems and templates in place. You'll really want to utilize both VRBO and AirBNB to secure a greater number of bookings. Although VRBO is becoming more and more like AirBNB every day, which is very disappointing.

VRBO is generally going to bring in guests doing a lot of planning, who will scrutinize reviews and amenities to find a great vacation spot. AirBNB can be utilized to bring in last minute guests looking for a cheap rate. Using both has allowed me to fill every weekend in my calendar for the last 10 months, not to mention quite a few full weeks.

You should absolutely aim for less than a day in cleaning. Any day not rented is a day of lost revenue. I do same day turnarounds at my vacation rental all the time. You'll just need to be firm on the 'Can I have early checkin/late checkout?'. The answer is 'Sorry, that is not available due to high demand.'

As for cleaning lapses... that shouldn't be an issue if you screen your housekeeping staff as well you do your tenants. And you should. Not to mention, have a backup in place and ready to go if you're working with a single person. If you're working with a housekeeping company, this is less of an issue, as they should have several staff ready to dispatch at all times.

All other points are definitely valid. Especially determining what the laws are regarding STR in your area. This is key, and could be a deal killer, so look into that first.

@Andy Plattner, see if this answers some of your questions. This might not be typical, since I bought at the low point of the market and now it's fully recovered.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/calculators/shared/4...

@Rob Kemp, there's the Biggerpockets meetup on the first Monday of every month. Setup a keyword alert for Denver Meetup and there are often posts about it. Next one is on 10/3.

Check this post:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/26...

Welcome to BP!

@Sam Kabli, I'm a fan of Littleton. In fact, it's where I live. :) It looks like maybe you do as well?

It's a large area like Lakewood, so it really depends on where in Littleton you are looking to invest. Littleton covers everything from Roxborough Park (suburbs - SFRs), to old Downtown Littleton (trendy urban - MFRs/condos), to more working class neighborhoods with apartment buildings.

What type of property are you looking at for your first investment? These days it seems hard to go wrong anywhere in metro Denver if you can find a good deal.

You're talking about the Green Mountain area? That's nice, older homes, established businesses, open space and not far from Bear Creek/Morrison/C470. East of there is Belmar, which has been up and coming for a while. There are good deals to be had North and East of Belmar too, but it's a bit riskier I think. I also like the Hampden/Wads/Kipling area to the South, where Lakewood borders Denver and Littleton. I own a unit in that area.