All Forum Posts by: Garry C.

Thanks for the inspiration Bill, and the detailed report out. Where are the pictures you mentioned? Everyone loves a great Before/After Photoshoot.

I'm in a similar situation here in the hot Denver market. I've considered investing out of state, but don't have that dream team in place. And frankly, I don't have the time to put that together right now, with working FT and investing too.

I have done a lot of networking and feel like I have a good team that I can count on locally, and this has led to finding some deals here that just didn't seem possible. Although I'll admit, the deals do look a lot better in many remote areas (grass is always greener, right?), so I still want to explore that at some point in the future.

I think the most important part, and one piece of advice I'm sure we'll all continue to hear, it 'taking action'. You've done it one way, I've done it another, and countless others here have taken steps in totally different directions. But they have taken the steps, down the path leading to something that works for them. 

Congrats on your success thus far, keep up the good work!

I use the eRentalLock system. Not wireless, but can generate codes based on time/date. You can audit entry with a USB key, so might need your housekeeper or handyman to grab that and upload it for you.

I'm in a mountain town outside of Denver, near a ski resort. Cleaning costs me between $75 and $120. However, that is passed on as a 'Housekeeping Fee' to the traveler, so it doesn't eat up any of my profits.

Leave it vacant. Investors don't want to inherit a tenant if they can avoid it. I only trust me to do the tenant screening for my properties. And even then, it's questionable. An investor, as a general rule, wants to buy something at 70% ARV. So, if you're saying ARV is $82k, most investors are going to be interested in picking it up at around $55-60k.

Why don't you want to put new tenants in yourself?

I came to Denver many years ago by way of Gouldsboro, PA. Was just talking to a buddy from NYC the other day about investing in my old stomping grounds. Property is cheap and plentiful, but I'm not sure what the demand is for rentals, short or long term.

I'll be there! Sorry I missed the last one. :(

Guests should think of the cleaning fee as the price they pay to have a place cleaned BEFORE they arrive, not after they leave.

I found my housekeeper through a recommendation from my real estate agent. She's been great, charges $25/hour and it takes about 3 hours to clean the unit. So, that $75 gets passed on to guests as a Housekeeping Fee. Although after about a year, I decided to make it $89. The extra $14 helps pay for the toiletries that I supply. Occasionally, my housekeeper has a conflict or needs a vacation, and I have to bring in my backup, a local cleaning company. They charge me about $120 for a clean. The normal housekeeping markup helps with this as well.

So, I'm not completely new to landlording. I currently do short term vacation rentals with a condo in the mountains. This month, I'm closing on a 3/2 condo in Denver metro and I plan to step into long term rentals. I'm not sure if it will be easier or more difficult than the short term game, but I know it will be different.

First off, property management. I know that there are very strong opinions in both directions. For me, I'm thinking that I'll have a go at it myself and then later I can always hire a PM if I don't like it, don't have time, etc.
Anyone have thoughts on that plan?

As mentioned, I'm in Denver. This market is a bit crazy right now, and most people seem to think it's set to continue this way for another 5 years or so. What does that mean for a new landlord?
I've got a list of things I'm reading to prepare myself for this process, but if we focus on something like Brandon Turner's blog post/book 'How to Rent your House' (https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/0...), I'm wondering which parts and pieces I may want to do differently, pay special attention to, or take with a grain of salt due to my location/rental market.

Thanks in advance for any advice that you're willing to throw my direction.

I'm after cash flow, so I look for a great deal on something that needs work. That was my first one, up in the mountains. I've had that for almost 4 years now, I do short term rentals, it's very profitable. 

This new one, in the metro area, is going to be my first foray into long term tenancy. While I was only able to get it for about 90% of market rate, I think I can add value by constructing a closet in the 'study' and turning it from a 2 into a 3BR. Plus it's in Lakewood on the border with Denver, so I'm thinking appreciation of both property value and rental rates.