All Forum Posts by: Grace Porritt
Grace Porritt has started 14 posts and replied 60 times.
Post: Plumber Wanted in Denver

- Investor
- Boulder, CO
- Posts 61
- Votes 17
Hey, Can anyone recommend a good plumber in Denver (near downtown?)
Post: Is it time to sell this VR?

- Investor
- Boulder, CO
- Posts 61
- Votes 17
Hey Michael, I have same thing going on in Denver. My HOA wants to change from one month minimum to a 6-month. Yikes! They currently do not allow any AirBNB, but roommates are allowed.
I have had very good success with 2-3 month rentals, so I think that you can as well. The trick is to have it furnished and advertise as a corporate rental. I use zillow, craigslist and rent.com to advertise for this. So far....so good! I include a mandatory bi-weekly cleaning on these rentals. I charge $100 per clean. This way my condo is maintained.
When I purchased my Denver condo, I wanted to use it personally between rentals. I am not pleased with the change to 6-months, so I may be in your shoes soon as well. If then change to 60 days, I am not concerned.
Post: Connecting Homeowners with Property Managers

- Investor
- Boulder, CO
- Posts 61
- Votes 17
Hello Justin, We are speaking by e-mail now. I am willing to be a "voice" for rent.com should my property rentals become successful. I came here hoping to see if anyone has used your site yet. Obviously, a good review would go a long way!!!
Post: Puerto Rico Defaults

- Investor
- Boulder, CO
- Posts 61
- Votes 17
I have been approached by someone that needs down payment money to purchase property in PR. I was blown away by the prices of properties. We would be looking for beachfront or view and in a tourist area. He will be using the property 4-5 months as a satellite office and then rent to tourists for the rest of the time. I think that a 3BR...2-3 bath would be ideal. What do you think? Maintaining a pool, etc. is not appealing to me.
Can you tell me things that may differ from the US?
1) Could he get an FHA loan for 3% down. OR Will we need 20%
2) Property Tax Rates
3) Property Insurance
4) Security Necessary
5) Cost for Prop Mgmt
Post: Should I Pay Myself as a Manager?

- Investor
- Boulder, CO
- Posts 61
- Votes 17
Thanks for all of your feedback. I plan to learn more about the Solo 401K as a retirement/investment strategy. I have been taking owner draws up until now. I did not know anything about signing as a member of the LLC. Does this apply to EVERY check that I write?
Post: Denver market, new investor

- Investor
- Boulder, CO
- Posts 61
- Votes 17
I will keep you posted. I am going to the meet-up in Erie next week.
Post: Financing advice

- Investor
- Boulder, CO
- Posts 61
- Votes 17
I just got a commercial loan for 4.3% ammortized for 25 years. They will look at the cash flow more than your W2s. You will need 25% down.
Post: What type of REI to do?

- Investor
- Boulder, CO
- Posts 61
- Votes 17
That all depends on the amount of money you have. To qualify for a loan, you may need to show "buyer" or "renters". If you could afford to buy the whole buildings using "renters" as a part of your income, that would be my first suggestion. If you prefer to just own a % of the building, you could buy a unit or two and find others to buy the rest. This may require some sort of partnership. This is where it gets over my head. Think "outside the box".
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Post: Denver market, new investor

- Investor
- Boulder, CO
- Posts 61
- Votes 17
For an executive rental to work, you need to be in a market that demands it. Boulder and Denver both have university, lots of internships, boot camps, travelling nurses, etc. I left the long-term rental market in 2008 when it was difficult (at least in Boulder) to generate the profits that I wanted. I wondered if a furnished rental would set me apart from the other rentals and get me the profit that I wanted. I heard about VRBO and decided to give it a try. I had a renter within a week that paid $2000 for a week and I didn't have it furnished yet. Holy crap, Batman!
I ran an ad something like this on Craigslist: Design on a Dime Contest! You have $2000 to fully-furnish and decorate this house in the most creative way possible. You only have 2 weeks to do it. Winner gets $500. I brought over all the extra furniture that I had in my house, gave her a credit card and let her "go for it". The results were amazing.
Summers are much more lucrative than Winters here. I use it for my primary in the Winter at times. I will never go back to a year-long rentals here in Boulder. I am now preparing a Denver Condo for the same. I already pre-leased for $2600/month from June-mid August. They are paying a monthly cleaning fee, move-out clean and $25/month each person for a linen package.
Off to my W2 job. Ugh!
Post: What type of REI to do?

- Investor
- Boulder, CO
- Posts 61
- Votes 17
Would the current renters be interested in owning part of the building? This might be a way to come up with some capital. In essence, these would become industrial condos. I just sold an industrial condo in Boulder that was my "commercial" investment here. I rolled it in a 1031 and bought two residential rentals with the proceeds. I plan to buy another (or two). Even if the renters do not want own, you could look for investors and the "buyers" would lease back to the renters.