All Forum Posts by: James Carlson

@Vanessa Franco

Absolutely you can use that income to purchase the next property. That's the whole plan of house-hacking! We've got clients in Denver and Colorado Springs who are offsetting 50-75% of their mortgage. With, say, a $1800 mortgage, that's up to $1350 saved each month. Put that away for 12 months and you have $16,200 for a year. That's a 5% downpayment on a $324,000 house or 3.5% FHA down payment on a $460k house. Rinse and repeat.

You seem to have a question about whether it's allowed? Or if it's taxed or something? Can you tell a little more?

@Erin Spradlin Thanks for the shout out. 

@Carl Mayer Unfortunately, northern Colorado is not immune from the issues facing the entire front range and that is an influx of people and not enough places for them to buy. (That's getting basic there, but it's largely true.)

That said, there are always homes out there that work for those who can get creative. Rent-by-the-room, medium-term rental, short-term rental, renting parking spaces, sheds. If you have to live somewhere, you might as well own that place and get equity. Then it's just a matter of how to squeeze income out that with the above ideas.

Like what Erin said, we do have a buyer under contract on a place that is technically a duplex but has opportunity for him to live in the basement and rent the upstairs units. He'll live for free while he's there and cash flow between $500-$800 depending on rents. Now, I happen to think we have a pretty good deal on this, but they come up occasionally. 

Go to some of those meetups up there, ask questions on the forums, take people out to coffee who seem to be on the same page as you and you'll eventually get the feel for what works and doesn't. I wish you luck!

@Matt Bailey

I don't know what contracts are like in Kentucky or what the custom is there, but when we're writing contracts for Colorado Springs and Denver investment properties, we always ask for copies of signed leases, rent rolls and income statements for five previous years. 

But then those rent numbers might be low, so I'd use the same resources as the above people have mentioned -- FB marektplace, Zillow, Rentometer

Exactly! Now, you can still get cash flow in Denver if you get creative -- I'm talking some sort of house-hack or rent-by-the-room (or even short-term rental/Airbnb hack). But in general, you find slightly lower entry points and higher cash flow in some other areas. In fact, we just bought a 4/2 home in Colorado Springs for this reason, and we have a lot of clients looking there as well. 

@Owen Franks

I'd go for Proper Insurance. They've been in the short-term rental insurance game as long as anyone. They're underwritten by Lloyd's of London. (Probably what @Aaron T. was thinking.) And their coverage areas are more robust than others. It's also what we use on our STR/Airbnb duplex in Colorado Springs. And what we point all our clients toward when they're buying STRs.

@Lisa Singer

First off, congrats on a $200,000 home in Aurora. That's killer for just about anywhere in the Denver metro area. I'd give a call to the city of Aurora's planning department. Ask for the "planner of the day" -- most cities have a planner on call to answer questions -- and see what they say about your specific zoning and a tiny home. 

We do a lot of work around Airbnb and short-term rentals, and we always get asked about tiny homes. They'd be so perfect for this, but so many cities are hostile to the concept. (As someone once told me, government is on the cutting edge of the 19th Century.)

Good luck!

@Blake Eitreim

Welcome! You're in the right place. Tons of Denver real estate investors and professionals here on BP, so you'll get some good info, whether you're doing a pure investment, a house-hack or looking for that first home purchase.  Like Dan said, try out some of the meetups, post questions, grab coffees with people who seem on the same page as you. It's a good community. 

I wish you luck. Cheers! 

@Robin Searle

That's good to hear. I wasn't sure about that, and I haven't heard back from the city to confirm it. 

@Dylan Eggers

First off, congrats on jumping in. Analysis is good. Action is better. As some others have said, you can definitely find homes in the Denver metro area that will cash flow after you leave ... if you get creative. (For instance, check out a deal diary from one of our clients. It's not a true house hack because they bought it as an investment, but it shows what you can do with the rent-by-the-room/medium-term rental model.)

If you can get a house in Denver that cash flows even a little, I'd want to keep it. Long-term, Denver's got it going on. Proximity to the mountains, 300 days of sun, great beer, legal weed, bars, restaurants, arts. That quality of life has demographers estimating another 1 million people will live in the metro area by 2040. Where are they going to live? In your rental house!

Now if you need money to buy that second one, you could always take a HELOC out on it.

@Konstantin Gradushy

You and everyone else has that issue in Denver. The cash flow is tough unless you get creative. We've had luck with small condos that we furnish and rent to traveling nurses. Some of our buyer-clients also are doing a medium-term rental/rent-by-the-room model near a hospital here in town. (You can see the deal diary here.) I think house-hacking in Denver makes sense for you while live there (mortgage offset and you have to live somewhere anyway) and it can make sense after you're gone if you get creative. Otherwise, it's tough. 

Good luck.