All Forum Posts by: James Carlson

@Jay Hinrichs

Totally agree, but you also often see previously permitted uses grandfathered in when zoning changes. Not always, but sometimes. 

@Jay Hinrichs

I agree and am not opposed to thoughtful regulations intended to keep more housing stock for owner-occupiers or long-term tenants -- especially in a hot market where so many want to live like Colorado Springs. 

But I think at a minimum, there has to be a grandfathering in of people who put big sums of money down to buy a property for Airbnb or short-term rentals after the city passed an ordinance explicitly allowing STRs in all zoning and without any primary residence restrictions. Again, my issue is that the city is pulling the regulatory rug out from under small entrepreneurs.

Short-term rental regulations in Colorado Springs took another sudden turn for the worse last week. If you own an STR in Colorado Springs or want to in the future, now's the time to make your voice heard. (See end for how you can help.)

At a Nov. 12 meeting, the council basically said they're ready to ban all Airbnb rentals in R-1 zoning. This is a total pivot from what the council voted to allow in ordinance just one year ago. 

The council will take a final vote on a ban at their Nov. 26 meeting, which starts at 1 p.m. 

A soft vote at last week's meeting showed it's all but certain that the council will pass this ban. Without drafted language to review, the details remain murky. 

• Will they grandfather in those who bought property with the explicit permission of the city from last year's vote?
• Will this cover only non-owner occupied STRs in R-1 zoning or will it cover any STR in R-1, whether you live there or not?

It seems like the goal posts have shifted and we're just arguing to grandfather in existing permits. Me personally, I think an unfettered STR market could affect affordable housing, so I'm not against some limits. But I am against a city telling its citizens legalizing an activity one year, and then taking away that right the next year -- and in doing so putting in jeopardy millions of dollars in private investment. Regulatory uncertainty harms a city's business-friendly image.

Want to help? You can do two things:

1. Attend the meeting at 1 p.m. on Nov. 26 at 107 N. Nevada
2. Email council members. (Addresses found here.)

Thoughts?

Hi @Mariah Destruel

First off, congrats on taking a big step. That's exciting. My and my wife's first purchase was also a small condo in Denver -- a 1br condo in Capitol Hill -- that we bought in 2015. Now, we have four doors (and are under contract on a fifth).

I have a couple thoughts:

• Turning your property into a medium-term after you move out can juice the rental returns a bit. Furnish it nicely, get nice photos, and rent it to 3-month or 6-month traveling nurse types.
• I see you're in Dallas. Are you moving permanently to Denver? If so, I always think your first "investment" should be your primary residence. You have to live somewhere. You might as well own that. I think trying to buy out of state for the first purchase is a headache that can turn you off from investing in the future. Make the first one an easy one and you're more likely to replicate it -- whether in Denver or elsewhere.
• Yes, ideally, you'd cash flow. But again if you're going to live here, buying a place and getting all the other benefits of owning is still great. Depreciation on your tax returns. Someone else paying down your mortgage. Appreciation long-term.

I wish you luck!

@Steven Rausch

We've averaged about two weeks total in vacancy the last three years. That's not at one time. That's cumulative. And at least one time that we had a week and a half vacancy it's because I failed to list it on the rental sites with enough notice. We usually put it up about three months before and then continue to update it every week or so. 

First off, congrats on the next step! That's how a lot of people get their first investment, including my wife and I. We moved out of our 1br condo in Denver almost three years ago and made that our first place. Now we have three doors as investments in Denver and Colorado Springs (and are under contract on a fourth right now...fingers crossed.)

The advice kind of depends on what type of place it is and where it's located? House or condo? Br/ba mix? What's it near? What's the condition? In general, the big steps are:

1. Run the comparable properties near you to see what the market rents are
2. Spend a little money on some good photos from a company like Virtuance or another real estate photography group. (This is the biggest misstep I see landlords make is not taking better photos.)
3. List it on a lot of sites. Facebook marketplace, Zillow -- which syncs with Hotpads and Trulia -- and Craigslist. (And maybe Airbnb if you're looking for furnished medium-term rental.)
4. Screen guests using a mix of backgrounds checks and gut feeling
5. Sign a lease and let someone else pay down your mortgage and give you a little cash flow!
   
   

I wish you luck! 

@Alex Pickles

Welcome to Denver! It's no surprise that if you like Bend, Oregon, you'd like Denver. It's a bit more urban here, but nature's never far away.

I always tell our buyers that their first "investment" should be their first primary residence. Don't get too cute. The goal is not to hit it out of the park with the first one. It's to have a successful first entry into real estate so you are excited to do it again ... and again and again and again ... 

So find a nice place to put yourself. You're young and not too tied down, so a house-hack might be an option. Get a 3 or 4br house and rent out the other rooms. You'll get some experience with house maintenance and being a landlord. In a year or two, you can buy another investment or move out and repeat the whole process again. You could also do this with Airbnb. Find a home with a basement apartment, live upstairs and short-term rent the downstairs. 

Anyway, you've got options. Talking to a lender is a good first step to see what your qualification looks like. I wish you luck!

Ha! A little early-week ego boost! I'll take it. We have a few clients who kill it in Breckenridge with Airbnb. The STR market in Summit County still seems to have some legs if you buy right.

@Grace Wang

BusinessDen ... Best advice of the day! We read that religiously and send out interesting articles to our clients. Pretty quickly you get a sense of where development is happening (i.e. where value appreciation might soon happen). We love that corridor between Denver and Boulder. Seems to work pretty well for house-hacking by the room and has good long-term appreciation potential. Cheers!

@Brian Milton

The answer depends on a lot. Where is it located? What kind of condition is it in. Updated a few years ago with new kitchens, bathrooms, SS appliances, flooring and paint? Updated 15 years ago and looks clean but not modern? Hasn't been touched since the 1970s?

The rents could vary wildly between $1200 for a far-flunt 2br unit that hasn't been updated to $3000 for top of the line in a killer location.