All Forum Posts by: James Carlson

@Luke Fletemeyer

Welcome to BP and congrats on taking a step toward real-estate investing. That's exciting. Definitely read on here, come to the meetups if you can and pick people's brains. I agree that the BRRR method can be a little tougher here in Denver, where there's not a lot of meat left on the bone always. That doesn't mean you can't do it. Just be diligent and be open to other options.

I wish you luck. Cheers!

FYI, for anyone who planned on coming to the Airbnb Laws & Investments talk tonight in Colorado Springs ... the venue is closing early because of snow and we have to cancel. We will hold another event next month. Sorry for any inconvenience. 

@Scott Muhonen

First off, congrats on taking that first step into real estate -- and in Golden, no less. I know some people love to hate on condos because of the HOA, but I think it's a great entry into owning. (I'm biased because my wife and I have owned multiple condos.)

I also know some people will go the foreclosure route for their first purchase, but I think that's a tough road to navigate. My theory is to always make that first purchase an easy win, so that you're excited about the next investment as well. There are certainly in-need-of-love condos on the Denver MLS, and it's a lot less headache than dealing with the bank during foreclosure. For $250k or less, from what I see on the MLS right now, your options are a little limited in the Golden area (but if you're willing to look just east of there in western Lakewood/Denver area, you've got options).

I don't mean to discourage you from going the foreclosure route. People certainly do it. To your actual question about whether you'd qualify. Your first call should be to a few lenders. They'll talk to you for free and give you a sense of your qualification. Good luck!

@Taylor Burns

Just following up on @Matthew Carroll's question. Can you elaborate more on your model? We love East Colfax for the future potential. (We agree that right now there are still some dodgy areas, but with hipster coffee shops like Pablo's moving in, I feel like the bigger money people seem to know what this area will be like soon.)

Are you renting by the room? Or whole house? Furnished medium term doctors/nurses? Would love to see a breakdown of how it's going for you. 

@Ken Latchers

Totally. I think you always need a Plan B. For us, it's to turn our two smaller units into furnished medium-term rentals. And I think making a rushed decision to try to get under a new proposal could lead to problems if you haven't already thought it through. 

I also think you can't not take a step because a city could change the law in the future, especially when the city has been explicit that they won't. In this instance, I mean that Colorado Springs council has been explicit every time they talk about the density restriction that existing STR permits will be honored.

Again, though, always have a back-up plan

@Eric Melin

Yeah, the laws and regulations around short-term rentals varies widely depending on the city in Colorado you look. 

Other than the mountain towns, Colorado Springs is the only major city to allow you to do Airbnb in a non-owner-occupied home. We own a duplex for Airbnb there and have several clients who bought and are operating there. (Though there are changes afoot to be aware of that could affect investments.) 

In Denver, Golden, Aurora and Boulder, they allow it but only in your primary residence. So you can rent out the whole space while you're gone or you can rent out a portion of it as much as you like while you're there. But you can't buy a separate property and rent that full-time.

Most other cities are kind of up in the air because they don't have a law specifically addressing Airbnb/STRs. Those cities fall into two categories. 1. Some have an existing law against any rentals less than 30 days but aren't really enforcing it unless a neighbor complains. 2. Some have no law at all. Either 1 or 2 are tough markets to invest in for short-term rentals because there's no regulatory certainty. You don't know whether your model will be wiped out with the stroke of a pen.

@Eric Melin

Hate to be the third wet blanket here, but flipping is tough, especially in Denver where there's not always a lot of meat on the bone at the end. Unless you have skills and experience in this area, it can be time-consuming and frustrating. I think the first investment should be an easy win so that you're excited about the next one. 

If you're thinking about moving, what about pulling that equity, keeping the townhome as a rental and then finding a good house-hack for your primary residence. A couple options

1. If you're single then you could go the 4+ bedroom house option and rent by the room. (I say if you're single, because we have so many male clients come to us excited to rent by the room and then find, lo and behold, that their partner is not nearly as excited about living with strangers.)
2. Find a home with a basement apartment or carriage house. You can rent that long-term or short-term. In Denver, where the Airbnb laws prohibit you renting anywhere but your primary residence, the basement apartment model is one of the only ways to run a full-time STR.
3. Find a duplex and rent out the other side. This is a tougher option in Denver where everyone and their French bulldog wants a duplex. 

Good luck!

@Eric Melin

I'd head to some of the BP meetups around Denver, and I'd lurk on these forums to see what interests you. Do you own your own place yet? I always recommend that anyone's first "investment" be their primary residence. You have to live somewhere. Might as well make some equity. If you're open to it, you could house-hack as well. (Sure, a duplex is nice for this, but so many other options abound. A single-family home with a basement apartment that you can Airbnb; a SFH and you rent out the other rooms; or even a small 2br condo can achieve this goal too.)

I wish you luck!

@Michael O'Brien

No, unfortunately, the original STR ordinance states that the permit is with the owner, not the property. The pertinent section is 7.5.1702(B): 

"The short term rental unit permit does not run with the property, but is issued to the
specific owner of the property. The permit shall expire upon sale or transfer of the
property. The permit shall not be transferred or assigned to another individual, person,
entity, or address but may be managed by a third party on behalf of the owner."

@Matthew Carroll

Aurora's a great place to buy and hold right now, especially along the East Colfax corridor. You've got the federal government's opportunity zones out there, as mentioned above. You've also have the city of Denver just this August declaring a stretch of the road an urban renewal area, creating further incentives for development. 

And you already see the signs of gentrification out there. You've got Stanley Marketplace, one of Denver's original upscale food and boutique shop halls. And Pablo's, one of Capitol Hill's hipster coffee shop staples, opened its third location on East Colfax this year (just a few blocks from a literature-based brewery, to boot.)

And then you look at the price of all those modest 3/2 homes out there between $300 and $400k and think this is going to be a nice little investment for people. Good luck!