All Forum Posts by: James Carlson

@Clark Thornhill

Being 420-friendly wasn't the thrust of our marketing, but we did put it in the listing for sure. Our selling point was always the city life. Living a local's life in the heart of Capitol Hill ... that type of thing. The ability to enjoy Denver's newly legal marijuana environment was a perk.

About the clientele it attracted or discouraged ... We mostly had late 20s, early 30s couples in our places. At the time, we were leasing apartments in Capitol Hill in Denver and re-listing them on Airbnb. They were small studios or 1-bedroom units, which tended to attract a younger crowd in general. I think you play to the strengths of your place. If you've got an old 5br Victorian house that would attract families, you might not advertise being pot-friendly. But the demographic that would naturally be inclined to stay at our small places seem to dovetail with allowing marijuana.

@Bryan Cork

Interesting question. I like hearing the perspective of @Account Closed This isn't exactly what you asked, but I see a big demand for Airbnb/short-term rental properties in Denver and Colorado Springs in which you can smoke pot. Almost all hotels prohibit marijuana smoking, and there is a huge influx of tourists coming here for that specific purpose. When my wife and I were running multiple Airbnbs in Denver, we allowed pot smoking but not cigarette smoking, and the amount of weed left behind -- since they can't fly back with it -- was enough to create our own dispensary. So that's one way I see it impacting the market. 

@Joseph M.

Great point about the laws. I tell people coming to our Airbnb classes that the absence of a law outlawing Airbnb is not the same as having a law that permits it. Here in Colorado, there are a few cities that have laws regulating Airbnb (VRBO/short-term rentals). Boulder is pretty strict, for instance, and Denver is only slightly more permissive. 

But then you have cities with no laws, and where there Airbnb regulations will go is all over the map. (Officials in Colorado Springs, for instance, tell us they're wide open for Airbnb investment properties and plan to stay that way. But other front-range cities like Lakewood, Arvada, etc. don't have laws but appear to be heading toward restrictions similar to Denver's.)

How lenders and underwriters will view this still-in-flux market will be interesting to watch. 

@Stephanie Medellin

I know the feds just came out with some new direction in their guidelines this summer/fall stating that short-term rental income from Airbnb could be counted for refinancing. (Still not for original mortgages.) But the guidelines still required a two-year history, which in a sense doesn't change anything because most people are already reporting STR income as rental income. If a lender is looking at your tax returns for two years and sees two years of rental income, most aren't going to ask in which form that income is earned.

Ooh! Intriguing, Bigger Pockets! I'll be interested to see what this is all about. 

We're certainly seeing a lot of interest in Airbnb here in Denver and Colorado Springs. I think it's time the investment community and lending institutions stopped treating Airbnb as the ugly step-child of rentals. Yeah, there are some newbs out there bumbling through this model, but there are others who are operating this with just as much precision and integrity as "traditional" rental landlords.

@Jonathan Beemer

Welcome to Colorado! You're in a good place. I don't know of any groups down there, but there's a good meetup up here in Denver. I think a lot of people are seeing Colorado Springs going the way of Denver in terms of being difficult to find good investment properties, but we just got a client under contract on a SFH with a unit downstairs. They're going to Airbnb both units, and the numbers look good. (The Springs are open season for short-term rentals, and as you can see in other posts, I'm a bit of an Airbnb disciple.)

Good luck!

@Schelley Stamps  

I agree with @Andy O'Neal about Proper. It's coverage areas are pretty good, and I like that it acts as your homeowner's policy as well. I don't know what policy you currently have, but I've found that the policies in my experience were about 50% more than a traditional homeowner's policy. 

In general, good for you for looking to get covered. I talk to a lot of people in our Airbnb workshops here in Denver that are relying on their normal homeowners' insurance. 

@Tysean Jackson

Like @Linda S. and @Nicole A. and @Account Closed already said, she and I have done quite well. I think it can work a lot of different ways but having complementary skill sets certainly helps. For instance, I'm good at client management and Erin's good at mocking my personal style, so it works well ... ;)

Seriously, even if it didn't work out, everything you ever read about successful people says you learn more from failure than from inaction. And it sounds like you have a good sense of this lady and her business acumen. So my unqualified opinion is to listen to that gut feeling and go for it!

@Grant Shipman

First off, congrats on your first rental property. That's exciting. (A 7-bedroom house in Denver? I'm just interested where you're located.)

I get where you're coming from wanting to do everything in your power to prevent a bad tenant. I would agree with @Bettina F. that your screening process is pretty intensive (if only time-intensive for you). I use BP's tenant screening tool through TransUnion. If they come back okay, and I feel okay talking to them on the phone, then I'm good to go. 

In the end, though, this is your property, and you need to feel comfortable with who you're letting come in. Do what you need to do and you'll learn and adjust as you go.

@Mark Leavitt

Congrats on taking a big step. Are you thinking of buying in Denver? Colorado Springs? Greeley? I think reading as much as you can is great. And so is taking people to coffee. Pick anyone's brain who's willing to give you the time. And then start looking at homes and running numbers. You don't need to physically see a place to plug in the numbers and get comfortable seeing what can work and what can't.

Taking a step back, have you spoken with a lender yet? That's always a good first start. They'll chat for free and give you a quick sense of what you can afford. (Which, of course, is not necessarily what you want to spend.) 

As I am prone to do on these forums, if you're talking about house-hacking, I will throw out a plug for using at least one room for Airbnb. Even in a good area of Denver, you'd be good to get $700 for a single-room rental. If you put it on Airbnb, you could get $50-$60/night. In the right area, you can get that booked 25+ nights a month. That's a fantastic return. 

I wish you luck! Cheers!