All Forum Posts by: Jean Bolger

Hi @Breanna Cameron
You might want to talk to @Daniel Eisman, I think he's working on some small multis in the Springs.

good luck!

Hi @John Seibert! I'm living in Aurora too. I think there's a lot of potential right now in the north part of town, and out towards the airport. Supply is tight, of course... but if you've been looking then you already know that, lol.

Checked the MLS just for fun-- Right now I can see two parking spaces for sale in Denver, both at Brooks Towers downtown. Asking 65K each (yikes) and you have to be an owner of a condo in the building to buy. It sounds like the person selling the space has a rental condo. They aren't kicking out the tenant, just selling their parking space. I'm sure that conversation went well.... ;)

if you have a separately deeded space I believe you would pay property taxes on it. Can't imagine it would be much

Not 100% sure of the tax legalities, but sure seems to me that this would turn your girlfriend's financial contribution to the household into reportable rental income to you, which you would have to account for on your taxes. It might mean that you would be able to deduct some costs of operating the house, but it also might mean that you are jeopardizing being able to take 100% of the personal residence tax exemption when you sell. BP tax pros, what do you say? @Linda Weygant?

Talking about how you are going to deal with financial matters before you move in is really important, and you may want to formalize some sort of agreement about who is contributing what. Whether you choose to put that into writing is your call- I probably wouldn't, because it's likely you'll find the situation/arrangement needs to change over time as your relationship develops. 

I would try to make this a MUTUAL discussion about your individual financial wants and needs and how you are going to work together to support each other in those. 

TIP: if you can't talk about this without arguing, it's too soon to move in together. 

(and BTW I think it's the "make my girlfriend..." instead of  "have my girlfriend..." or better yet "ask my girlfriend..." that brought out the harsh responses. You have to admit it gives the question a whole different tone)

Originally posted by @Taylor Horowitz:

I own a property in Colorado that I was an owner occupant in for 4 years and then moved in with my significant other. For the past year, it has been a rental that cash flows about $250/month.

That's not bad, but what are your long term financial goals, and is this approach going to get you there effectively?

I have decided to sell and have notified the tenants that the property will be listed in the coming weeks.

Even though it is a stable investment (there is upside on rents, positive cash flow and should have a nearly zero vacancy rate), I have decided to sell because I have almost made back from renting it what I put down and going to be listing it for 190% of what I paid for it as well as the factors below.

That's a nice return for five years.

Now as the listing date gets close, I am starting to re-think selling it.

Arguments for selling:

- I don't trust the HOA and dues have been going up steadily in the past 5 years and some potential high cost items need to be taking care of.

Hmmm, expensive assessment ahead? That could cut into your profit for sure.

-Cashing out while the market is high and have stockpile of cash to invest in a less expensive market or if there is a drop in the market having cash on hand.

Yes, it's a pretty great time to sell, especially if you are in the lower price range (I know that's relative in Boulder, lol)
But as others have mentioned, going to a different market can be dicey- don't forget to budget for your time (a few trips a year) and overestimate what you think your property management will cost when you run the numbers. Whether you'll have a lot of good options locall may depend on the amount of cash you'll have on hand after a sale. It's hard to do a lot with a little right now.

-Unit needs about 10k in rennovation/maintenance

Make sure you're accounting for that when your contemplate your listing price. If you don't, you may end up having to adjust your sale price upon inspection objections anyway.

-Variable rate mortgage and only refinancing options are non-warrantable

Probably not an issue for you if you refi, there are plenty of lenders who will do that (Elevations CU, which is right in Boulder, is one). You probably want to have a little list of lenders that can do it to give to potential buyers if you put it on the market though.

Arguments for keeping

- Stable rental income.

- Upside on rents

- Continually Strong real estate market (Boulder, CO)

All valid!

I am having trouble getting past the emotional aspect of selling the first place I purchased while I feel there are strong arguments for keeping or selling. Any input or feedback would be much appreciated.

You can reframe the emotional attachment by picturing it as the great savvy move that launched you towards financial success rather than your "first home". You can be just as proud of selling something as you were of buying it.
I would base the final decision on a long term financial plan. If you don't have one of those yet, take your time and do some reading and studying -- on BP and elsewhere too. Real estate investing is a great financial tool, and the one that makes the most sense to me. But it's not the only one.

I'm sure it will all become clear. You've got two more years before you lose your personal residence tax exemption so you don't need to rush.

I've had that same problem w/ a 20's era basement entrance that had the hole in the concrete with rocks underneath.  There is nothing to scope, because there's no drainline. The idea is that the water will eventually just sink in, but that doesn't help when you get too much rain/snow- only so much can sink in at a time. A couple of times there was so much rain that it flooded over the stoop into the apartment. I have never heard of vacuuming out the rocks and cleaning/replacing, but it sounds like it might at least help, if not cure, the problem. 

Sounds good on paper, but may be hard to match up with the realities on the ground, as Bill has indicated. How are you going to find something way under value? Wholesalers are struggling to find deals here, as are investors doing their own direct mail. How are you going to get a ton of work done when you aren't here to supervise it and don't have a crew in place? Do you have a hard money lender that is willing to go 100% on a property in an area you don't know?

I'm not trying to be a downer, and I'm all for having a can-do, make it happen attitude; just throwing out some ideas for you to research and consider. I'm an agent myself, and love to work with people coming to the area. But a part of that job is about explaining the realities of the current market and trying to create strategies that will work within it.

I think what you're looking for is a blanket loan, which is simply a mortgage secured by more than one property. Look for a local portfolio lender (usually a small local bank, credit union, etc) that does investment loans. You may have to call around a lot- ask the loan officers that can't help you if they have any suggestions of who might be able to. Good luck!

@Account Closed  yes you do have to work under a managing broker, but many brokerages are set up so the the agents are essentially in business for themselves as independent contractors, responsible for getting their own clients and handling all the details of their transactions. If you are thinking of getting licensed you might ask around among other licensed investors in your area about what brokerage they use. There are usually some around - they probably won't be the big brand name brokerages-- that are a lot more cost effective for someone who just wants to buy and sell for themselves.

@Daniel Patton Your plan of buying a live-in duplex is a great way to enter the Denver market. Make sure you have considered all the implications of your proposed timing, though. Since your plan is to owner-occupy the property you would be able to get an owner occ loan which would require a much lower downpayment. However to get one of those loans you usually have to move in straight away (or at least within 60 days? you'd have to ask a lender for what those exact rules are, I'm not remembering right now.) Prices are pretty high out here, so the difference between 5% down and the 20% or so you'd need for an investment loan ends up being a big chunk of change.

What is bringing you to Denver? just curious