All Forum Posts by: Jeff White

Great job @Adrian Tilley, sounds like you made a wise investment buying that 2/2 condo!   The tricky part will be getting another condo like that one today, a little harder to cash flow that much, especially in Westminster.  

@Kyle Fitzpatrick Glad I could help!  As for my situation, I currently have a $3 million umbrella policy protecting me just in case a tenant files a lawsuit.  It really isn't that much more per month, so it is a good to have, especially as you grow your real estate portfolio.

@Kyle Fitzpatrick I own a four unit with an FHA loan, and you can't use an LLC to qualify for a loan, it has to be under your name and social security number.

I've heard of people here transferring ownership to an LLC after closing, but that could trigger a due on sale clause with the lender since you purchased the property as an individual not a business. That's the whole point of why they give you a 3.5% down payment loan vs. a 20% down payment or more for a commercial loan with a LLC.

Regarding liability issues with tenants, I'm not sure of the landlord/tenant laws in Illinois, but you can easily get a umbrella policy protecting you and your investments if you are concerned.  I would talk to a good insurance agent that understands good liability protection for real estate investors.  

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm not sure how much protection you really have with an single member LLC anyway. That would be a good question to sit down with an attorney if you can actually be protected from lawsuits.

@Dan Mackin  Awesome, I'm looking forward to this event!  Thanks for hosting such a wonderful meetup. 

Hi Karen, I can also vouch for @Chris Lopez as a terrific realtor, and he knows how to find good house hacks for whatever you are looking for multifamily, house with mother-in-law, house with walkout basement, big house with lots of bedrooms to rent out, etc.

@Ben Einspahr

Hi Ben, I can personally vouch for both @Chris Lopez and @Charles Roberts since I used them as my realtors on my last deal, both guys helped me find a terrific house hack single family house with a mother in law suite that has a separate entrance, bedrooms, bathroom, and even kitchen with plenty of space to add more bedrooms over in Northglenn.  

The great thing about working with them is that they understand and know EXACTLY what you are looking for since they have lots of clients like me and previous ones that wanted the same thing you want, so, they can setup keyword alerts on the MLS to send you tons of properties that can find your particular criteria , "Arvada" , "walkout basement", "separate entrance", etc. It was so easy to find the properties I wanted, and multiple ones can find your criteria.

If you need more confirmation that both Chris and Charles are fantastic, go listen to their podcast: Denver Real Estate Investing.  They constantly talk about the Denver metro market and love working with people that like house hacking since that's the easiest way to build wealth long-term using conventional financing.  

Also, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me for more information. 

James, thanks for being the go to guy for Airbnb in Colorado! 

Yikes, the new requirements aren't that big of deal, but if they pursue those further options, that would definitely make it more difficult for people that want to do live in house hack with Airbnb to cover the mortgage.    

I don't have any issues with the primary residence rule with its intent behind the law, but it would definitely suck if they put any of those other options.  I get why some neighbors don't like it since brings in tourists, but tourists aren't the problem, if anything, they are helping the Denver economy overall and in turn helping the neighbors property values long-term.  

I wonder if there is a study with Airbnb and residential crime statistics?  Before and after snapshot?  I can't imagine neighborhoods are at risk with someone Airbnbing their house or apartment or basement.  From my experience with Airbnb, most guests that I have booked my place are usually here for a show at Red Rocks, hang with friends, downtown drinks/dinner, mountain trip, etc.  Most of them book aren't visiting for disingenuous intentions to steal from the neighbors, Airbnb host, and such. 

I guess we will see what the City Council decides in the future.   

@Andy Grabis  Hi Andy, that's awesome you are planning out that far ahead.   As for the property you mentioned, it is 1,272 on one side of the duplex, and probably about the same amount on the other.  You could probably get 2,600 on both sides, and maybe another 200-300 for the garage per month to get ~2,800-2,900 per month in gross rents.   

As for making this a house hack, you could easily live in one side, get a roommate (600-700/month), rent out the garage (200-300/month), get about 2,072-2,272 month to contribute to your mortgage (which includes the other side's rent). Lets say you did a FHA 3.5% down at 4.625%, that would be about a ~2,400/month mortgage payment, so you won't be living for free, but you would be close.

It doesn't meet the 1% rule that a lot of people talk about, but in Denver, any duplex in that price range 375-425K will probably rent for about the same unless you find one that has 3 bedrooms on each side then you probably will get 1500-1700/unit.  

The prospects in Denver are very good long-term, so you aren't necessarily are going to find great cash flowing deals, this one is a better one considering the price point and current condition of the property, and it is in an upcoming area that could be a solid place to buy and hold long-term property once East Colfax neighborhood gets redeveloped.    

Also, if you put a little more down than 3.5%, you could get better cash flow, but this one is a solid one.  

@Jonathan Perham

Hi Jonathan, that's awesome that you are looking to getting a multifamily and house-hacking in Denver.  It is a great experience, and you save so much money if you do it right.  You can literally live for free or close to it if you can make it work (and don't mind being creative like renting out an extra room/airbnbing/etc).  

Most multifamily properties need work since most of them are owned by investors not owner occupants.  Also, at your price point, it will be a challenge to find any duplexes around that number that are in good shape or in the most popular areas.  

FHA is a great program to use because they have a FHA 203K loan as well, so you can add the renovations too. Also, as others have mentioned, look into HomeReady/HomePossible loans too and save an FHA for later.

If you are looking for multis, there are lots of pockets of Denver that have them.  It really is a personal preference.  Do you want to be close to downtown?  Being close to parks/light-rail/restaurants?  Do you mind living next to a bunch of multifamily properties?  Do you mind a property that needs work?  Once you can answer those questions, you can start looking.  

Here's an example of a place in your price range:  https://www.redfin.com/CO/Denver/1580-Trenton-St-8...

I'm sure there will be multiple offers on it, but it is a good example. It is located in the East Colfax neighborhood that James was discussing.  This is a good example of one that is in decent shape from the pics, good price, and upcoming area of Denver/Aurora.  Good luck! 

@Seth Wilcock Thanks for taking the time out to explain that.  I didn't even consider a refinance into a HomePossible loan, I will have to think about it more.