All Forum Posts by: Jessica Stevenson

@James Matuschka Oh Interesting about being grandfathered in, I'm not surprised though. Lots of cities/towns are trying to crack down and implement some sort of regulations around STR, even here in the Northeast. It's definitely something to be mindful of - although I'm sure you could do it with a place in Rifle eventually?

@Thomas Hickey  Have you attended any of the local meetups?  NHREIA or local ones posted here through the 'Network' section?  I would recommend attending these, you'll find plenty of folks to chat with!

@James Matuschka love Glenwood Springs! I used to live there and New Castle. Curious what your plan is with your home in Glenwood - STR? Long-term renters?

@Jake Burhans  better off to go to a boutique brokerage that doesn't kill you with desk fees and monthly charges

Congrats @Keith Knight - interested to learn why you chose to do a long term rental rather than student or short-term?

@Erika Geoffrey You can absolutely ask for updated lease agreements, rent rolls, etc, and you should! Seller may push back and want you to have an executed P&S prior to giving out sensitive information, which is fine (just make it part of your due diligence). At the very least you should know exactly how long each tenant has lived there and if they are on an annual lease or month-to-month agreement. Completely agree with @Jonathan R McLaughlin - sounds like this is a classic scenario of trading cash flow for appreciation.  Some people seek out these deals - all depends on your long term investing goals! Good luck :) 

@Matthew Balter - I think it's more of a matter of which agent partnership is right for you, not IF an agent partnership is right for you.  As a new investor, finding someone you trust who will take the time to educate and explain along the way will be paramount.  Reach out to a few agents and schedule a call simply to chat about your investing goals and where you want to be in the next 5 years (and even more basic, see who you simply connect with - you'll be spending a LOT of time together during an escrow period once you get under contract).  Knowing your goals will be important information to a decent agent skilled in working with investors.  Then, Follow up!  As a busy agent I can tell you that there are many people who tell me they want to stay top of mind, and then they disappear.  

You should still have an applicable section for completing due diligence; getting insurance quotes, checking title, easements etc.  Any "paperwork" issues could be lumped into this category.  As for the "second guessing", you're on your own there.  Why weren't these red flags spotted prior to putting in an offer?  Was it an issue that should have been disclosed by the seller but wasn't?  At this point yes your client is contractually obligated to deliver the earnest money.  Do we see buyers back out prior to delivering earnest money?  Yes.  Your best bet would be to call the seller and discuss, see what can be worked out.

Ok, that makes sense.  Definitely sift through some of these posts for contractor recommendations.  Local facebook groups can also be a good source of referrals when the time comes.  The 'younger' multis in this area definitely tend to trade for a premium, so I think a good balance could be to find something that's been well managed/maintained that you can make updates to in order to add some value.  I'll keep an eye out for you!

@Xiaowei Li - Congrats on taking the leap into investing!  Everyone here makes some great points.  Keep in mind, you'll be more hands on with the maintenance aspect of a small mulit, especially with all these turn of the century buildings we have in the area.  For you personally, does the potential hassle of dealing with a condo association outweigh the potential hassle of scheduling/hiring/managing contractors?  @Frank Chin makes a valid point of not being able to predict cashflow if the HOA is not run properly. Would you be willing to sit on the board of an association where you owned rental units to have a say in how things are managed?