All Forum Posts by: Kayla Givens

Hey @Stephania Ramirez! Good to see you on here :) I know we chatted a little bit about potential red flags with house hacking a condo/townhome but figured I'd put it here in writing for your reference and anyone else considering doing the same thing!

I'd say the biggest thing to watch out for in this type of property is the HOA. There are 2 major things to consider:

1. What type of lease terms do they allow? More than likely, HOAs will not allow any sort of STR. I have seen some that place limits on their lease terms to 90+ as well. This would apply to a SFH with an HOA too, not just condos/townhomes.

2. Financials - is it a well run HOA? Do they have enough money in reserves for any major repairs? If not, it's possible the HOA could dole out a special assessment to all of the owners if something big comes along like a roof, sewer lines, etc. Talk with your homeowners insurance agent to see what, if anything, could be covered if a special assessment comes along. Also, will be very important during the due diligence period to get in the nitty gritty of the numbers and ask a lot of questions!

Hope that helps!! Happy to answer any additional questions as they pop up!! :)

Hey @Kaleigh Sanchez! So exciting that you're getting started with investing. Denver is a high priced market for sure so building some capital in the mean time is a great idea. You nailed the process for the most part. From what I know from other wholesalers, you're going to need to put in a ton of work with cold calling/advertising. @Adam Macias is a very seasoned wholesaler and may have some tips/tricks for you! Also, I'd check out @Michelle Garabito's story - absolute badass and is affiliated with Astro Flipping which is a great wholesaling community. 

Best of luck! Hope you will update us along your journey!

@Andrew Dincola I didn't use anything to calculate it - just based off of your room prices I think that could be a fair amount!

@Andrew Dincola Ha! Happens to the best of us. Honestly I would shoot for around $300 as a target for the extra room. That's just my two cents - hope you will keep us updated!

Hey, @Andrew Dincola! Echoing everything that @Ryan Thomson has shared - if it's a room that was just going to sit empty anyways, I would consider giving your tenant a good deal on it. What do you typically rent your rooms for?

@Katlynn Teague love these questions! My fiance and I got started with a house hack, did a rental arbitrage, partnered with some investors on a few single-family homes, and just purchased our first multifamily property this year! Keep your foot on the gas and things happen!

Hey @Clark Thomas Tyrrell! Welcome to the BiggerPockets community! You're definitely in the right place and asking some great questions. I think everyone's ideal first real estate investment is a quadplex that cash flows immediately but, unfortunately, in this hot Denver market, it's extremely hard to find. 

Without knowing your personal situation, I would suggest looking into the house hacking method. It's the lowest cost of entry and allows you to rinse and repeat each year (assuming you can cash flow once you move out and have enough saved for another down payment). With property values and rent continuing to rise in the Denver area, it's not unlikely that by the time you're ready to move to the next property you could see some cash flow. House hacking also offers plenty of scenarios - rent by the room, separate units (if you can find the right property) for STR, MTR, LTR, etc.

Just my two cents if you really want to stay in the Denver market!!

@Pauline Choi echoing what Joe shared - it is quite common in the Denver area. I've only seen one home come in in the safe threshold while others have had radon in the 12-25 range. Like Joe said, it's not a huge cost and in my opinion, is worth it for peace of mind and if you have tenants living in your property, for their safety as well. 

Best of luck!

Hey, @Mitchell Maginnis! The city and county of Denver does not allow STRs that are not your primary residence. But, there are a few cities in the metro area that do allow STR: Arvada, Centennial, Wheat Ridge, and a little pocket of Denver that is located in Unincorporated Adams county. Arvada does limit the number of days you an STR the property and has a cap on the number of STRs you can have, and Wheat Ridge limits the amount of STR licenses it will give out to 2% per district. Last I checked they were on a waitlist.

Personally, I really like Denver/Unincorporated Adams County. There are no rules or regulations for STRs although there has been talk of implementing a $150/year STR license. I like this area as it offers the most in terms of strategy - STR/MTR/LTR.

Hope that helps! Sent you a DM and would be happy to connect more!

@Jarred Stangohr congrats on getting ready to make the move into real estate investing! There are so many great reasons to invest and right now, with the market where it is, in my opinion there is no better time to buy. 

My fiance and I got started with house hacking but did it a little differently - we lived in the basement and had people living upstairs. But, what you're planning to do is an absolutely excellent strategy to get started. You'll get a taste of what it's like to own a home and see what comes up - repairs, maintenance, etc. And, like others have said, you'll get to reap the tax benefits of owning the home for one year before you turn it into a rental. 

Sent you a DM - would love to connect more about this and get you pointed in the right direction!