All Forum Posts by: Kenny Smith

@Wesley Pittman

Love this!  Ain't that the truth.  I can't tell you how many times I've asked myself why am I doing this or what have I gotten myself into.

I like to say, "be willing to live a few years how most people won't, so you can live the rest of your life how most people can't"

Very powerful stuff!  Thanks for sharing.

@Noah Bacon

Great question!

The hardest part for me wasn't necessarily finding my first deal as it kind of fell in our laps, but more so once we bought it.

We did a non-conforming duplex conversion, living in the upstairs, and renting the basement. The hardest part was trying to learn a number of different businesses all at once. For example, we were running an STR. So you're learning how to run an STR, but also how to run an investment property. So there is the hosting side of things, and then there is the property management side of things. It was overwhelming at first, figuring everything out on our own.

If we had to do it again, I would say find a very knowledgable house hacking investor friendly Realtor willing to offer help AFTER closing as well.  It's easy for investor friendly Realtors to find you a property, analyze things, etc.  But, the really great ones help serve as a mentor to you and your relationship with them really begins AFTER closing as they are there to help answer questions, etc.

At the end of the day, it's still all on you to run a successful business, but having a mentor there to help guide you is pivotal to less trial and error.

Best,

Kenny

@Sway Tseng

I use travelers for my house hacks.  You need to clarify with your insurance broker or carrier that you are looking for "home share" coverage or whatever the carrier would like to call it as it seems they all call it something different.  This is specifically for house hacking.  From my understanding of my own policy, this coverage kicks in if anything happened to your property or your tenant involving your tenant.  Without it, I am not sure your liability or dwelling coverage would kick in if a claim involving your tenant transpired.

This is not the same as a landlord policy as a landlord is only valid once you move out and NOT living there.  This policy has additional coverage such as loss of use which can cover loss of rent, putting your tenant up if the property is uninhabitable, etc.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Best,

Kenny

@Aiden Luce

First off, congratulations on getting started while in College!  My only regret is that I didn't start investing in real estate earlier in life!  Good on you.

I think the best way to get started is to figure out a good investor friendly realtor in your area that is DOING what you want to do.  Finding these on BP is a great spot to start.

Local meetups are also a great way to meet other people who are house hacking in the area, and you can learn so much by going to these.  I couldn't recommend them enough.

Also, if you haven't read any books on house hacking or investing through Bigger Pockets, I'd recommend those as well.  There are plenty of options with house hacking, and I'm sure you'll find your niche on what best fits you.

Best of luck on your RE journey!

-Kenny

When thinking about what you'll be spending on maintenance each month, you start thinking about changing light bulbs, broken locks/door handles, painting, and can't forget, clogged drains.

Drain clogs can happen WAY more times than you'd like it to, and can start adding up quickly.  If you own a home older than 1980, it likely still has some type of cast iron or galvanized steel plumbing.  This type of plumbing is not good for your supposed "flushable wipes".  This is a big no no, and people flush these down our toilets more times than I can count.

However, since laying out signs in our bathrooms above the toilets stating NO WIPES or anything else besides toilet paper, we haven't had any issues.

Regardless, if you do run into issues, getting a plumber out to snake the line can be costly.  If this happens multiple times throughout the year, this could cost you, depending on the region of the country and accessibility to plumbers, anywhere from $150-$250 per visit.

To avoid this cost, we have purchased our own professional grade auger or "snake" for roughly the same price as one visit and can do it yourself.  Drain clogs can and most certainly will happen.  If you're a DIYer and simply don't want to have to rely on a plumber every time this happens, augers are very easy to operate and are a worthy investment for any investor.

Thanks for reading!

-Kenny

Just a quick reminder to get your RSVP in for the 7/11/23 meetup!  Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

https://www.meetup.com/meetup-...

@Benjamin Crowell

Congrats!!  That is an awesome idea..I have a few of these in the Westminster area and can shed some light on things.  As others have attested to, it really depends on what you're planning on putting downstairs.

If you are adding a full kitchen downstairs, it's important to understand what Aurora's zoning requirements are.  Typically, where there becomes an issue is when you add a second stove/oven downstairs as this needs to zoned as a R2, or a duplex to have 2 stoves.

If you have a door connecting both units and just keep that door locked off without a stove downstairs, it may be acceptable by the city.  It could be grey area, but it may be considered as just renting out a portion of your home.  As soon as you "wall off" the upstairs from the downstairs, it would become 2 separate units, and the city would likely call that multi-family.  If it's only zoned R1, then you would have a problem.

Feel free to reach out directly and we can chat more!

what is going on with the Denver Real Estate market...?

Over the last few months, the market has exceeded most experts expectations. Sure, it wasn't quite what we saw during COVID as interest rates have more than doubled since then, but it wasn't far off...

With inventory hitting rock bottom once again starting in March, we saw buyer demand still at an all time high. In return, basic economics of supply and demand showed us once again how prices can increase tremendously over a very short period of time.  Within the last few weeks, the market could see a slight cooling off. Inventory is slowly started to creep back up giving the motivated buyers some breathing room.

Inventory is now sitting at over 5,200 homes on market which is the most on market since the middle of last December. Within the last couple of weeks, instead of seeing multiple offers in the first weekend on market, maybe there is only one or two. Of course, this is very much depending on the price, location, and quality of home. If all three of those boxes are checked, bidding wars are still happening.

If we continue to see more and more homes hit the market, prices may start to cool slightly. That of course is assuming rates hover around where they're at right now. Any significant decline in rates could be the catalyst to spark the market right back up again...

Whether you’re a seasoned investor, brand new to real estate, or simply just curious to know more, this is the Meetup for you!! Talking real estate, sharing stories, drinking beer, what more do you need? 🤔

This will take place the second Tuesday EVERY MONTH from 6-8pm at Denver Beer Co. Olde Town Arvada location. 🍺

Looking forward to seeing YOU there! 🏔️ 🏠 🍻

What is loss of use coverage and is it really important!?

Loss of use is coverage that covers you when the property you are living in or renting is unable to be occupied due to a peril such as fire, flood, wind, theft, etc.

Essentially, if you aren’t able to occupy your home due to these perils, insurance will cover your hotel or other rental accommodations while your property is brought back to its previous condition.  Also, if you are a landlord, it will cover fair market rental income while you are unable to rent it due to it being uninhabitable.

Often times, people comb over this very important coverage or simply don’t have enough coverage. In an emergency situation, it is best to have at least several months of accommodations taken care of. With that said, the difference in your monthly premium of $2k in coverage vs $20k in coverage is minimal. Make sure you don’t skimp out and get the ample coverage!  It could just save you from financial disaster given an emergency situation arises.

Reach out with any questions on this or anything else I can do for you!

Best,

Kenny