All Forum Posts by: Kevin Fletcher

Sterling Seizert Welcome to the BP community. There is a lot of conversation on biggerpockets about how hard the market is currently in Denver. Ive heard its a little better in Colorado Springs, but I ve also heard there are some great opportunities nearby in fountain and in pueblo. I just started looking into these markets myself. Good Luck, i look forward to seeing you around the forums.

I Just read a caption in the book "The Aftershock Investor" with regards to this question I had, I felt like it sums up some of the questions I had plainly.

WONT INFLATION PUSH UP THE PRICE OF MY REAL ESTATE?

" YES, Inflation will make the nominal price (Real Estate) in dollars rise, but high interest rates and crashing real estate bubble will make the real value of homes (in inflation-adjusted dollars) go down. For example, it wont really matter if you home is worth twice as many dollars as it used to be if it cost four times as many dollars to buy groceries and fill up your car. Furthermore, when the real estate bubble fully pops, expect tit to happen very quickly. Inflation may push up prices over time, but a crash could easily devastate the value of your real estate over night

@Theresa W. Hello, I'm from Denver and I have really similar goals. Im a primarily buy and hold investor looking to expand into other types of RE investing. Welcome to BP!

@Stephen E. I have tried so hard to avoid allowing animals of any kind into my apartments, but in Denver it seems that almost every applicant for my vacancies is a pet owner. So, I have backed off my original no pets stance. I have a few rules though

#1 - I always have to meet and interact with the animal before approval.

#2 - They have to be under 20 lbs.

#3 - Any feces on the property has to be promptly picked up and removed.

#4 - An extra pet deposit.

and many times just as a courtesy to the other tenants in the complex I will take their comfort and happiness with the situation into account

Thanks everybody for your responses - as I suspected there are some conflicting opinions on this issue and its great to see what you guys would do when faced with these scenarios. I have learned a lot and feel like I'm better prepared to tweak my investing strategies for the future.

@Roman Pak You must have to have a pretty good feeling that you will get the property in question, if you are willing to do that. It could be an expensive lesson, if you don't get favorable responses.

@Bill S. Wow, I didn't even know the government could cause banks to index loans to CPI. I realize this is very unlikely, but scary all the same. I'm not ready to plan buy land to "Bug Out" just yet, although it may not be the worst idea. I'm just trying to build a realistic philosophy to base my investing strategies around. And I'm just concerned that the good old conventional wisdom of investing could be faulty when faced with the rising debt crisis and QE. Thanks for your response.

@Roman Pak Really? You use a private investigator? is that $150-200 per property?

@Karen Margrave I agree that diversification is good and to invest based on the local markets, I just feel that the signs are to big to ignore. So, I'm trying to take that into account when I plan my investing strategy for long term goals.

@Cal C. A good portfolio of buy and hold properties may be the best strategy. I would just hope they economy is good enough so I don't have trouble finding tenants who can pay. Maybe Ive been too influenced by the opinions of politically motivated pundits ;) but I really fear the worst. I believe it could be worse than anything we've seen.

@Lynn McGeein I see some bright kids who understand fiscal responsibility as well, but I think we are too far past the the point of salvation for our current situation. The debt is too big and and growing exponentially. The risk of defaulting is also so big that government has to make the decision to create and borrow money to delay the inevitable, at the expense of the future decision makers.

@Jeremy Baker And that may be the next logical conclusion I come to If I cant find what I'm looking for in Denver. It may even be worth the plane ticket or the price of gas to check out some new markets. I guess as investors the name of the game is being flexible and following the signs that the market gives you. If its not making money, its probably time to adjust the strategy.