All Forum Posts by: Matthew Vance

My property in Park Hill had a very large basement living room. We framed a wall in the center which created 2 bedrooms. Both windows were non-conforming and needed to be upgraded to egress.

I interviewed 10+ egress window companies in Denver. I highly recommend Top Star Egress as they were extremely cost competitive and the work was wonderful.

We had a European tilt and turn - all in for $3,700.

And a very large window slider for $5,000 (seriously massive window, looks great)!

All in for $8,700 when everyone I spoke to was around $14k - $20k.

Hope this info serves you well!

I paid $364 to have Enviocore perform a lead paint test inspection in our old Denver house (built in 1942). We have two children (toddler and a newborn) and were house hacking and performing substantial renovation to the property while living in it.

There was no lead paint found inside the house, except for the front door. On the exterior, the fascia was the only thing that tested positive and there were paint chippings on the ground.

Because I was house hacking with children, it was well worth the money.

Will I pay for a lead inspection for future properties? No, but only because I plan to complete nearly the entire project before moving in. Renovating a house while living in it is not easy, good luck!

@James Carlson and @Sara Levy-Lambert thank you so much for the advice, I really appreciate your thoughts on this topic!

I've tried getting in contact with the city of Denver to learn more information, just because it is a little bit ambiguous. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make contact.

Thanks again, back to the drawing board :) 

I came across a very interesting Airbnb host located in Denver who has a very successful tiny home (on wheels, which would classify it as an RV) in their backyard.

After a little research on DenverGov this seems like it wouldn't be allowed. However, the host has over 100 reviews so if it weren't allowed you'd think it would be shut down by now.

The average cost of a tiny home is $45,000 and based on the hosts listing, this looks PROFITABLE. Not to mention this creates privacy by having a completely detached living space.

Is hosting a tiny home on wheels allowed in Denver?

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4...

Hi Dillon,

From my experience, in the last year or so, if you weren't bringing all cash to the table for an investment property your offer wasn't looking attractive. That's not to say you couldn't win with a conventional loan. But making offers with an FHA loan was a big no no! Reason being is that when going the FHA route the bank will have higher standards on the property. For example, our first home we used an FHA and they made the seller replace a window, completely remove a shed in the backyard that was sagging a little because it could be a hazard, and a bunch of other things.

Sellers know that if a buyer is using an FHA loan the bank may require more repairs compared to other loans. This means inspection objections, seller concessions, seller repairs, etc.

Now that the market has softened sellers are more willing to consider FHA, so you should take advantage of this opportunity. Although FHA may have slightly higher interest rates compared to a conventional loan there are some nice first time home buyer down payment assistance programs you can tap into, CHFA being one of them. I believe you need to go FHA in order to qualify for CHFA down payment. I believe CHFA covers 3% of the downpayment and it acts as a secondary lien on your house. The downpayment assistance is 0% interest, no payments, and is due in 30 years or when you refi/sell the property. Really great way for beginner investors to keep their cash reserves for the rehab.

You're credit score looks great, get pre-approved so you know what you're working with, and understand that when making offers you can ask for seller concessions. Seller concessions can be used to buy down points on your loan permanently or you can look into a 2-1 buy down.

Hi, are there any investors out there interested in swapping contractor info?

I've come to realize just how important it is to consistently grow your list of quality contractors. This is especially true given how booked out some contractors have become. I had a carpenter back out at the last second and I didn't have any backup which really threw off my schedule. I personally feel like carpenters are one of the most mysterious and aloof people out there...

Anyways, I request a lot of bids for each part of the rehab process and along the way I've found some pretty great people that are cost competitive and provide high quality work.

For example, I can provide some pretty solid recommendations for:

• Egress windows, electrician, window installation, storm doors, flooring (carpet/vinyl planks), hardwood floor refinishing.

I can provide contacts for other jobs like carpentry, drywall, etc. but the ones listed above are the best of the best.

I've found it pretty challenging to find a reliable handyman and carpenter. I've had to wing these two by finding whoever was available on Thumbtack (which actually works out really well sometimes). I'm searching for someone who is more established than the people listed on Thumbtack, Home Advisor, etc. because I feel these sites tend to have contractors who are a little more flaky (but you really can get lucky and find great people there too)!

Let's connect, share our info, and support each other towards our path to financial independence! 

I really like this because as I'm wrapping up my current rehab I realized....it's gonna be really expensive furnishing this house for an Airbnb!!

I thought about going all in on Black Friday to scoop some deals but I think I'll just have to search FB marketplace for some good deals when the time comes to list the property on Airbnb.

Can anyone please recommend contractors for the following projects? Property located in Northeast Park Hill.

1. Drywall - Basement needs drywall panels hung and skim coated (panels already stored in the basement). One bedroom upstairs needs skim coat.
2. Window Repair - Two double-pane windows that do not close all the way (slight gaps in the corners which leaks air).
3. Hardwood floor refinishing - approximately 480sqft, one small section will need replacement.

Thank you for your comments!