All Forum Posts by: Nathan Crankfield

Well I certainly agree that's the best option. But there are usually creative ways to follow the law, which I look for in cases such as these where the laws seem unjust. It's not the proper role of government to dictate what I use my personal property for so long as it doesn't infringe upon the rights of others. 

There are potential workarounds like maybe getting exceptions from the city (if possible) or maybe leasing my current home out to someone for a discounted rate to run the Airbnb in the basement for us. If it would be in their name, it technically would be following the law as it would be their primary residence. 

I am a new STR host here in Englewood, CO! I currently house hack and rent out my basement. I know when looking for a property and familiarizing myself with Denver area laws, it seems that all STRs have to be the primary residence of the host.

How do people workaround that? Have people been successful in Denver or other markets in negotiating with the city to allow you to operate an STR that is not your primary residence? We will make probably $2-3k/month just renting the basement, but if I could keep this house after we move out and continue to STR we could make $4-5k/month. If we rented both the upstairs and downstairs separately, I think we could really cash flow at $7-8k/month.

I'd appreciate any insight! I'm looking to invest in another market within the next 6 or so months. 

This is awesome! We did something very similar up in Englewood, CO. We used the VA loan to buy a property in which we Airbnb the basement. I hope it continues to go well for you!

I couldn't agree more! It's a popular little area. When I travel, I like to have a place that has easy street parking and plenty of places to eat close by, without dealing with downtown traffic and nonsense, so it's what would be my ideal location if I were visiting Denver! 

I am able to use the VA loan multiple times, but I can only utilize it one at a time. Therefore, my hope is that I'll be able to refinance our current home in a few years to a conventional loan and be able to use the VA loan to do a similar house hack in Lakewood or Littleton.

Thank you both! 

@Jeff White It's been awesome so far. Our first 10 available nights all booked in the first week! We do plan to just live upstairs and renting the basement. Our plan is to do that for the next 3-5 years, then maybe transition this home to a medium term rental and purchase another house to house-hack. 

If things go REALLY well, I'd love to buy a mountain vacation home in the next 3-5 as well. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $650,000
Cash invested: $35,000

This is a house hack short-term rental in the Denver metro area

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I had access to the VA loan from my time as an active duty Army officer and I wanted to put it to good use to buy a 2 in 1 home for my family and rental property!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found it on the MLS with our Real Estate Agent

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan and personal funds

How did you add value to the deal?

We renovated the entire basement. Luckily, the house appraised for more than our purchase price. We were able to force some equity into the home through a total renovation of the basement and some pretty significant changes on the main floor as well.

What was the outcome?

We just launched our listing and currently have over $2,000 in bookings in under two weeks!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Ryan Pettigrew is an awesome, awesome lender here in South Denver!