All Forum Posts by: Robin Searle

@Paul Gagich  Sounds like an awesome lot!  We are so short on inventory that adding an accessory dwelling unit will not only boost your income but also your property value.  If you are looking into using it as a short term rental be sure to join the Colorado Springs Short Term Rental Alliance FB page to stay on top of regulation changes.  You do need a permit and sales tax license now (as of 1/1/19) for anything less than 30 days. 

@Paul Gagich - is your lot zoned R2? The city council is talking about allowing ADUs on R1 lots but that hasn’t passed and may not. If it is zoned R2 then talk to regional building about setback and lot coverage requirements. If you have the available space and correct zoning I personally think it would be a great investment in our current market!

@JD Gunter - Steve mentioned some of those concerns as well. He said before he could ever make a decision about this, he'd have to address all of those concerns. I'm not sure HOW you address them, but that's what he said. He mentioned he's been hearing from the Bed & Breakfast owners for years about how unfair it is they have to pay commercial rates and STR owners don't. I agree with you, I think most STR's in the city would shut down and maybe that's the ultimate goal - I know at least two council members are very anti-STR. My purpose in calling him was to learn if he was truly looking at this and also to find out how much notice we'd be given so we could change business models. He said he would give at least 1 years notice through a series of community meetings if the change ever was going to be put into place.

@Ken Latchers I must have missed that.  Do you remember what the thread was titled?

I'm curious if any other counties are looking at changing the assessment of residential short term rentals to commercial for the purposes of property tax like El Paso County (Colorado Springs) is? This idea was recently tabled at the state legislature but our city council brought it up so I called and spoke directly to our county assessor. In Colorado, the difference is significant - 7% residential tax rate and 29% for commercial. The assessor said he is looking into it but has many concerns he needs to address first - and added that nothing would happen before 2021. I'd love to hear if other counties across the country are looking at this and if so, has anyone had any luck in challenging the assessment? Some of his concerns included lenders calling the loan if he changed the property to commercial since the loan was made for residential, trying to find people outside of the city who are doing STR's (the city recently passed licensing requirements), and trying to figure out an assessment if the owner was living in the property and only using a portion for STR. He was very open and straightforward about his concerns and the fact he is, indeed, looking at the possibility. He added there would be multiple community meetings before any change like that was ever instituted.

@James Carlson - Steve said nothing will happen before 2021 and that’s only if he can work through a lot of concerns. I’m not sure how much sway we could have when it comes to tax assessment rates. Will definitely be watching it. If you want to call and chat, I’ll share with you what he told me specifically.

@Ken Latchers very true! STRs are a politically hot topic. Always have a back up plan! I have one here in the Springs and getting ready to do a second. I definitely made sure they would also work as corporate or long term rentals.

@James Carlson Did you see the most recent Colorado Springs council planning session where they are re-looking at STR's? It was brought up that the El Paso county assessor may start assessing them as commercial properties which would bump up the property tax from 7% to 29%. The state recently tabled a similar idea. Several on the council would love to see this happen so I'm not sure I'd say Colorado Springs is so investor friendly as they used to be. I called the assessor and had a long conversation with him and it is indeed something he's looking at, but said he has a lot of concerns which would need to be addressed first.

@Harrison Hodson I’d be happy to talk to you about my

opinion as an agent of rent to own. Feel free to connect!

@Chandler Binkley check out the Meet UP app and you’ll find 5 or 6 local groups.