All Forum Posts by: Trace Adams

Hi all! I am about to close on my first home which is west of LIttleton, CO (off Bowles & Wadsworth specifically for those familiar with the area). The house has 2 beds 2 bath upstairs where me and my girlfriend will live, and a walkout finished basement with 2 beds 1 bath downstairs. We plan to rent out the basement on a medium-term basis - we are going to install a full kitchen down there, put a lockable door between upstairs and downstairs, fence off a private section of the yard, and there is already laundry down there, so it will essentially be an up-down duplex with a separate walkout basement entrance. Only negative is HVAC isn't split so renters will be subject to the temp we have it set at upstairs. Curious everyone's thoughts on 1) whether I should rent this out as an entire unit or on a room-by-room basis, and 2) what seems like a fair starting rent to list it at? Thanks!

Hi all,

I am currently under contract on a 4 bed 3 bath SFH in the Littleton area (Bowles and Wadsworth to be exact). There are 2 beds/2 baths/1 living room upstairs, and 2 beds/2 bath/1 living room down stairs in the fully finished basement with a separate walkout entrance. I plan to rent out the basement but have a couple of questions as this is my first house/house hack:

-Littleton rental law considerations (this might fall under JeffCo rather than city of Littleton, can't really tell)

-Thoughts on best lease strategy for that area (STR/MTR/LTR)? Thinking STR may be good given proximity to Red Rocks, although not sure of STR laws per above?

-Thinking about the long term, if I were to move out could I turn it into a duplex and rent out upstairs and basement separately? FYI, the house is in a PD (planned development) district

-Regarding homeowners insurance - do I need a special policy or add on to standard policy? Should I tell my insurance that I'm renting out basement?

-220v oven in basement or just a 110v cooktop?

Thanks all for your help! 

Hi all,

I am currently house hunting for my first home in the Aurora, CO area and am interested in finding something with a finished basement that I could create a separate entrance for (assuming one doesn't already exist) and rent it out to tenants and make a dent in the mortgage payment given this high interest rate environment. However, I called the City of Aurora to ask about zoning codes and considerations for doing this, and they said renting out a basement is not allowed in Aurora. Is there a way around this or are my dreams dead because the govt, who wants to fix the housing crisis, will not let a first time homebuyer do something that is perhaps the #1 solution to making housing cheaper in a market like Denver? Thanks!

 Thanks Josh. Wasn't aware I couldn't rent out a second home long term so good to know. I think I would self-manage a short term rental but good to know you will co-host for a discount - I might be in touch.

 Thanks Michael. I hadn't thought about cleaning costs being passed through but makes sense now as there has always been cleaning fees in the airbnb's I have stayed in in the past. That helps my numbers for sure. 

Michael, jumping in way late here, but what is a good rough estimate for monthly cleaning and maintenance costs as I run my numbers for a STR investment (looking in Tampa market if that helps)? Thanks!

Hi all, I recently posted about buying a rental in Tampa and got a lot of good replies. Since then I figured out since I meet the income threshold I could consider it a "second home" vs. rental investment so I could put 10% down, which has me even more interested. I wanted to do a follow up post to get everyone's thoughts on the other things I am thinking about currently as I crunch my numbers and look for properties:

-Trying to decide on whether I would want to rent on a short term or a long term basis. Leaning toward a turn-key property and renting it out long term - easier to manage, don't have to furnish, reasonable property management fees (~10% of monthly rent income from what I've read), and more stable income. Seems like short term would likely generate more revenue but not really sure about profit when you consider vacancy and property management fees of ~30% (I would consider remote management but I would think cleaning fees would still be ~$400/mo. which is high). Thoughts?

-On that point, what are the best areas/neighborhoods for short term rentals and the best areas/neighborhoods for long term rentals in the Tampa metro (willing to go outside of Tampa city limits to areas like St Pete/Clearwater/etc.)?

-Touched on it a bit above but what are everyone's thoughts on hiring a property manager for a long term rental? And for a short term rental? 

-Lastly, any areas I should avoid that have had flooding issues in the past? I have heard the St Pete area can be bad...

-Any other specific tips for the Tampa market would be welcomed!

Thanks!

Trace Adams

 
Trace