STR in the West Denver area (Golden, Evergreen, Dillion) Property Mgmt companies?

Question

Hi All!

Looking to purchase a larger single family home that we could short term rent (some) but also use for our extended family. As we are not local to the area, we are wondering the best steps to start looking into this? Would you start by speaking with a property management company (as we would not be self-managing)? If so, does anyone have recommendations? Any recommendations around where to find information on STR laws in difference CO Towns? Open to advice on where to look. I started clicking into several properties currently listed on Airbnb in the areas of interest to see if there was a common company managing a lot of them, but didn't have a ton of luck.

Steve K. · Answer

STR regulations have gotten much stricter here in CO over the past few years as affordable housing issues have become more prevalent. In the City of Denver you can use part of your home as an STR, only if it is your primary residence (not secondary/ vacation home). Within Denver metro: Adams county currently doesn't have any regulations, Arvada currently allows STR's, Westminster does but just changed the rules to limit the number of them a bit, Boulder County does (with lots of hoops to jump through and restrictions such as number of nights it can be rented), Wheat Ridge has loosened up restrictions but I believe has capped the number of permits. Up in Summit County they had a moratorium for awhile then began issuing permits again with more rules and restrictions plus higher fees and taxes (for example in Dillon that you mentioned they have a $700 annual fee plus a 5% excise tax, you need a local agent to be on call 24-7 in case of emergencies (i.e. noise violations), there are occupancy limits, etc.) so you'll want to start by narrowing down your search a bit perhaps based on the regulatory environment. Of the 3 places you mentioned (none of which are really West Denver by the way, not to be a stickler ;), Dillon is by far the best bet for an STR (but you might get shanked if you call Dillon "West Denver" within earshot of a local, just fair warning there, the mountain locals are not keen on being associated with Denver in any way whatsoever). Golden only allows them if the owner resides in the property at least 10 months out of the year (and also has had a long-standing rivalry with Denver ;), and in Evergreen (also a distinct town, but perhaps the closest to "West Denver" on the list) STR's are technically allowed but it's become difficult to get a permit (you have to seek approval of a Special Exemption from the Board of Adjustment, then you can apply for a Short Term Rental Permit from the Planning and Zoning Division and the property must be a minimum of one (1) acre in size, the building standards of the underlying zone district must be met, adequate parking must be provided, defensible space requirements must be met, valid water and sanitation must be demonstrated, no more than five bedrooms in the dwelling). Clear Creek is generally more welcoming to STRs than Jeffco. I'd start by narrowing down your search a bit then seeking out an agent who is familiar with the STR regulations, management companies/ local market and it's players, and STR rental demand. It also depends on what your family would want to do when you're in Colorado. Golden, Evergreen, and Dillon are very different places with different things to do. Would you be skiing/ hiking/ outdoor pursuits, or visiting museums, art galleries, and restaurants? Where you end up will be a balance of STR regulations, budget, rental demand/rentability and what you require from the location for personal use. There are management options in most places unless you want to be in a remote spot.

Phillip Austin · Answer

Hey @John Cannon! One of your first steps should be connecting with a local agent who specializes in REI. Craig Curelop and @Chris Lopez are both highly recommended.

Unfortunately, I don't have any STR property management companies worth recommending. Personally, I only offer long term management.

Regarding STR regulations and the best areas, Arvada and Westminster are currently the two friendliest counties in and around Denver. Denver proper is enacting more and more restrictions, not to mention the STR market is oversaturated.

Here is an article I found: https://cl.cobar.org/features/...

Michael Baum · Answer

So we don't advocate for breaking of the laws when it comes to doing STRs. Just don't be that person. Why create a problem?

Michael Glunk · Answer

@John Cannon The best thing is to just start looking. (And don't try to figure everything out at once. Otherwise, you will spin and never make any progress as it will feel overwhelming.) As to where to look that really comes down to what your goals are for the property. So what are they?

Are you wanting a property to be a particular distance from an attraction? (Ski Resort, National Park, National Forest, Small Town, Denver, etc.) First and foremost you need to be clear on what you want and then someone can help guide you on to where that might be. (e.g. Golden is different than Evergreen which is different than Dillion). I might be biased but, I personally would start with an investor-friendly agent (BP is the perfect spot to find one of those!) Once you have it narrowed down or feel you are in the area (or areas) you want to buy in, then I would look for a PM. IMO

I personally live in Evergreen. It's a wonderful town. You can do well with an STR here but there are regulations. Jefferson County is fine to work with as long as you abide by their regulations. This goes for any market. But with that said, I would only really focus in on Evergreen or Conifer given the fact that you need at least 1 acre to STR in Jefferson County. As an example, Evergreen is actually in two counties (Jefferson County and Clear Creek County).  I agree with @Brett Deas that Clear Creek County is a good place to look, but they do have a cap on STRs. I check periodically and the last time I checked in with the county they had reached their cap. They re-evaluate this every year and the license # is based on a percentage of the total residential housing inventory each year. But this personally wouldn't stop me from looking in Clear Creek. Trying to not make this post too long! Happy to discuss why that is if you have an interest.

Anyway regarding where to get the information, you need to search up the town and then also the county as pending on the size of the town, they may not self-regulate. It could be a county thing. e.g. Evergreen is in unincorporated Jefferson County and doesn't have its own regulations so for Evergreen you would be using Jefferson County STR regulations. Hey, it can be a lot, so I would recommend you figure out your goal(s), and then do some digging and/or talk to an expert in your area or areas of interest and then go from there.

Regarding areas, I personally would stay away from Dillon. As mentioned in this thread, Summit County is getting VERY strict. I like Grand County. Specifically the Winter Park / Fraser area. I actually built two houses up in Fraser and LTR the smaller one and STR the larger one. I got them both for free! (Built and then refinanced all my money out of the construction loan when I transitioned to the fixed loan.) Needless to say, they do quite well.

So much more could go into this post, but digest and then hit me up with questions. I've got some videos that go into a little bit more detail on some of these topics on my YouTube Channel you can check out if you have time. (Links can be found in my BP profile.) But again, chatting with an expert would be my recommendation. With the goal of really narrowing down on what it is you are looking for and where and then going from there.

Reach out any time if I can be of more help and/or hit me up here in this thread and I'll be happy to respond!

Michael

Daniel Bedell · Answer

I've been digging into some of this as well. Jefferson County has very strict regulations, but are essentially unenforced. Last year they had like a town hall thing talking about this and of the 1000 STR's in JeffCo only like 15 are permitted because their processes for permitting is ridiculous, long, hard and expensive. That said they are collecting the tax dollars through AirBnb and VRBO so they are not stopping rentals at all.

Now that said if you are in the city limits of one of the towns that is different and they can have their own laws which they may enforce much more vigorously.

I am in JeffCo, but not in the Golden City limits and have not had any issue or inquiry from the county in about 6 years of STR. It's my primary though and I manage it myself so that helps. It can be quite lucrative here, but I do find the lack of a permitting process does make you feel more like you are walking on egg shells with neighbors and stuff if you have a problem.

So while looking on AirBnb or something might make it seem like renting out a place anywhere could work it is tricky. Post again if you find a place or have one you are trying to access I would love to hear more about your journey @John Cannon

Ben Einspahr · Answer

@John Cannon Regarding local STR rules and regulations, you best bet is to dig into each cities rules and regulations... I know it can be a lot. Or find an agent that is familiar with them all :)Would disagree about Jefferson County being difficult to work with. There are multiple different cities in JeffCo and each has different rules and regs. I have 2 STR in Jeff Co.

Also, one thing that was not brought up was lending. Any investment property you will be putting down 20%+ for downpayment. If you will be living there for 14+ days out of the year you can use a second home loan that will allow you to put as little as 10% down.

Hope this helps

Michael Baum · Answer

Paragraphs please. Walls of text are so hard to read.

Brett Deas · Answer

Don't look in Jefferson county is my advice LOL. They are notoriously hard on STR's and have crazy rules that try and shut you down all the time. What I would say is look a little farther into the mountains (Clear Creek, Park Counties). There it gets a lot easier as far as restrictions go.

As far as management companies go, I know of a few. Mostly it depends on the size of house because some managers only handle Luxury/big places, while other bigger companies manage smaller houses but I would say those companies aren't as quality focused.