Pueblo, CO - best returns in the country?

[Chris Pasternak]

Check it out for yourself:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/head-west...

Where are the haters at?

[Account Closed]

@Chris Pasternak If you can get it to work down there, more power to you. I lived in Colorado Springs for 4 years and never did more than drive past Pueblo so I can't speak to much to the quality/desirability of living there, but either way, if the numbers work - you can't go wrong.

[Monica Breckenridge]

You can definitely buy cheap houses in Pueblo. But your rental income wont be as strong as Colorado Springs. I have an office in Pueblo if you need an agent let me know.

[Sara Tremeear]

I read that yesterday and have been digging through Pueblo listings and running numbers 🙃. It seems that rents are ok down there, hovering around about 1k for a single family. The problem is that I don't know the neighborhoods at all. I'm thinking of taking a weekend trip down there just to get a feel for the areas and see if the numbers  really do add up.

[Karen Lovelady]

I’m living and investing here in Pueblo. There are a lot of distressed properties, and a huge rental shortage. You do need to know your neighborhoods, but there is plenty of work to do here.

[Sara Tremeear]

@karenlovelady thank you! It’s good to hear that from someone living in the area. I’ll need to figure out a weekend in the next few weeks to stay down there and get a feel.

[Gregory Flores, Jr.]

I know @Robert Herrera can attest to the returns down in Pueblo. I travelled down there last year and he was gracious enough to meet up and explain what he was doing down there. I can only imagine how much he's expanded since then!

[Travis Gulley]

I also live here and invest here in Pueblo.  The prices of single family homes are becoming inflated due to the market.  But compared to the prices of homes in other parts of Colorado, Pueblo is still a decent market for investments.  You do have to be aware of the neighborhoods you are purchasing in.  Might seem like a great deal for a house under 100k but your fix up costs might not be worth the headache. 

[Chris Pasternak]

I agree with Travis and I'm seeing 1% of purchase price in rents readily available.  Some may need work after the purchase but I recently had an investor fill a unit the day after closing.

[Robert Herrera]

Chris Pasternak Gregory Flores, Jr. Yes... Pueblo is awesome to invest in. I’m buying a portfolio of about 6-7 units hopefully this week. Cashflow is through the roof. Also with the new $25Million Minor League Baseball Stadium going in, new highway roads, new exits, etc. old neighbor hoods are getting too expensive for the trouble makers, so they are moving to the smaller towns and out lying areas. I BUY IN ALL AREAS AND IN ALL SIDES OF TOWN. Yes that includes the Lower East Side Right Next to the Bars, salt creek, the county, etc. New roads and sidewalks there. I also have some knowledge on some area buildups, because I’m involved in some big projects we are working through, to speed up the process. 0% vacancy rate for me, as there are nowhere near the amount of rentals needed. Good luck out there! Happy Investing Everyone

[Jared Chipkin]

Thanks for this article link @Chris Pasternak.   What kind of returns are you seeing on properties that don't need too much work?  

[Jeffery Linn]

Looks like the minor league baseball team has pulled out, but other good news from the article below.

The county says the cancellation of the stadium build won't impact other projects, including the Riverwalk expansion, Runyon Sports Complex expansion, and Main Street pedestrian redesign.

https://www.krdo.com/news/minor-league-baseball-te...

[Chris Pasternak]

Here's a great article on the North Vista Highlands Development

https://www.chieftain.com/business/localbusiness/pueblo-s-next-big-neighborhood-eyed-at-north-vista-highlands/article_ee09708a-34ce-5d35-bb99-027476940b7d.html

[Chris Pasternak]

There's a meeting at the Pueblo Union Depot on August 8 at 5pm where there will be a presentation on the North Vista Highlands Development project.  

[Tim Emery]

Chris, @Chris Pasternak

     ICOR brought 50 investors to Pueblo on Saturday. We saw some great properties. We will be discussing it tomorrow night at our meeting in the Springs. 

Numbers look good on larger multi family. Do you have any?

Tim 

[Buckner Toney]

I’ve been looking at a number of Pueblo properties and some have some promising numbers. However, in the course of my research I’ve come to find out that there are about 1900 properties subject to testing due to an EPA Superfund site causing possible lead and arsenic contamination. It appears to be an old silver smelter from around the turn of the century a hundred years ago. Any of the local agents/investors that can shed some more light on this?

[Rick Thomas]

@Buckner Toney you are correct with the Superfund site. I have a list of potential addresses in the Superfund site. A lot has been happening and we are definitely heading in the right direction. I'll paint you the broad strokes... if you own a property in the area, the EPA will test the property and basically give you an up or down, if the property gets a clean bill of health then any lender will lend in that area, conventional, fha, va type loans. If the property tests high then you basically get put on the list for mitigation. Off hand I don't remember the numbers that are scheduled to be cleaned, I want to say 150 or so in the next couple of years. The cool thing is that when they do mitigate they'll do xeriscaping or even plant grass on the properties. The stock of homes obviously are older 1900-1950 for the most part. It's a buy and hold dream because once the area is removed from the Superfund site the property values could potentially raise significantly.  The frustrating part as agents is the average property values in the area are in the sweet spot for the average and fist time homebuyer being in the $100-200k range. 

[Buckner Toney]

Thanks very much for the info @Rick Thomas and @Chris Pasternak. I just visited Pueblo this weekend getting to know more about the various neighborhoods. Can anyone recommend any property managers in the area?

[Chris Pasternak]

@Buckner Toney Remax of Pueblo manages around 500 or so units.  DM me and I can get you in touch.  

[Chris Pasternak]

@Tim Emery I saw a video that some investors did on the Pueblo/CO Springs/Denver markets and I'm not sure why they viewed the properties they did in Pueblo.  I believe this is what you're referring to with the ICOR.  Right now the on-market deals are in the foreclosures and properties with extended days on market because of the lack of inventory and amount of competition with retail buyers otherwise. 

As for the larger buildings there was just recently an apartment complex consisting of 20 units at $60k/door renting at an average of $700 it is u/c now because the deal makes sense.  There are lots of multi-units and singles out there with tenants in them that are being listed in a retail buyers price point.  On top of that the access to these units proves to be a struggle because the tenants deny showings or the seller requires written offers to access the units.  Many buyers don't want to deal with that and get frustrated.  

I'm happy to discuss further in detail in DM or better yet over a cup of coffee.