Another member from denver

[Scott Heiman]

Greetings,  

I am 36, father of a 3 year old boy. My wife and I have been thinking about investing in real estate for a while and have a small down payment to get started.  (Under 50k) I am working on the criteria and reading through the guides on this site and intend to start moving on to blogs soon.  We've narrowed it down to either a condo or townhouse near us (bear valley west) that would generate 200/month cash flow and have some appreciation or a multifamily in colorado springs.  If anyone would be willing to share their experiences with me or perhaps point me in the direction of a realtor with some experience in buy and hold properties for rent I'd appreciate it.  I have 5 years experience doing carpentry and back out work. I enjoy repairing and updating our own home so I think with my wife managing the properties and me doing routine maintenance and small projects this could be a good fit for us and a way to generate some passive income and build wealth over the long term.

Thanks for the read,

Scott

P.S. I know the Denver market is hard to find any deals, but I only need one for now!

[Dorothy Ma]

@Scott Heiman

Welcome! Bear valley is a nice area to start. I would suggest you try aim for a bit higher cash flow per month.  With rentals, there are always things that come up, so you'll need to account for that contingency.  Your handy background is great, and you might have to do a lot of tlc to get a deal in this market.  As Dan mentioned, this market is tough so you'll need to be a little patient.  But having to do more work upfront also means more upfront cost, so you'll want to recoup it back in cash flow, I usually aim for $500+ and all my properties are above that (I understand this market is tough so maybe $350-400+ these days)  

Also, I would recommend looking at single families rather than condos, particularly because of HOA costs. These can be $200-300 per month and that take a huge chunk out of your monthly cash flow right there. Let me know if you have questions, I'm happy to chat and give you more pointers as you get started.