New to real estate and Denver: interested in Buy and Hold

[Patrick H.]

Hello,

I am new to investing in real estate and just moved to Colorado last summer after having a home built in Erie.  Now that we are settling in and getting all the new construction costs handled (landscaping, fence, patio, minor home upgrades etc) we are wanting to put our money to work for us in more than just the financial markets.

It seems to be tough to find rental properties in the Denver Metro / Boulder Metro area that turn a profit on a 15yr mortgage, but I'm only casually looking while accruing my downpayment.
Q: What price point should I be looking into?  I was hoping to pick up lower cost condos / townhomes as single family homes around here are a bit pricey.

So far, I've read books, blogs and just recently began listening to BiggerPockets podcasts (which is what brought me here to this expansive resource!).  Furthermore, I've been talking to a property management company that is local to me about the rental vacancies and typical rental rates in the area (I'm planning to have some more serious discussions with them when I have the money to purchase our first rental property before I contact our real estate agent).

I'm planning to attend the Denver Meetup on 3/7 and am very thankful for the opportunity to meet people who are actually "making it" in this *expensive* and *tight* market.