House Hack + Airbnb Greater Denver Area

[Hank Olken]

Hi All, I'm looking to move to Denver area in the next year and I'm looking to get a duplex where I house hack one of the units and rent out the other unit as an Airbnb as an introduction into real estate investing and property management. I know that in Denver city limits, one can't Airbnb their non-primary residence for fewer than 30 days/stay booked so I'm looking into surrounding cities like Aurora to do this where they don't have the same restriction. 

So my main question is has anyone here done this before in the greater Denver area? I'd love to connect with anyone who has experience with duplexes and/or Airbnb-ing additional units in the area. I also plan to utilize creative financing to make the deal so particularly interested in connecting with any investors who would like to learn more. 

Thanks y'all and chat soon! 

[Steve K.]

Welcome in advance to Colorado. I got started by house hacking in Boulder (single family home rented by the room to friends). Can't beat it as a way to get started with limited capital IMO/ much better than renting. 

There are other areas besides Aurora that allow non-owner occ STR and you could Airbnb the other half of a duplex in, like Wheat Ridge, Centennial, Arvada (existing regs which allow), unincorporated Adams county and Westminster (no current restrictions or regulations allowing/preventing). There are also other places where they are not technically allowed but exist and there is no enforcement. Many people prefer operating above board where regulations are in place in order to reduce the risk of new regulations being adopted.

The market is really competitive here as I'm sure you know and duplexes are one of the more sought-after property types so they are hard to find in the entry-level price point. Being open to as many different options as possible will give you a better chance of being able to find something, so I'd recommend considering a large single family home to house hack/rent by the room (ideally with an in-law suite to STR but those are also really hard to find), and also being open to the furnished medium term rental strategy (30+ days) which works really well. You can charge almost as much as STR, it's less management intensive, and you won't be restricted to the areas that allow STR or have to get an STR permit/license, pay associated taxes, etc. Inventory is just extremely tight here and appreciation has been so steep that getting in sooner rather than later is important, so it helps to have different tools to apply to the few properties that are available.