New to REI - anyone had success recently with a BRRRR in the downtown Denver area?

[Evan Krepps]

I'm new to REI and considering purchasing a live-in BRRRR in the Denver area: ideally in the area West of Colorado and North of City Park.

(1) Has anyone had success in the last couple years with this strategy and area? If so, what did you look for? It seems to me that rents have not quite caught up to home prices so I probably wouldn't be able to cash flow until I've lived in the property myself for a couple years. 

(2) I'm also debating how big of a project to take on for my first time. I've reno'ed our current townhome myself but don't have experience yet in scoping a true rehab (and I see plenty of properties in this area of Denver that could benefit from a solid rehab). If you've had success, how big of a project (in terms of rehab costs) did you have to take on to make the numbers work? 

[James Carlson]

@Evan Krepps

My take, at least ... keep it simple for the first one. 

Make that first Denver property an easy win. A condo that you house hack. A SFH with a potential separate basement entrance that you Airbnb/STR. House-hacking of some kind in Denver will allow you to buy with less down and get most of your payment covered by others, allowing you to save for the next.

I love that Skyland area north of City Park. You're right about rents. They're not necessarily going to allow you to cash flow ... at least not for a few years.

We bought several condos in the Capital Hill neighborhood between 2015 and 2017. They were break-even at best for a few years, but we're cash-flowing now (and the appreciation is great.)

Anyway, I think overcomplicating the first buy delays your purchase. The faster you buy now, the faster you make money from your house-hacking tenants, the faster you can buy a second one. 

My two cents, at least.