House Hacking / Rental Arbitrage / Rental Solution

[Niki Ann Bell]

Hello All!

My sister is in a very tough position in life and she is no longer safe at home, so I want to help her find an affordable place to live immediately and help her find a remote job. She currently lives in Arvada Colorado and I'm trying to think of anything I can do to help her and want to think of all options. Does anyone know if rental arbitrage is a thing in that area? I don't know the real estate market there and am desperate to help figure out options for her. She has 2 beautiful daughters, 2 dogs and 2 cats and she has been a stay at home mom for the last 3 years. So she will be completely starting over. If anyone has any resources for me to help her I'd be so appreciative! Thank you! 

[Miller McSwain]

Hey Niki, I'm sorry to hear about that situation!

So it sounds like your main objective is to find her an affordable place to live. If by rental arbitrage you mean renting a place from a landlord and subleasing to folks on a short-term basis to make a profit, then I don't think that is going to help your objective much.

Rental Arbitrage can be a great way to get some cash flow with little out-of-pocket costs, but I'm not so sure that the strategy would lend well if she is also living in the rental with her kids and pets.

If she is low on cash, perhaps she can find a cheaper place for her family to rent and live first. Then she can save some some cash and rent a separate unit to arbitrage (save enough for security deposit, first month's rent, and furnishings).

I recently looked into rental arbitrage in Denver, and I ultimately decided to look elsewhere. And then I ultimately decided to abandon the strategy in favor of house-hacking another property; HOWEVER, you sister may not have the cash to house-hack.
Denver and surrounding areas are very strict about short-term rentals, with a few exceptions (I believe Arvada is one of those exceptions). If you are interested in learning about which areas of Denver may lend well to short-term rentals, shoot me a DM. I have a contact that knows all about the Denver STR markets.

Good luck Niki!