Questions/Opinions on MTR in Denver and surrounding areas

Questions/Opinions on MTR in Denver and surrounding areas

Rental Property Investor · Denver CO · Member since 2022 · 43 posts · 19 votes

Hello,

We are looking for our first house-hacking primary residence to buy and its been hard to try to find a property that cash flows based on BPR calculator. Does anyone has experience with MTR in Denver as of recently such as traveling nurses, insurance contractors, Furnished Finder? How effective is it to MRT an ADU or a basement that's fully redone? We are having trouble to committing to one due to not being able to break even and not having 3-6 months of mortgage payment in case of vacancy which would wipe out most of our savings. I know there are laws around MRT in certain cities/counties, which ones would you recommend to look for MRT but also have it be your primary residence? We are planning on buying the property with FHA loan (850k) and using HELOC as down payment and keeping the residence which we are currently in and rent it out as LTR

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Lender · Denver, CO · Member since 2021 · 243 posts · 253 votes
3y

Hey, @Roman Puzey! So exciting that you're looking for your first house hacking property! With rates where they are and home prices where they are, it is going to be tought to find anything that cash flows right now. Your best bet is to find something that will make the greatest impact on your monthly payment. Ex: If your mortgage is $3k and you can rent out your basement for $1500, you're left with a $1500 mortgage payment which isn't all bad. 

There are no restrictions on any rentals that are 30+ days (MTR) in the Denver metro area - only less than 30 days (STR). Arvada, Centennial, Wheat Ridge, Unincorporated Adams County are all STR friendly although Arvada has a caveat of only allowing 240 days per year as an STR and Wheat Ridge has likely met the limit for STR licenses by now. MTR is a great strategy and in terms of location, you want to find something that is 10-15 minutes from hospitals. From the nurses I've spoken with, something closer to Denver or the south towns would be your best bet in terms of desirability.

Hope that helps!

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  • Lender · Denver, CO · Member since 2021 · 243 posts · 253 votes
    3y

    Hey, @Roman Puzey! So exciting that you're looking for your first house hacking property! With rates where they are and home prices where they are, it is going to be tought to find anything that cash flows right now. Your best bet is to find something that will make the greatest impact on your monthly payment. Ex: If your mortgage is $3k and you can rent out your basement for $1500, you're left with a $1500 mortgage payment which isn't all bad. 

    There are no restrictions on any rentals that are 30+ days (MTR) in the Denver metro area - only less than 30 days (STR). Arvada, Centennial, Wheat Ridge, Unincorporated Adams County are all STR friendly although Arvada has a caveat of only allowing 240 days per year as an STR and Wheat Ridge has likely met the limit for STR licenses by now. MTR is a great strategy and in terms of location, you want to find something that is 10-15 minutes from hospitals. From the nurses I've spoken with, something closer to Denver or the south towns would be your best bet in terms of desirability.

    Hope that helps!

  • Rental Property Investor · Denver CO · Member since 2022 · 43 posts · 19 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Kayla Givens:

    Hey, @Roman Puzey! So exciting that you're looking for your first house hacking property! With rates where they are and home prices where they are, it is going to be tought to find anything that cash flows right now. Your best bet is to find something that will make the greatest impact on your monthly payment. Ex: If your mortgage is $3k and you can rent out your basement for $1500, you're left with a $1500 mortgage payment which isn't all bad. 

    There are no restrictions on any rentals that are 30+ days (MTR) in the Denver metro area - only less than 30 days (STR). Arvada, Centennial, Wheat Ridge, Unincorporated Adams County are all STR friendly although Arvada has a caveat of only allowing 240 days per year as an STR and Wheat Ridge has likely met the limit for STR licenses by now. MTR is a great strategy and in terms of location, you want to find something that is 10-15 minutes from hospitals. From the nurses I've spoken with, something closer to Denver or the south towns would be your best bet in terms of desirability.

    Hope that helps!

    Hey Kayla, regarding STR ordinance for Centennial this is what I found so far on City's website. Is there a limit for the amount of licenses that a city gives out that you know about? Specifically for Centennial
  • Lender · Denver, CO · Member since 2021 · 243 posts · 253 votes
    3y

    I briefly looked through the ordinance for Centennial and didn't see anything about a limit on the number of licenses in Centennial. There are limits to the number of people that can be at one specific STR - 2 per bedroom not including children under 16.

  • Ben RhodinBusiness Member
    Realtor · Denver, CO · Member since 2020 · 338 posts · 331 votes
    3y

    Hey @Roman Puzey! Seems I'm trailing all your posts this morning :)

    There are a few pockets in and around Denver that would be perfect for this sort of house hack, and I have one property in mind that would be perfect, and even if you had to switch to LTR you could probably be in a comfortable spot. Let me know if you want to look at it. I have a few clients that have had 0% Vacancy in their MTRs in 2022 so demand is definitely there if you have the right product. You are complicating the "cash flow" scenario as you are adding a HELOC payment on top of it as well, so you'll need to take that into account. and you may want to think about something with value add potential so you can hopefully refinance and pay off that HELOC in the next year or two, as well as refinancing out of the FHA loan to remove PMI.

    But I would also make sure you are comfortable with the property as an LTR as if something happens you want a fall back plan.

  • Specialist · Englewood, CO · Member since 2017 · 329 posts · 88 votes
    3y

    @Roman Puzey Hey Roman, @Kayla Givens @Ben Rhodin Are correct and leading you the right direction. When you're house hacking your trying to get you mortgage as low as possible by having other people pay rent. I know a couple of people who have rented their properties room by room. It's a great way to house hack. Again, the short term rental rules change month to month based on where you buy. So keep an eye on that. Also, finding a few local meetups is a great way to get a lot of questions answered. Good luck 

  • Rental Property Investor · Denver CO · Member since 2022 · 43 posts · 19 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Kayla Givens:

    I briefly looked through the ordinance for Centennial and didn't see anything about a limit on the number of licenses in Centennial. There are limits to the number of people that can be at one specific STR - 2 per bedroom not including children under 16.

    Do you have any experience with Littleton/Parker area? Wondering if that's too far to be targeting for MTR. Also couldn't find anything that explains the ordinance on city of Parker's website. Does Highlands Ranch fall into Littleton area?

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