All Forum Posts by: Adam Knickelbein

Thanks again BP community. It's really great to have access to such thorough advice from the people who are doing it everyday. I look forward to being able to return the favor as I gain more experience!

Awesome, thanks everyone! This is great feedback. I'll make changes to allow up to 2 dogs, I'll reduce rent (was thinking of dropping to $3195), and get professional photos. Would you advertise the change in rent, i.e. "Rent reduced!" or just change it at see what happens? As for the dogs - was thinking of a pet fee of $250 per animal. And I won't be so hasty to get someone in :) Thanks again!

Forgot to add the posting link: https://boulder.craigslist.org...

Hi everyone,

I'm a new landlord trying to rent my place for the very first time. First listed about 1.5 weeks ago on 1/30. I'm advertised on Craigslist, Zillow (982 views), and Facebook Marketplace (85 views). Link to the listing is below. I've had about a dozen inquiries, maybe 4-5 showings, and zero applications. My thoughts on why it's potentially so slow:

1. Terrible timing - no one is looking for rentals to start in February.

2. I'm too aggressive in my pre-screening. It's a 40 min drive to do a showing, so I ask when they want to move in (I need someone ASAP), how many adults (Boulder limits to 3 unrelateds), then I say min requirements are gross income > 3x rent, min credit score 650, no evictions, etc.

3. Application Fee is too high - $55 seems steep, but that the bundle charge from Avail for credit, criminal, and eviction reports.

4. Rent is too high. I set it at the median price for a 5-bed in my area, according to Rentometer. I also calibrated this against CL postings to make sure I wasn't too crazy. My house is on the smaller side for a 5-bed though at 1920 sf.

What do you think BP? I'm starting to feel a bit desperate! I really need someone in ASAP. What would you do in my position?

https://boulder.craigslist.org...

Thanks,

Adam

Hey everyone, thanks for all the replies. Some more info on us... we bought our primary residence here in 2008, which we still live in. We now have about $500k in equity because of that wonderful appreciation. We also have two kids in the single digit age range. I wish I had known about house hacking in my 20's - that would have made a great strategy. In our current situation it's not something we're looking for.

In my ideal world, I would be buying rentals within a 30 min drive. We're not afraid of some work, so a fixer is in play if it's the right one. Small multifamily is certainly intriguing. 

Thanks for all the thoughts, I truly appreciate it.

Thanks @Caleb Brown. My sister and her husband own 3 units in NE Wisconsin, all of which they manage, and all of which cashflow. One backup plan is to look there, since I know people I trust.

@Mindy Jensen - thanks for the comment! Could you expand on why Loveland would be better than Longmont? Price-to-rents are similar. I love that area as a place to live, but not sure as an investment.

Hey @Matt M. and @Dan Mackin - thanks for the comments, guys. As I was researching Boulder earlier today, I found those restrictions on unrelated tenants. Plus a bunch of other restrictions and regulations. It just doesn't seem like a very friendly place for landlords.

Then I spent a couple hours checking out Longmont, Arvada, Thornton, Denver. Still tough but MUCH closer to working. Maybe some creativity and luck could make it work.

@Natalie Kolodij - thanks! I suspicion is that even creative and off-market deals are out of reach, because MLS prices aren't even close to working. 20% off list price doesn't even get me close. 40% off doesn't work either.

@Kenneth Mooney - thanks for the responses. I have not yet looked into MF deals, but I know there aren't many available in the 2-4 unit range. 

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for my first deal here in my hometown of Boulder, CO. What I've found is that price-to-rent ratios are high - ranging from 24-30 depending on zip code. The median home sold price is $800,000, and average rents for a 3-4 bedroom home are around $2500. A very quick screen (20% down payment, 30 years, 4.5% interest, 50% operating expenses) tells me that cash flow would be negative $2,000 per month. So to break even with these assumptions at $2,500 rent, I would need to buy for approximately $300,000. To get a 10% COC return I would need to buy for $220,000. And none of this analysis considers rehab or closing costs. In other words, I need a seller to accept an offer 70% less than list price for me to make a return. Even if I somehow got operating expenses down to 30%, I would need to buy for $400,000 to make a tiny return.

So my questions are:

1. Do I even bother looking for deals in Boulder? Or should I just look elsewhere?

2. If elsewhere, how do you decide where to look? Is this type of analysis useful in determining where to look?

Thanks!

Adam

@Derek Diamond and @Eddie Brady

Hi guys, thanks for the feedback! I was beginning to wonder if my post got buried :) I'm meeting with 3 basement finishing companies in the next week, so more to come.