All Forum Posts by: Aimee Lawrence

We have one rental in Fort Collins, Colorado. Our tenants are moving out next month and I listed the property on Zillow rentals. We had 10 applications in the first two day, most people had credit scores over 700. Normally I would be thrilled but the pandemic has shifted how I view applicants. For instance, one applicant has a credit score over 700, no debt, but works in a restaurant. Several are assistant professors at CSU who depend on a stipend. CSU has gone to online classes for the summer AND fall, and I have heard rumblings that this will be very difficult on universities. 

Are you doing anything differently to protect yourself? Are there questions that you are asking that you wouldn't normally? I don't usually verify employment or ask for pay stubs but this is something I might need to consider right now. 

Grateful for any advice. 

@Ian I Leinwand my plan would be to pay off some student loan debt(maybe, the interest rate is so low) pay off the 15k we just put into it and then sit on the rest until the next recession. It's a townhome, 2/1.5, and the HOA is only $38 a month. We just put so much work into it (new fence, patio door, windows, roof coming, exterior paint, paver patio, furance, all the big ticket items) so while it hasn't been hands off I'm hoping it will be from now on.

@Account Closed I think the property would make a great home in retirement, but we have two daughter and who knows where they will land when they are older! Thank you for your insight! 

@Logan Brown I will definitely keep your information. We had the worst time finding contractors that both showed up and did a halfway decent job. Thank you so much! 

Hello!
I'll try to make this short... I bought a primary in 2013 for 175k before the boom in Northern Colorado, which is now a rental. The mortgage is $1000 and it rents for $1650. Because we lived it two of the last five years if I sell it within the next 11 weeks I won't have to pay capital gains tax. in case your not familiar with this market, at this time, 11 weeks is not unreasonable and homes in this price range generally go under contract in a few days. I owe 165k and I could likely sell it for 300-310 (if not more but I want to be conservative). I do not have a real estate license so after fees I think I would walk away with ~117K. However, I love the home and we were hoping to move back in our girls left and it was paid off. In truth, we've had to put a lot of money into it (new floors, fence, windows, bathrooms). Much of the money came from a refi but we just had to lay out about 12k more. 

So my options are to sell now and walk with the cash or keep it as a long-term rental for passive income now that a lot of the issues have been addressed. Thanks in advance!

@Jessica Matthews This is funny, I did a search for Lisbon hoping to find some advice on investing in Lisbon from the US! I would love hear about your experience and perspective on the city. 

@Patrick Soukup Thank you for your reply. It's nice to get the perspective of an investor here in Fort Collins. I would like to keep it but it's difficult to separate how I feel emotionally about the property and what would be more financially advantageous. 

If I pull equity out, as you were saying, I lose the interest rate, the cash flow, and the tax break. I might as well sell in that case. 

You know how the market has been here for some time. They always say we are 10 years behind Boulder and if that is true I could make a case for selling or keeping! Thank you again for your input. 

@Keith Radke Actually this is one of the reasons that I wanted to keep the house. If I paid it off, which I might be able to do in the next few years because we only owe 160, we could move back in there and live without a mortgage, Mr. Money Mustache style! Right now our primary is larger and sits on more property. Not ideal when the kids are gone.  

@Keith Radke I agree with you, although that may be unpopular on here:)! I will definitely check that out on Youtube. 

@Lynn McGeein What I mean by that is that Fort Collins is on track to be as expensive as Boulder. The median home price is $400k now and so to own something here and only owe $160 feels safe.