All Forum Posts by: Angie DeNardo

Hi, I am looking to interview and hire a property management company for my parent's 72 unit apartment buildings in Bridgeville PA. They have been self managing these apartments for 30 years with management staff. They have high standards to ensure the properties remain in prestine condition. Their occupancy rate is over 98%, and have some tenants who have lived here for over 15 years. We are open to a full turn key service with maintence staff, or are open to an individual with experience who can utilize our contacts. My parents are looking to phase into retirement. Please let me know if you know of any companies or people that would be recommended. Much appreciated!

Hi All, we are struggling through an insurance claim with State Farm. I feel everyone will benifit and learn from our pains. We know and heard State Farm is terrible to work with in regards to getting money back. Were currently thousands in the hole with things they will not cover. Key is to document everything. 

We heard Travelers and American Family are good for invenstment properties. Does anyone have an agent that they like to work with? Also does anyone have another reccomendation for a good home insurance for invenstment properties. Note it is critical to make sure you have short term rental insurance that covers loss in rent in the event there is an incident where you need to cancel reservations. We are thousands in the hole alone just from canceling reservations.....

Hi all! I am looking to start renting out a property on Airbnb. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a short term rental property cleaning service? Also I would ideally like them to flip the property so it would be ready for the next guest. The property is located near City Park Denver. Thank you in advance for your recommendations! 

Hello! My name is Angie and I am a relatively new real estate investor in the Denver market. My goal is to purchase one to two properties per year likely from the MLS. I am interested in becoming a realtor, so I can represent myself. I am wondering if it would be worth my time. Does anyone know what the average commission rate is on a home sale in the Denver area including Arvada? Also if I was to become a licenses agent what would be my next steps to gain access to the MLS. In addition all agents I have worked with in the past have a transaction coordinator. If I represent myself, I assume I would need to be in charge of make sure all documents are submitted in a timely manner? At this point I would struggle to know what is required, and I am wondering if I would learn that through the training to become an agent? I would love to connect with a local investor who has taken the approach to become a realtor to represent themselves.

Thank you in advance!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Arvada.

Purchase price: $530,000
Cash invested: $32,000

Rent by room investment. Fully rented rental income $4250. Mortgage and expensive $2750. Plus $200 for reserves.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I liked this property because is had been completely renovated down to the studs. This was my first investment property, so I was looking for something turnkey with no major capital expenditures in the near future. I also liked the layout for roommates.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS

How did you finance this deal?

5% down owner occupied for the first year.

How did you add value to the deal?

Furnished the common areas and added a fire pit to the back.

What was the outcome?

I am still working on getting the right tenants in but I feel once the Coronavirus is gone it will get rented more easily.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

You cannot always plan for everything. I purchasing during the Coronavirus pandemic. Luckily I can cover the mortgage and expenses while we are looking for tenants.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Craig Curelop was our Realtor and Micheal Stone with Megastar was my lender. I would highly recommended them both!

Good Afternoon @Steve K. @Craig Curelop @Marcus R.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I feel more reassured about the market, and I am hopeful that 2020 will be a good year to purchase my first house hack! Ideally, I plan to find a home that has a finished unit in the basement, or a slightly finished unit in the basement. I will rent by room the top unit, and I plan to live in the basement with my boyfriend. When we are traveling for work or spending time on the weekends in the mountains I plan to rent out our basement unit on Airbnb. I currently am a Airbnb super host. We rent out our Philadelphia apartment, where we current live, and I absolutely love hosting Airbnb. I understand Denver’s laws only allow residents to list a home if it’s their primary residence. So I only plan to use Airbnb if I am living in the home.  

I do have a question about zoning. Ideally I want a home where after a year we can move out and I can rent out the basement unit separately from the top unit. Does this require different zoning than a traditional single family home? I want to be able to qualify for a conventional loan, so I do not think I want to purchase a property zoned as multi family unless the bank will give me a conventional loan for the property. Ideally I do not want to use an FHA loan on my first house hack.

Any insights you can provide about zoning would be much appreciated! Thank you! 

Hello Everyone, 

@Matt M.@Matt M.@Jeff White 

Thank you for all of your detailed insights. I really appreciate it! I took your advice, and I have started looking for a month by month lease starting March 1st. My budget is under $450K but I would be more comfortable with it being closer to $350K. The amount I would be willing to pay would be dependent on location and number of bedrooms/bathrooms. Since I work remote I do not mind being on the east or west side of Denver. I also love going to the mountains, so I would prefer being on the west side of Denver, as long as there is potential for house hacking in those areas. Jeff, I will start attending the meetups as soon as I move to Denver. I know that will help me feel more confident about choosing the right location to buy my first investment property. 

On a side note, do you ever fear that there is a housing bubble in the Denver area? Housing has rapidly increased over the past years. Are you ever fearful there will be a housing bust? 

Hello everyone my name is Angie DeNardo and I am fairly new to the Bigger Pockets forum. I will be relocating in early 2020 to the Denver area from Philadelphia. Instead of throwing my money away renting I would like to get involved in real estate. I have been reading books, listening to podcasts, and networking for about six months. I am targeting the house hacking strategy.

Does anyone have experience house hacking in or near the Denver market?

Where are locations/neighborhoods you would recommend for house hacking? I have no commute to the office... just to the airport. I am looking for a class B or C location that is turning into a class A location ideally.

Thank you in advance for your insights!