All Forum Posts by: Brandon Svitak

Like Nicholas said it’s very subjective as there are many different strategies for investing, so just the cash flow metric depends on a lot of other variables.

As far as your condo goes If you’re cash flowing a few hundred a month, including covering your expenses plus reserves that might be a decent place to start. You’ll also be gaining appreciation and loan pay down which is a big piece in a market like Denver

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Denver, Colorado

@Brad Hammond nailed it. If it’s turnkey hard money lenders are going to charge a much higher interest rate and will want it repaid in 9-12 months. These are typically used for fix and flips/holds.

If you can afford the down payment, locking in a conventional 30 year fixed at a 3 or sub 3% rate is the way to go.

1 Vote

Denver, Colorado

Hi @Katelin M Barson! You will find a ton of great advice on this site and congrats on continuing your real estate journey.

With interest rates being where they are and inventory so low you're right properties are going way over list price, but that's not to say you can't find a good investment property, you'll just need a strong offer (not only price) to stand out above the rest.

How long have you been in your current home? House hacking a multifamily or another rent by the room like you are now is the best way to invest in an expensive market. Arvada and Westminster are great areas, I like Aurora also for rentals I wouldn't necessarily steer clear.

What are your goals? Cash flow or Equity? Denver is a great market to invest in, but it wont cash flow as well as some others. What you will get in the Denver market is appreciation and mortgage pay down that can be more valuable than monthly cashflow in another market.

Condos and townhomes can be good but a lot of times they have an HOA that eats into your profits.

1 Vote

Denver, Colorado

Hi Sloane and welcome to BP! There are terrific resources on here. Do you live in Denver now?

For your live in flip those areas are great but are super competitive with inventory available. I live in Jeff Park close by and we’ve seen tremendous appreciation over the years. The Denver market is crazy right now and I’m happy to help keep an eye on some properties that could become available for you. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to discuss some creative options in these areas!

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Denver, Colorado

Originally posted by @James Carlson:

Reading BP is drinking from a fire hydrant, especially when it comes to investing in Denver and Colorado Springs. I'd try to keep it simple. The tree of factors, in my mind, goes like this:

Is cash flow the most important factor? Or are you up to slimmer cash flow (or even break even) but with strong appreciation upside?

If cash flow is the end all for you, look at the Midwest.
If you're open to the appreciation-plus-break-even-or-a-touch-of-cash-flow game, then look in the outer rings of Denver or in a secondary market.
- The outer rings of Denver to consider (to name only a few):
  - Barnum/Barnum West and Athmar Park, and Westwood to a lesser degree, all just southwest of downtown Denver.
  - Westminster, northwest of Denver. Small 3-4br homes relatively affordable.
  - East Colfax, straight east of Denver on ... well, Colfax. We have a few clients who've bought some reasonable homes out there, including some investors doing well with a modified house hacking/rent-by-the-room investment out by the Anschutz Medical Campus.
- The secondary markets to consider
  - Longmont, Firestone, Frederick. I'm interested in any place along the front range where I can get a SFH home for the early $300k range. Long-term, I think this is a good play
  - Pueblo: Less interesting to me, because I don't understand what industry will keep that appreciation going, but there are a lot of snowbirds buying in Pueblo West.
  - Colorado Springs. My personal favorite right now. We bought two places here in the last year and are looking for a third and fourth (after selling a downtown Denver condo early next year). Yes, Colorado Springs has seen a ton of appreciation over the last few years, so don't look at the last sold price of anything you buy here unless you're a sadist. But this still has a lot of upside potential. The whole downtown is getting built up with new hotels, new apartment buildings, new restaurants and other developments along the southern side. Amazon is building one center by the airport and is believe to believed to be building two more delivery/shipping facilities.

Once you know the areas, then think about the model you want to pursue. Straight-up long-term rental? Medium-term furnished rental? Short-term rental. (Airbnb as an investment property is only allowed in a full way in the two Denver suburbs of Arvada and Littleton, currently.) These follow a spectrum of more revenue/more work on the STR side down to less revenue/less work for a long-term rental.

In the end, real estate is a long-term play. In our cheesier moments, my wife likes to say, don't wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait.

Good luck!

Excellent breakdown of the Denver and surrounding markets

1 Vote

Denver, Colorado

@Marc Weisi which did you decide on? I am exploring getting my inspector's license also.

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Any investors buying properties in college towns with large universities right now? Curious to explore this space but a little concerned with the future of COVID-related online education and attendance at college campuses. Looking for some advice! Thanks in advance!

1 Vote

All Forum Posts by: Brandon Svitak

Brandon Svitak has started 1 posts and replied 8 times.

Post: Calling all Denver Investors

Post: How to choose a rental property?

Post: Hard money lender vs conventional

Post: First time Investing Advice

Post: Looking for a live-in Flip home in Sunnyside/Berkeley/Highlands

Post: Buy SFH/MFH in Colorado, or look out of state?

Post: Side Hustle Question: Home Inspector or RE Agent?

Post: Student Rental Market