All Forum Posts by: Brian Bohrer

Hey @Jonathan Tello,

Welcome to your new addiction! haha  There is so much to learn about Real Estate with soooo many different strategies.  Follow the advice above and get out there and attend every real estate meetup you can to build your network and learn what is working for other investors in the market.  

I host a Real Estate and Coffee meetup every Thursday morning at Building Three Coffee from 8:30 to 10am.  If you are looking for a more personable setting with no agenda besides helping each other find success and sharing creative Real Estate Investment strategies, we would love to have you!  No pressure, feel free to stop by if you are ever in the area :)

I wish you the best in your journey!

Talk soon,

The absolute best thing you could do is attend as many Real Estate Meetups as possible and grow your network.  You will meet people making their way in Real Estate in many different exciting and interesting ways.  Over time you will find the niche in RE that calls to you and the group of investors that you want to emulate.  Just get out there and learn as much as you can!

If you are looking for a group of RE junkies of all backgrounds that meet weekly, you are welcome to join us from 8:30 to 10 every Thursday morning at Building Three Coffee!  Hope to see you soon :)

I wish you the best on your Real Estate adventure!

Hey @Wyatt Nauman,

I think you have the right idea and investing in real estate anywhere is a great plan!  I don't know if you mentioned anything about your current career or if you would have a job lined up upon moving out to Colorado to pursue your house hacking dream.  I would caution and encourage you to look into the general cost of living difference from where you currently live and where you are looking to move.  

When we arrived from Nebraska, we were quite shocked in the difference in costs relating to fuel, groceries, services and night life. I understand that you are attracted to the Denver and Boulder area and I would be curious to know if you have planned for the additional costs of living in these areas including the large(r) mortgage payment you may be taking on when financing 95% of the purchase price?

My wife and I have the same strategy of buying a primary residence every year and then renting it out when we move to the next home. We moved to Colorado Springs from central Nebraska in May of 2022 and bought a home to house hack by renting out the basement as a STR. The issues I ran into was the local market was already flooded with STR's and in order to be profitable you had to stand out with a home that was either near an attraction (ie great view, Garden of the Gods, Downtown, or a College) or the unit had to have amenities (Hot tub, Instagram Wall, Pickle Ball Court) that would place your listing far and above other similar listings.

I think you should strongly consider if you more interested in moving away and starting a life somewhere else, or in creating a cash flowing investment to supplement your income?  We kept our house in Nebraska when we moved and were cash flowing over $600 per month.  In comparison, we moved out of our first Colorado Springs home in November 23' and we are just barely breaking even as a LTR.  Yes, there is potential for more equity growth here in the Springs compared to the Midwest.  But, the fact is that our home has been declining in value since we purchased in May of 2022 because we bought during the "Covid Bump", and the market has been depressed for the past 2 years.  The market very well could continue on this path until we see substantial changes in local wage growth or a decline in interest rates.  So do not expect appreciation to be your savior, the facts remain that this market will bounce back and will appreciate more than the Midwest, but can you carry the debt for that long until it does?

So in conclusion, I would heavily weigh your desire to move from the area and your desire to turn a profit in an area that you already have some market knowledge of.  Also, who is to say you can't find a steadily appreciating multifamily in your area to buy and then use that income to help you move out to the front range and begin your real estate education out here?   Or maybe you can use some money to buy real estate locally and use the rest to buy your house hack in Colorado.

Lastly, if you do have your heart set on moving out to the area, the absolute best way to by ANY primary residence in ANY local market is to look for homes with an assumable FHA or VA loan! My wife and I bought our most recent primary residence in this manner and locked in a 3% rate on our loan in an (at that time) 8% interest rate market! I feel this is the ONLY way you can buy real estate that will rent for more than the mortgage payment once you move out in a year. I have a blog post you can read here (www.biggerpockets.com/forums/922/topics/1175338-maximizing-w...) that dives into the advantages of combining house hacking and assumable mortgages.

I wish you the best on your journey and would be happy to answer any questions you may have!  Good luck Wyatt and take care :)

Brian Bohrer

Hey @Sam P.,

Cap rates will vary depending on the type and location of the investment you are looking at here in Colorado Springs.  With the unknowns in the direction of interest rates and changes in landlord/tenant laws we are seeing cap rates fluctuate as of late.  I am a firm believer that Colorado Springs is a great place to invest due to its strong economy, temperate climate, beautiful views and easy access to outdoor activities.

The market is starting to show signs of being depressed, meaning that there will be more opportunities for investors to find some great deals.  A recent economic report by Tatiana Bailey stated that over 10,000 new residents flow into El Paso County every year which is constantly driving up demand in the area.  I see the next couple of years as a great time to get into this historically resilient market!

If you are looking for a great core4 in the area, I would love to assist you as a knowledgeable local agent and I can also help you find the other members of your team if need be.

Either place you decide to invest, I truly wish you the best!

Take Care and good luck Sam,

Brian Bohrer - Realtor

Welcome to the greatest network of real estate investors you will ever find!  There is much to learn and the resources you will find here will be invaluable to your real estate investment career!   

I personally am located and invest in the Colorado Springs metro area and would advise that you may not find many BRRRR opportunities on-market and will have to do some work to find these deals off-market. There are definitely some BRRRR opportunities if you go further South or East as property values will be lower, but demand will also be less...

Are you primarily interested in investing in your area or are you open to options elsewhere?

I wish you the best on you journey and I am happy to assist in any way I can!  

Take Care :)

Check out this beautiful investment opportunity in the heart of Colorado Springs!  Just voted the #3 best place to live in the US (https://realestate.usnews.com/places/colorado/colorado-sprin...), this home is situated right across the foot bridge from Monument Valley Park and the Colorado College Campus, and is just minutes from downtown and charming Old Colorado City!  Both units have been freshly remodeled from floor to ceiling with all new mechanicals and appliances.  Both units have 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom with the front unit slightly larger at 835 sqft and the rear unit at just under 600 sqft.  Both units currently have long term tenants with a combined monthly income of $3,600.  Owner has an appraisal in hand (February 2024) stating the current value at $630K, asking $525K as of this post.   Why buy a fixer upper when you can step into equity on day one!?  Please respond to this post if interested or reach out to Chris Wojciechowski at (719)212-4911 from www.HomesIn719.com.Thanks for looking! :)

 Hey Michael,

I did some research on this subject and found that you should be able to assume another FHA loan even though you already have one in place. You would want to be sure you are at least one year removed from the origination of that first FHA loan as that could be a hiccup as well. The general thought is that the loan was originated with all FHA stipulations met at that time of creation. Therefore, by you assuming this loan you are not creating a new loan. You would only have to prove your ability to pay the existing loan and would not be qualifying for a new loan with all of those FHA requirements.

I would recommend speaking with a lender in your area, or better yet, reach out to the servicer of the FHA loan you are intending to assume and verify your ability. In my case, I assumed a VA loan as a non-veteran. I asked the servicer if I would be able to assume another in the future and I was told this would not be an issue as long as I qualified financially!

Good luck in your quest and I wish you the best!

Take Care,

Congratulations on your first successful investment!  This property will lay the groundwork for all of your future investments, just think about how much income this home will generate over the next 20-30 years!  Well done :)

Hello @Anthony Hidalgo,

I will say that you are definitely not alone in your situation. There are many buyers out there who purchased in 2020 to mid-2022 and are in the same boat! Either their home may not be worth as much as they expected when sold or insurance and taxes have increased to the point that the rent no longer covers the PITI. I run a property management business here in Colorado Springs and have seen this situation many times over.

If your goal is to build wealth, then I would not suggest selling the home.  As Greg mentioned above, the appreciation and principal paydown is most likely more than the "loss" of $600 per month that you are paying in.  As long as you can afford to cover this difference, then you are still in a good position to build wealth in the future once rents catch-up.  

If you are interested in hearing about how I can help you lose less per month on your rental property, I would love to chat!  I specialize in finding creative ways to make the rental work for you now while we wait for the home to build equity over the next 2-5 years so it can be sold for a profit in the future, or at least until rents improve enough to cover the mortgage.  I wish you the best in your adventure, just don't sell!!

Brian Bohrer - GRRS Inc

Hey Angelo,

When you assume a loan, you will be working with the lender who currently services the loan so there would not be a way to pre-qualify. What you can do though, if you already have a lender that you are working with, is ask them to give you an amount that you can afford in the form of a monthly payment. This amount is based on your DTI (or Debt To Income ratio) which most lenders generally want to see your total DTI somewhere in between 36%-48% when accounting for all of your monthly debt including the new mortgage payment. If your goal is assume a loan, I would offer the lender some sort of compensation as they are generally only paid if they write your loan, which is not the case with an assumable loan, as the current servicer will be underwriting and providing the new loan.

I don't think you mentioned your income, but if you can truly afford a $2,300 monthly payment, then you would have to make approximately $5,000 per month (or $65,000 annual) gross income and have NO OTHER Debts that are paid monthly... Student loans, car payments, credit cards can all affect your DTI, and would reduce the amount of mortgage payment you could afford.

If you would like to be on this list of assumable loan eligible homes, I would be happy to set you up with a list that is sent to your email.  Please reach out to me via a private message or text me at 719-212-5477 with your email address and I will get you set up!

Also, if you decide to work with me I can set up virtual tours for any properties that you may be interested in... Generally a normal VA loan transactions is 30-45 days when writing a new loan, but when assuming I would plan on at least 60-90 days from contract to closing.

Seller equity is the remaining value of the home that is left after paying all closing costs and loans.  For instance; if the home was sold for $450,000 and they owed $400,000 with $30,000 in closing costs, then they would take home $20,000 in equity/profit.  If you were buying off market, you may be able to negotiate a smaller equity payment to the seller, but anything on the market will be subject to realtor commission etc...  So in this example, if the home was found off market you may be able to pay $20k to the seller for his equity, but if it was on the market you would have to cover realtor fees and would likely pay closer to $50k.

I hope this helps!  Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions! :)