All Forum Posts by: Chris Freeburg

@James Carlson Are you mentioning my post that you disagree? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts and what you specifically disagree with?

Edit: I don't see the issue with putting people first, building relationships, or admitting there's always something more to learn. I'll be the first to admit I don't know everything, so if there's something I missed, I'm open to constructive criticism.

@Nik L. Denver is a great market for appreciation: we're seeing 9-12% the last 6+ months and >5-6% for the last decade. You'll be hard pressed to find cash flow, though it's not impossible. Every once in a while I see MLF tri's and quads that cashflow in Class C neighborhoods, and obviously those go fast. The challenge is that there is so much investment interest and continuous influx/population growth on the Front Range that has only increased with COVID. Competition is driving the market red hot and you make your money when you buy...

@Ryan Russell What about as simple as co-signing with family? Doesn't have to be someone with LOTS of money. Even parents who are on a fixed income but have their mortgage paid off, or siblings with another source of income... I don't know your personal situation, but you might already have the keys you need in your inner circle.

@Bob Foglia I'm on board with all the comments left. Sell vacant (at the minimum), do the necessary maintenance to make it clean and tidy (paint, etc.) and minimal upgrades to get a better price. In this market, it will sell fast.

I'm curious to see how things go with your tenants. Good luck and keep us posted!

@Taylor Thompson I'm no lender, but I'ver never heard of 1% down. There's just no skin in the game and so it's too much risk for a lender. Minimum 3% down is lowest I know, which is still great, especially with interest rates right now. Just keep saving, month by month, and you'll get there. Or, find someone to do a deal together. 

@Brandon Itkin

Under $450k is going to be tough in Aurora. If that's a strict budget, I'd look west/northwest of Denver. Also, the market is appreciating about 1%/month right now, because there's no supply. Keep looking to educate yourself, but also prepare for price increases by summer. 

If you're going to house hack, I would also consider where you want to live. I've got a house hack where my tenant commutes to Boulder, so I'd be careful about making too many assumptions about tenants up front. If it checks the boxes for neighborhood, good living situation, parking, you'll find the renters. The more boxes it checks (private bathrooms, storage, yard), the more you can charge, but the more you'll pay too.

@Christian Albright If you're committed to S/SE Denver, I would look around Wash Park, Denver University, and near the hospitals (University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora) for neighborhoods catering to young professionals. NW Denver (north and south of the Highlands; the neighborhoods around Sloan's Lake, Tennyson, Arvada, etc.) has a lot of new development. If you're going to be house hacking, I suggest buying where you want to live and then make sure it checks the boxes for rentability.

@Brad Toy Welcome aboard!

2 things I have learned as a realtor:

1) Real Estate is both relational and transactional. Clients want responsiveness, value, professionalism, AND they want a person who is loyal to them and puts their interests first. It's COALD at it's core. (for non-realtors, COALD stands for our responsibilities: Confidentiality, Obedience, Accounting, Loyalty and full Disclosure, along with Reasonable Care and Diligence) 

2) Related to the above: Good business is good for people and what's good for people is good for business.

And, what I am trying to continue to lean into:

3) Stay curious. There's always something to learn.

Congrats Carrol! I love that you can make a good investment and do good at the same time. Good business is good for people and what's good for people is good for business!

@Santiago Arteaga The key is in the Exception to a Second Complete and Independent Dwelling Unit Finding: If there is a "A Non-separated, Continuous, and Open Access exists between what would otherwise be
deemed a second CIDU and the living room or Kitchen of the Primary Dwelling Unit" then the (otherwise) second CIDU would not be considered an ADU.

Translation: As long as there is a hallway greater than 48" that cannot be closed, then the whole thing is considered one dwelling unit. Basically, the city wants your side of the duplex to be inhabited by just you and your family (one family unit), so it's okay to add independent access to the basement as long as long as that isn't basically creating a front door for another separate unit. 

Logic: The city wants to allow kitchens downstairs for in-laws, adult kids, etc. because they're considered part of the family and would probably move up/down between living spaces. Maybe you wanted a souped up wet bar for hosting Super Bowl parties and movie nights where you could heat up your pizza pocket bites in the basement without going upstairs to the kitchen... They also want to allow egress so that people can escape said movie theater or a basement bedroom in case of a fire. The city wants safety and enjoyability of living spaces, but not people renting out part of their one unit structure to another family unit (b/c of the effect on density, parking, etc).

Application:

-If your unit already has a lock-out basement (door that separates the basement from the upstairs) and a bedroom/bathroom/kitchen (or even a partial kitchen, which would not have a stove or 220V/gas. A partial kitchen might just have that microwave for hot pockets!), you can't add a separate entrance

-If you have a lock-out basement, a microwave downstairs for the theater room and a bathroom, but no bedroom, you could create independent access to allow guests to come in. It's not a separate dwelling unit, because they can't sleep there.

-It's really common for builders to provide a locked out basement, get the plans and construction certified, and then add in a stove at the very end. Not to code, not what the city wants, but it happens.

So, if you already have a full/partial kitchen (see definition in the document), bedroom, bathroom, and can close off the space, any independent egress you add would not be to code and would not be legal.

Beyond that, it would take neighbors reporting "So-and-So has a lot of cars parked outside their house and multiple young couples living there; smells fishy" to the city for something to happen. I haven't heard reports of this like I have of Denver cracking down on STRs, but I'm not sure I would want to push my luck. There are better ways of making money that are legal, not headaches, and don't keep me up at night. Alternative: Maybe you do STR (while it is your primary residence) and just know that your guests might use the same entrance/exit as you? I bet you'll make a killing! It might seem inconvenient at first, but money has a way of smoothing over rough edges...