All Forum Posts by: Jared Chipkin

What a lovely Thursday morning...

I am under contract on a house in Littleton.Co.  Hooray!

The only problem is that my credit isn't perfect.  My credit scores are 705, 715 and 780. Since the lender goes with the middle score I am not getting the best rate on this 30yr loan.  My wife has perfect credit, but since we will be undertaking two loans we need both of our incomes to make this happen.  I have a delinquency that will be removed come December of this year since it will have been 7 years ( $30 Walmart credit card bill has cost me thousands of dollars and is now going to cost me thousands more!) Pay your bills on time kids. :-) 

Does anyone have any ideas to get a better rate?

Great ideas so far.  I am going to use both of those.

There is the cutest Spanish style house that just came up for rent in my neighborhood.  My wife and I have had our eye set on this house since we moved in to the area 10yrs ago.  It is in Littleton, Co where the market is super hot. The for rent sign specifically says not for sale!  I am going to call the owner today or tomorrow but wanted to get BPers thoughts before I call.  Ideally they may be interested in some sort of lease option where we put money down and/or have and option fee, plus sign a long term contract. 

I was on a YouTube binge searching how to invest in real estate when I came across a webinar of Brandon analyzing a property. I had an hour to kill while ironing some clothes for my new job. His insights at the time were mind blowing & it turned out to be an eye opening experience.  I had to check out Bigger Pockets as advised and have been learning ever since.

If you are going to have Solar City install panels on your roof they have two different options- The purchase option or the lease option.  From what you were describing it sounds like the lease option.  This is a 20 year transferrable lease from SolarCity that I believe covers any needed repairs and removal as well.  In some areas the energy company will buy back unused energy from you as well.  Typically you would have to sign a contract with the energy company.  Here in Denver it was a 20 year transferrable contract, I don't recall all the details.

As for Elon Musk, he is one of my hero's. How many other entrepreneurs do you know that have started this many revolutionary products for the masses. Not just started but have successfully pioneered each one. Tesla, Paypal, SolarCity!  The energy companies and automotive industry are not ones that like new competitors either.  Plus he seems like a super nice down to earth guy.

Hi Steven,

You've hit the jackpot for information on out of state rentals.  BP is loaded with everything you'll need to know!  As a disclaimer, I do not have any personal experience with out of state investments (yet).  But I do have a few quick tips...

When people buy out of state they usually will have a trusted & knowledgable agent that will help them locate the ideal property.  It is important to have someone that is familiar with real estate investing, the specific markets within the city, & investment rentals.

The most common investment strategy for purchasing a rental property out of state is to pay a property management company to take care of your rental.  There are many criteria to look for when searching for a PM company, not all of which are monetary based.

Use the search bar and look for "out of state investing" -  Make sure to check out related "bigger pockets blogs"  when you get the search results as well as "forums".

Great insight everyone.   @Linda Weygant the 100k price point is extremely competitive I've come to find out. The last bid I put in lost to a cash offer. It was at a fair price but the HOA was too high, so I wasn't crushed by the loss. I think the market will be going strong for at least the next couple of years or until all these new condos are built. Denver seems to just grow & grow. Especially now with MJ tourism. The more people that visit, the more people that are going to want to move here.

@Scott Trench I will definitely check out your duplex purchase thread. I have considered house hacking, but I am with wife and currently live in a SFR that we both love, she especially. I would be ok with pulling $150-$200mo. cash flow after all expenses are paid and reserves are banked. I would do my own property management. My target area is mainly Littleton & Centennial. There are still properties that would do this, though rare and I can't be overbidding on them.

@Dan Mackin @Micki McNie  It does seem like everyone in the real estate biz is super busy right now.  I know that's a good thing and at my price point they don't have too much incentive.

@Jason Miller I don't know that price to rental ratio is going to improve.  I wish I would have gotten in a few years ago, but didn't have the funds or knowledge back then.  So what better time than now!   I have found a couple deals better than the one that you mentioned.  They are definitely hard to come by though.

@Matt M. Scouring craigslist is one of my favorite past times.   I have been doing it for years looking for used Audi's and Volkswagens to flip.   Now I am totally addicted to looking for properties on  CL also.   My wife hates it, totally spend hours on there (or on BP) without knowing.   As for location, Denver -> Littleton/Centennial is my range, trying to keep it as close as possible since ill be managing the property. 

Hi All,

This is my first official post.  I've been researching & learning amazing things on BP. <3 The podcast. Thank you so much to everyone that gives back the wisdom that you've been imparted with. I would love to give back by offering insight in to the automotive service industry.  I was a Volkswagen/Audi technician for ten years. I would be pleased to answer your VW or Audi questions in a PM.   

I am looking to invest locally in the Denver metro area, specifically for a rental property with good cash flow in the low 100k's. The market is so hot as you probably know that all deals are being sold @ or over listing price. I have put in two offers on two different condos in the last two weeks, lost both deals.  I even offered 5k over asking price on one of them. 

I would love some expert advice on how to secure my first deal in this hot market.  I also may be in the market for a local real estate agent who's familiar with rentals & the Denver market.

Thx!