All Forum Posts by: Jenny Bayless

@Adam Christopher Zaleski Thanks so much for sharing your experience living and thoughts on this type of investment in Pueblo West.  Thanks also for clarifying on the taxes, yes they are definitely set to go up next year.  For Tax Year 2022, the total came in at $1597.58 (paid in 2023).  For Tax Year 2023 (to be paid in 2024), applying the new market value while assuming the same mill levy, other charges, and assessment rate as TY2022, it looks like the TY 2023 taxes will come in at about $2250.  Bummer it is about $650 more.  I think a modest rent increase per unit of $25-$30/month at each unit's lease renewal for next calendar year should hopefully absorb majority of the difference.

@Tiffany Onwudinanti Absolutely, we have clients that have BRRRRd single family homes in Pueblo, and we actually have one client in the middle of a 4-plex BRRRR. I will DM you the numbers for a single family BRRRR that was completed for you to look at.

I love the BRRRR strategy, but as the market is a bit volatile at the moment I think there are some attributes to be aware of and consider as part of your strategy (not specific to Pueblo, but generally speaking): In the current interest rate environment, it can be hard to predict where a refinance rate will land, and may widely vary between purchase and refinance. Another risk is that you may not be able to pull out as much cash as originally thought. Factors that can contribute to that include weaker than expected appraisals, rehabs that go over budget or take longer than anticipated, or a combination of both! Ultimately, this could result in less cash out than planned, or the investor's cash remaining in the property longer than expected.

Hope this helps some!

@Tiffany Onwudinanti I am primarily a Colorado Springs investor, but purchased my first buy and hold in Pueblo early 2022 (so going on almost a year of ownership).  It has been a great addition to my portfolio- 1980s build and it is near the CSU Pueblo campus.  I have a good PM, good tenants, and quite honestly, I forget I own it sometimes :).  I think the city has a lot going for it economically, but it is important to be picky as to which areas you decide to buy in.  I will DM you some of the economic research we've worked on with Pueblo specifically.

@Katelin M Barson welcome and congrats on the successful house hack! 

I am rather partial to Colorado Springs as an investment opportunity, as that is where I have my entire portfolio :). However, regarding your points on offers being significantly above list price and it being an absolute feeding frenzy, we are seeing the same thing down here.  Further, you won't meet the 1% rule for price to rent ratio here either, and I don't necessarily think the 1% rule is indicative of a good long-term wealth building property.  Colorado Springs ended 2020 with 0.4 months of inventory (4-6 months is considered balanced) which is incredibly low. With so many people wanting to live here, combined with the lack of inventory, we actually saw an 18% increase on average home price between 4Q20 and 4Q19! Investors are still getting great deals though, I closed on two properties for our own portfolio in January, you just have to act quick and present a very solid offer to the seller.

@Adam Vieira I used to BRRRR my properties here (and did acquire a few off the MLS), but due to the high demand and low supply of inventory that Colorado Springs is currently experiencing, anything on the MLS won't have much, if any, equity left after the bidding war is over and rehab costs needed to bring the property up to speed. The two properties I purchased last month were purchased at market rate, I did cash out refinance a couple of properties that I bought a few years ago (and had previously BRRRR'd) to redeploy the equity I had earned over the past few years via market growth. Your best bet to get a property with any equity would be through networking in my opinion. Even then, it won't be a ton of equity, but probably a nice cushion.

@Brandon Patrick I am rather partial to Colorado Springs as an investment opportunity, as that is where I have my entire portfolio :)

The economy itself is very well-diversified as it has a strong military presence as you know, but over the past several years, a lot of commercial companies have come to Colorado Springs as well- specifically in the tech industry. Tourism is also a large sector of the city’s economy. Not only does this serve as a sector of the economy by serving as a source of revenue to the city and its businesses, but it also draws people to want to live here.

All that is to say, we ended 2020 with 0.4 months of inventory (4-6 months is considered balanced) which is incredibly low. With so many people wanting to live here, combined with the lack of inventory, we actually saw an 18% increase on average home price between 4Q20 and 4Q19!  Investors are still getting great deals though, I closed on two properties for our own portfolio in January, you just have to act quick and present a very solid offer to the seller.

@Leah Copertino For multifamilies here, there is definitely a very low supply on the MLS and the when something comes available, it gets picked up pretty quickly! However, that is not to say they are impossible to get- just have to be quick and decisive :). They are definitely a type of rental property to look for, especially since you can get a larger asset with pretty cheap debt at the moment.

@Leah Copertino I have had a lot of luck investing in buy and holds in Colorado Springs over the past few years. It is hard to find a good deal, but they are definitely out there! I am under contract on one currently that I found on the MLS. I agree with @Jeremy Gaal in that inventory is extremely low, so if you find something you like you have to act fast or else someone else will pick it up.

@Savannah White Congrats on the move, it's fun to run into other Virginians out here!  Let me know if I can help out if you are interested in Colorado Springs- it is a great place to invest.

@Diego Velasco Colorado Springs is a great place to invest!  Generally speaking, I think the areas with the best price to rent ratio is around the center of town and over by the airport.  Over the past few years, rents have not increased at the same pace as sales prices have, so the price to rent ratio is getting lower as time goes on.  Within my personal portfolio, I have raised rents on properties that had tenant turnover (pretty substantially actually, as the ones that turned have been in the properties for a few years and I've missed out on optimizing market rent during that time), but not on renewals.  I think there is generally still a shortage of affordable rental housing here.