All Forum Posts by: Katie Fiola Jones

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Originally posted by @Katie Fiola Jones:

 Thanks for the recommendations. I currently live in Edgewater (basically Wheat Ridge) and I am looking in areas like Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Arvada and as far north as Westminster. Though that second house you shared is very cool! 

I think you have to consider the commute.  I used to work downtown at 1801 California for the local phone company.  One of my co-workers and her husband bought land in Fairplay and built their house on it.  Both would commute from Fairplay to Downtown every day during the week.  Occasionally, she would have to get a hotel when they shut down Kenosha Pass in the winter.  I thought they were nuts.

Ed, I have thought about moving farther out, but my issue then becomes not living close to family and friends in the suburbs. I think that being close to them is more important to me than where I work. I already commute about 45min to an hour down to work and going up further towards Arvada and Wesminster is going to add on a few min, but it means I'll be closer to some friends and family up there! 

@Account Closed Thanks for the recommendations. I currently live in Edgewater (basically Wheat Ridge) and I am looking in areas like Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Arvada and as far north as Westminster. Though that second house you shared is very cool! 

@Alex Bok I'm not really looking to be in the city. In fact, I don't think I'd like to be in the city limits. I'm more of a suburb kind of girl. I definitely know that the prices in the city are very high. I like being near cities, but not actually in them. Are you familiar with the western suburbs of Chicago?

@Scott Steffek  I actually really like that idea! I'll message you.

@John Warren Thanks for the encouragement John! I appreciate the advice

Thanks for the advice everyone! This really does help in making decisions.

@Jaclyn McClellan I have been approved for a $250k loan. And so far it seems like it will only get me a small townhouse. Typically no more than 1100sqft from what I have seen. And with townhouses and condos come the HOA fees which really reduces the amount I can afford. I don't really have an issue with a small townhouse, but I would prefer more of a single family home.

I don't know the market very well back in Illinois, so any insight on how things are currently going would be helpful. 

I grew up in Wheaton, and I already know that the properties there are expensive along with their taxes. I don't really want to go back there specifically. I have family all over the western suburbs and would be pretty happy in most of them. 

Hey everyone, 

I'm currently looking into buying my first house. But I wanted to get some advice before making any big decisions. 

I currently live in Denver and have for over 4 years. I have just started looking at homes to purchase out here, but can't seem to find anything that I would personally like to live in that is within my budget. Everything is either very small or in pretty bad condition. My idea would be to buy a property with at least 2 bedrooms and house hack for a while. 

But here is the other option:

My long term plans would be to move back to the Midwest (western suburbs of Chicago) to be close to family. I'd like to dive deeper into real estate investing at this time, since this is where I plan to plant roots. However, moving out there probably won't be for about 2 years. I am not very up to date with the market back home in Illinois, but I do know that compared to Denver things are a bit cheaper and your money can stretch a lot farther. 

So do I buy in Denver which is a very expensive market right now, or save the money to purchase something in Illinois in a couple of years? 

I'd love to get some opinions! Thanks

I work at a property management company as a leasing agent. What I'm seeing currently is that the rental rates downtown Denver are starting to level off. In fact, in certain areas, we are having trouble getting properties rented because of all of the new high rises. The older places are second choice and therefore are taking a hit in rental prices. I have had to decrease the prices significantly for the older properties in order for people to consider them against the new builds. 

Just something to think about when it comes to rentals. Not sure if you're looking more downtown or more suburbs. I've been having more luck renting out properties outside of the city. 

Thanks for the warm welcomes and tips! I appreciate it

I work at a property management here in Denver and our company charges management fees off of a tiered based system. So the higher the monthly rent = the lower your monthly management fee. It ranges between 5% to 10% It helps that unfairness of charging a flat percentage.

@Bill S. Thanks! I have it on my calendar to come this Thursday! I look forward to it. 

Hey everyone, I'm Katie and I'm new to BP. I am a recent college graduate and I have been working in Property Management for about 2 years. I have tried out many positions within the company, and now I am currently a Leasing Agent and I'm really enjoying it. It wasn't my original goal to end up in real estate, but after being in property management and learning more about the real estate industry my dreams have expanded and I decided I want to learn more. 

I enjoy my property management job, but I don't think it is where I want to stay. I have been looking into Rehabbing and Flipping, and possibly owning a few rentals myself. Currently, I am a renter, but I'd like to buy something for myself in the near future. 

At this point in time, I am hoping to learn from this site, connect with people in the Denver Metro area, and get advice on where/how to start. I look forward to the future and learning new things from BP!