All Forum Posts by: Koren Lavi

Hey @Andre Bertoncin,

Congrats on taking the first step towards RE investing! 

Getting the foot in the door with a primary residence is a great way to start. The mortgage interest rates are more favorable and so are the terms (no prepayment penalty, as little as 3% down payment for a first time homebuyer, etc). 

For your scenario, I would definitely look at your home purchase as an investment. Especially if you are thinking you may want to build a RE portfolio. That means making calculated numbers based decisions, not emotional ones. It also means thinking ahead (will this home be a good rental if/when I move out, will this home have good resale if I need to sell it at any point). Sounds like you already have a solid foundation for your plan with BRRRRing, house hacking, and/or forcing appreciation.

I moved to Denver about 6 years ago and love it. I have a lot of confidence in the long term price growth of this market. I’m obvi biased, but Denver is a very friendly sunny city with world class skiing, mountain biking, hiking, etc. It also has a good sized tech hub, and major employers like coors, Amazon, Buckley space force base, Lockheed Martin, etc. The big knock is cost of living and home affordability but I never hear complaints about that from ppl coming from NY or California 😂

Hey @Mitch Rivard, welcome! Is your company wholesaling or actually doing the remodels?

@Erika Shiu

Definitely stay conservative with your numbers. Don’t forget to take into account utilities including internet, lawn maintenance, snow removal, etc. into consideration. Also AirBNB stocking fees, maintenance, cap ex.

But at the same token know that the principal portion of your mortgage payment is actually not a true expense so there is that benefit to doing all of this even if you are light on the cash flow or break even. 
 

Hey @Arman Mokhlesi

Your agent should be able to give you a sample lease or find one from a fellow investor friendly agent. Also definitely do a good amount of research about rental laws in Colorado and make sure whatever lease you get a hold of is up to date with those laws. They change yearly so its important to do that!

Hey @Tom LaRocque

@Kristine Hodges is right about why this is happening. And this is happening more and more often. My wife is a mortgage broker and she is seeing a scary rise in condos that are becoming unwarrantable. Lenders are reaching out to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to have the minimum increased, since this is an issue that will not go away as insurance companies raise premiums to stay profitable, and HOAs try to avoid paying higher premiums by increasing the deductibles (or sometimes they need to do both to afford a policy at all). 

Hey @Liam Alvarez

Welcome to RE investing! I'm also an investor in Denver and have done STR, MTR, and LTR. I would be happy to answer any questions you've got!

@Jaime Ponce welcome to the BP community. This is a great place to start!

I’m based in the Denver metro area, and would be happy to chat and answer any questions you have. There is definitely A LOT of info out there, it is easy to get information overload. A great first step is to just talk to people that are doing what you are wanting to do (real estate investing).

 “its like the house knows you need the money and something breaks” 😂😂😂 that is painfully true

Hey @George Turner

My opinion may be biased, but I don’t see a reason not to go with your realtor’s rec if you trust them. A healthy dose of skepticism is good, but usually they want you to have the best experience possible. Word of mouth referrals from past clients play a very critical role in most realtors’s business, and to get that they need happy customers. If they are doing things right, whats good for you is good for them.  

I personally recommend Call2Inspect (303 730 7233). They are the only home inspection company I’ve used that pulls permits to see all the work that has been done on the houses prior to inspection. And they do a fantastic job on the inspection, report, and in-person summary as well. 

Welcome @Ido Weis

This is one of the best places to start that type of journey!