All Forum Posts by: Les Goss

@CJ Wine, I live in the Springs but bought a note in Lansing a few years ago. The buyer promptly disappeared, leaving us with a 13K code enforcement lien, as well as a house full of junk. Many months and dollars later we now have a nicely cash-flowing house. Since you may never see your property, make sure you do a lot of due diligence and get a great property manager to oversee repairs and upgrades as well as handle your residents. It's amazing what you can get for very little money in the Midwest. Good luck!

Heather, there are several good real estate meetups in town, although none specifically for BPers. Look up Front Range Real Estate Investors & Wholesalers Group. Also, look up Michael Jake, who runs at least two monthly groups.

I've been very happy with Mark McCafferty of Criterium McCafferty Engineers. I don't think BP allows us to post a phone number, but he's based in Manitou.

@Laura Mezoff, @John Finger is a local real estate attorney who is also an active investor himself. He can often be found at local networking events (not much help for you in the Valley), but you can also find him online. BP won't let us post phone numbers.

Things are definitely looking rosy right now in the Springs. As @Robin Searle noted, virtually all the stats are good and getting better. We're even seeing Denver home-shoppers and investors buying in our northern neighborhoods, contributing to the net out-migration that is being reported for Denver based on the cost of housing there. 

However, I am seeing a large number of price reductions being reported in the MLS lately. With the 1% per month appreciation we're seeing and the very short time on market, I think some sellers got over-confident about what the market will bear and have found out there is a limit to what people are willing to pay.

• Hey Jonathan, welcome to the Springs! I know you'll love it here.
  Besides Robin's suggestion to look for meetup groups, check out the ICOR group as well. They have a monthly meeting that many investors participate in. Also, look up Michael Jake, as he's one of the most active single family investors and puts on several meetings a month himself.
  I've invested here since 2004 and am also a realtor, so I can help you with your MLS searches. I've set up several for investors and would be glad to help you as well.

Bryan, here's my take on the math and the investment. 

At $1550 a month you're grossing $18,600 a year. Dividing that by your investment of $220,000 gives you a return of 8.45%, not too shabby. Of course, your income is reduced by taxes, insurance, and maintenance/repairs, so your net will be lower. Even if those expenses drop your net to a 7% ROI, that's certainly better than your bank is giving you, and it's more reliable than the stock market, which is in for a correction at some point.

You are also getting tax benefits that add to your bottom line. In short, I think you're doing fine and would suggest you not worry too much about someone else's "rule of thumb."

Scott, call attorney John Finger. Bigger Pockets won't allow me to post his phone number for you.  He's an investor as well as a real estate attorney.

I don't understand why you want an attorney to represent your parents rather than a Realtor to help sell their home.

Colorado Springs was named the #10 spot for hipsters, the highest ranking in the state.

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2017/10/09...

Will, that's the start of my Homecoming weekend. In fact, I have some friends coming in on the12th. Earliest I could meet would be Sunday afternoon on the 15th. I'm flexible the first part of the next week as well.

Les