All Forum Posts by: Melissa Robbins

For the benefit of the BP community, I highly recommend Norton and Schmidt Consulting Engineers for structural reviews. They were worth every penny and I will not buy an older home again without having one of them provide a review. 

Yes! I will DM you with the info. I had a french drain and foundation wall braces installed just today so I will share info on that vendor as well. 

Wow!  This is incredibly helpful. Thank you for taking a few minutes for feedback. 

@Bonnie Low - you made some good observations. Showing the fully stocked kitchen is a good one. I need to get the inside cabinets better organized for photos. We agree on the red and black too. I was hoping to get by on what we already had. 

@Zachary Deal Thanks for your reply. I've been thinking we may have better luck with the basement too. It has a private living space too which makes it more appealing. Its just that the bedroom upstairs with vaulted ceilings and skylights shows so muck better. We thought it would be more appealing but so far, its not. Great idea on smart locks. I didn't realize that would be a desired item in a shared space. 

@Eric DeNardo Thanks Eric. On the bedrooms, basically we have options. We could rent out the entire 2nd floor (2x1) or we could rent each separate with a shared bath. Right now we have it advertised as a one bedroom but we did have it as 2x1 (the entire upstairs). We thought more people would want the extra room for WFH but we got no leads. It could be because of the no pet policy. I could go back to the 2x1 option and accept pets to see what happens. No on the 2nd entrance. 

@Shannon Strickland - We are targeting medical professionals too but we also have a Vet Tech college down the road. Those students typically have pets, however. Agree we could  be more clear on the what exactly is shared. And yes, I can hire a photographer. Great feedback and I'll check out your link too. 

@Steve K.- Thanks Steve! The seasonality issue is a big one too and i hadn't put that much weight on this. 

It looks like everyone agrees I need to accept pets. And i know you are right but was hoping to dodge that. The other big ones are more modern decor, especially in the living room, and professional photos.

Have a happy New Year everyone, and thanks again for offering perspective.

Melissa

 @James Gillice  Hi James! I can relate to your experience. Your situation sounds a little like mine in 2021. I was a new KC investor living in Denver. I bought two houses in KC, without much investment guidance from my realtor. Both homes needed so much more than I thought. And I was out an additional $15K on repairs after purchase. I chose a terrible management company that gave me terrible renters, and they took advantage of my out-of-state status. It was such a valuable learning experience. 

Don't sell!  You will get through this. I have a good PM now that I can refer you to. I'll DM you. 

I would also add for the benefit of other readers that a sump pump doesn't solve the drainage issue. You want to remove the ability for water to seep in under the foundation. The sump pump is an expensive bandaid. Others in this thread have commented about focusing on gutters, proper downspouts, and building up dirt around your foundation.

@Misael Herrera Granados - I am dealing with the same issue right now on a house I bought last year in Waldo. Ugh!  I feel compelled to reach out when I saw your post as I can understand your frustration. 

I'll send you a DM so we can connect and I'm happy to share more info but wanted to say on this thread - don't sell. You will make your money back and then some and you may regret selling. And you have a decent rate which is good. Take the time to mitigate the drainage issue now because that part is not as expensive. I made some initial mistakes in how I tried to fix the drainage issue and wasted money, then I hired a structural engineer to come out and give me an assessment and it was the best $500 I've spent. I will not buy another old house without his input.

I'll DM you with more info!  

Hello BP friends! 

I'm having a harder time than I thought renting out rooms in my Denver mid-term rental and thought I would ask the BP crowd for feedback. I'd love to hear thoughts from other Colorado MTR owners who have tried, failed, and figured out what works. Please be honest and it's ok to call the baby ugly so to speak. I own an MTR in KCMO that does well, it's always rented, with no problems. But the Denver MTR is a shared townhome and we can't seem to get into the right rhythm on this one. 

Here are a few details to help describe the place.  Here's the FF link as it's listed today - https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/578254_1. 

1. This is located in SE Denver, close to the border of Aurora in a pocket called Indian Creek. It is city and county of Denver but Its quiet and tucked away with access to several hospitals but its not downtown or west of the city which I know most people want. There are no homeless camps in this area.

2. My son is my business partner, guest host, and he lives in the basement - he has a bedroom, 3/4 bath, and living area downstairs. 

3. Our original strategy was to furnish both bedrooms upstairs and lease it on MtM basis as a 2 bed 1 bath shared townhome at $1700/month. To me, it seemed like a screaming deal to have a furnished 2 bedroom with all utilities included in Denver. We tried to sell it as a flexible area like the 2nd bed could be someone's office. But it sat for two months with no leads. So we are now marketing it as a one-bedroom for $900. 

4. We are not accepting pets and don't want to budge on this - realizing this is likely holding us back. 

Thank you to anyone who has time to check out our link and provide feedback. Is the bedroom too generic, not flashy enough? Or should we be trying to rent the basement bedroom with private living space instead of the upstairs? 

Is Denver saturated with this kind of listing? Perhaps we got in too late on this strategy? Looking forward to hearing feedback and suggestions for improvement. Thank you!!

Hi @Cody M.! Congrats on your first purchase. BP is a great place to learn and meet others who can offer advice and feedback as you embark on this journey.  Their books and classes are helpful as well. 

I live in Denver and own one rental here and four SFRs in KC. I also vote for you to stay where you are and grow your business. It's much less expensive to live in KC, and if you can manage on your own locally, that will save you in management fees. 

I saw your other post regarding getting started with your leasing items. I've spent most of my career in multifamily marketing and property management. And I made plenty of mistakes when I first started.  Beyond the mechanics of the lease, there is a lot to think about at first - like pets and fees, income verification and scams, pricing strategies, and communication with your tenant. Feel free to DM me if you want to connect offline. I'm happy to listen and provide any feedback to help you get started on the right foot. 

Check out the InvestHER meet-up that is popping up around the US. We have that in Denver, along with Rocky Mountain Women Invest (also on meet up) that are gaining in traction. Those are good places to make connections and new friends. But agree, there should be more of us!  I'd like to see more diversity overall in the independent investor arena. 

Are you sure you don't want to look out of state?  Your $200K could go far in the midwest. And it's not that hard to manage from a distance. If you want to stay in CA, you might also consider multifamily or commercial syndication in your area if you meet the accreditation requirements.