All Forum Posts by: Michael Surges

Hi All,

I have a single family listing that's struggling to sell because a previous owner converted the garage into living space. Buyers in this area would much prefer a garage over the extra 400 finished sq ft.

With how it's laid out, I think it would be pretty easy to block off the lower floor and upper floors to create two separate spaces for lease (looks relatively simple to add a kitchen to the lower space). Before I add this as a marketing angle to the listing, I'm curious if anyone knows if this would be legal? Aurora allows up to 4 unrelated people in a home, but as "a single housekeeping unit". I'm curious if separating the two spaces would violate zoning law.

For reference, here is the home:http://www.12273ebatescir.com/

Cheers,
Michael Surges, REALTOR

@Filipe Pereira Thanks for the advice! On our sale listings we generally find the exterior photos poll higher on initial views, but we'll often lead with an interior if it has more of that wow-factor. Good to hear you think it looks better on the inside! :) I'll try making that change and see if traffic increases (though the interest has been pleasantly surprising so far).

@Chris Freeburg Thanks! I've been taking that approach today and having good results. Already have 1 application and ~13 showing requests in this first 29 hours, and I'd say about 75% have given limited upfront information, so I've been starting with chat / phone convos.

@Candice De Good to know re. the credit scores. I originally had it at 600 but lowered it to say case-by-case between 500-600. Hopefully doesn't end up haunting me as a rookie mistake... my very first contact convinced me to let him take a look because he seemed to check every other box with flying colors and had a plausible reason for the score. I felt like I had to lower the range on my listing so I wasn't risking any fair housing / discrimination issues by auto-disqualifying others below 600.

Just listed my first rental! I'm an experienced agent in Denver, but this will be my first foray into rental ownership / management. I've gotten loads of great advice from these forums and guides already.

Curious how this pre-screening list looks to you all - anything you would add / remove? I also put this list directly on the listing itself.

**Tenant responsible for water, gas, and electric.
**$500 nonrefundable pet deposit. 3 pet maximum (2 dog max).
**Tenant must follow all HOA guidelines.
**Tenant will be responsible for a minimum level of yard upkeep.
**No smoking of any sort in the home.
**No marijuana growing / use in or around the home.
**Applications submitted through Zillow. Credit score and criminal history will be verified. Minimum household income 3x monthly rent. References required. No history of evictions.

Here's the listing if anyone is curious.

Cheers,
Michael

Hi all! First post, excited to be part of the community. I'm hoping I can get some brief advice/guidelines, "gotchas", and rookie mistakes related to contract timelines on multi-unit properties.

I'm a recently licensed agent on the residential side of the business but I currently have a buyer looking for multi-units, anywhere from Duplex up to 10-20 unit apartments.

My dilemma is this: I understand how to write a strong contract on the residential side. My worry is that as the target properties scale in size, my ability to write a strong contract could falter due to my inexperience and I will potentially be hurting my clients' ability to snag a deal.

Ultimately I plan to enlist the mentorship and help of more experienced commercial agents in my office when it comes down to writing a contract, but for now I wondered if the community has some general guidelines or advice on things such as:

• Inspection period: How long do you need for 5 unit, 10 unit, etc...?
• Appraisal & Loan: What proactive steps are necessary on the multi-unit side? How long do commercial appraisers take?
• Due Diligence Docs: How long for these? And besides the obvious like leases, any other really important ones here that aren't seen in residential?
• Closing: Average time from MEC? What deadlines scale the most with larger units and force closing out farther?

Thanks in advance!
Mike