All Forum Posts by: Tammy Tivis

Aj, I'd love if you could share any detail about your experiences with Martel vs Roofstock. We planned to call Roofstock this week and have a call scheduled with Rent to Retirement as well.

Thank you!

Tammy 

@Henry Chu Hi Henry, I did several hours of research on this company just over the past few days and everything I read was positive.  We are needing to do a 1031 Exchange for a warehouse that is selling next month and have a call scheduled with Rent to Retirement next week. That being said, we are considering a variety of investment opportunities for passive investing and will be talking to several companies. This info may be helpful in your decision process.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-review

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/518583-feedback-on-renttoretirement-and-zach-lemaster

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/533693-anyone-worked-with-renttoretirement-turnkey

Good luck!

Tammy

Welcome to Pueblo, @Chris Pasternak!  I don't know of any groups here in Pueblo but there are a couple in Colorado Springs.  I'm not sure if it's ok to post them here and I haven't personally attended so please feel free to PM me.

Best wishes

Hi @Ryan Jones, 

Hmm, I'm probably not the right person to ask about the homeless population in Pueblo as that's not something I have knowledge about. From personal experience, we have a warehouse in South Pueblo (biz unrelated to real estate) located only a few hundred feet from 2 dispensaries. In the 18 months we've been here, I haven't seen anyone walking the streets nearby that I would think was homeless. There are 2 neighborhoods nearby, one with older homes and one with newer homes... both well kept by working class families (my parents among them). I've lived in the Foothills of Northern CA, on the outskirts of Louisville, KY and now in Pueblo... drugs, gangs, home invasion robberies and other problems in all, concentrated in certain areas but even "the A areas" have issues. No city I've ever visited (in the US or abroad) is without those in need... some may choose to come here for marijuana but there are a variety of reasons why people become homeless. The tents of homeless people along the freeway in Springs near Cimmaron are an eyesore for those driving by but your heart certainly goes out to anyone living in such a dire situation. Not sure if any of them are using drugs and where they might be getting them?

In regards to a previous post, you mentioned "Pueblo??? The drug capital of Colorado? So many problems in that town.... Pueblo's home's appreciated at about 2% (lower than inflation) while Denver areas were going up 15%. No one wants to live in Pueblo."

We are fortunate that we have a successful internet business that allows us to live anywhere. We weighed the pros and cons of several cities and states, but ultimately chose Pueblo because there are so many positives... the mild climate, the proximity to Denver, Colorado Springs (without the traffic), affordability, recreation (not marijuana! lol)... 

You mentioned that you've interviewed the homeless so you definitely have more insight on that than I do. Ultimately, each person needs to invest where they feel their money will be best spent. We feel blessed to be in Pueblo but it's a good thing that it's not for everyone or it would be a little crowded! :)

Congrats on your first post, @Ty Kayton... I think you provided great info and definitely not "long-winded". You have a solid background for getting into REI and you're giving yourself a great head start with the research and networking. The podcasts and webinars are such a great resource as well so I wish you nothing but success in your endeavors!

Oh @Tearance Lewis, good to know you have the inside 411 on the area already. Not sure if much has changed since you were here last but feel free to reach out if I can be of assistance.  

Hi @Bryan Cork,

I think most shoot for 1% rule as a guide but as @Les Goss mentioned, it's only a rule of thumb.    Have you tried out the Rental Property Calculator? It's very easy to use and even someone that's as "math challenged" as I am can navigate it.  I believe that you can use it up to 5 times without the commitment of a Pro membership?  I was a little intimidated by it at first but I'm finding that and the Fix & Flip Calculator to be extremely helpful.  Brandon has a webinar How to Evaluate and Offer on Rental Properties that discusses the 2% rule as well as step-by-step on using the rental calc if you want to see it in action. You almost can't go wrong with the numbers when we have calculators that help you account for those details we might otherwise miss. 

The podcasts are an amazing free resource so start at number 1 and listen to as many as you can. I listen to them through a youtube app at 1.25 speed... voices are not like Alvin and the Chipmunks unless you crank it up over 1.5 speed :-)

Best of luck!

@Tearance Lewis, feel free to pm me when you're in the area and I'd be happy to share with you what we've learned of Pueblo.  We moved here May 2016 from KY and absolutely love it!  Less than 1 hour to Colorado Springs and less than 2 hours to Denver. Weather is mild and the people are welcoming. :)

Hi @Matthew Soll, we moved our other business (unrelated to investing) from Louisville, KY to Pueblo May 2016 and see great opportunity here. I think Pueblo gets a bad rap but it's a great place to live and invest. We just started investing here less than 2 months ago and have been told that the deals are not as abundant as they were in the past few years (you can see that on Zillow for sure) and there are often multiple offers for anything close to a deal. We put a full price cash offer on a property last week for $86,500 and were outbid (there were 9 other offers). The house was no prize and would've required several dumpsters to remove all of the belongings (and animal feces). It needed about 17k in work but had an ARV of 125k. Not a lot of margin, but it would've made a great rental at a solid $1100/mo.

We have 1 rehab project underway with an estimated profit of 30-35k (we are in a 50/50 partnership so profit will be 15-17.5k each). Our other project will start in a couple of weeks and we will be all in for less than 55k and it should rent for $750/mo.  

We have steered clear of the East side but there's tremendous opportunity there for rentals and cash flow.  @Jason Eberhardt, I'm going to PM you about the East side... 

Good luck!

Hi @Reuben Bett,

Have you used the Rental Property Calculator https://www.biggerpockets.com/buy-and-hold-calcula... Very useful and super easy, especially for people like me that are "math challenged". We are in Pueblo so not far from you, but Springs is a whole other market. I ran some quick numbers through the calculator, but you will definitely want to plug in your own since I'm only able to estimate some costs (like utilities & HOA), guess that you're putting 20% down with 5% interest rate, and don't know if there are any repair costs (I added 10k just in case). This does not meet the 1% rule (rents would have to be $3350), but the calculator indicates that with 2800/mo rent, your monthly expenses would be $2781. A monthly cash flow of $29 is not "ideal", but I accounted for 5% vacancy, 8% toward repairs, 8% toward Cap Ex, and 10% toward property management so the monthly cashflow will hopefully increase when you enter your actual numbers. Depending on the age of the property and whether you're self managing, you can adjust those numbers as well (although I believe @Joshua Dorkin and @Brandon Turner recommend always calculating for property management because you may need it down the road and it's easier to account for it up front).  

I don't know if you've listened to the podcasts, but I listened to a few, then decided to start at number 1. I am slowly working my way through and am currently on 103 (I listen to them through the youtube app and play them on 1.25 speed so I can absorb one or two per day). They are loaded with helpful info from superstar investors.

Good luck!