All Forum Posts by: Ryan Riches

You will definitely want to talk with lenders about what requirements they have for claiming a property as your primary residence. One way you could go about this would be to find a place that has an ADU that you could rent out full time, or that could be the space that you live in while renting out the main house. I have stayed in several places like this in the mountains outside of Denver.

And like you already mentioned, make sure you know the local regulations. Some areas have a maximum number of nights you are able to rent your space out as an STR, other areas don't allow you to rent for under 30 days.

I absolutely agree with this, I believe that a home office space is becoming a necessity as people are looking for places to buy or rent. In one of our properties we have a loft space that we have been considering converting into a 4th bedroom, but I have been thinking to market it as a work from home space instead - that is what the current tenant is using it for. 

Hey @Jeffery Smith welcome to Colorado! I have two properties in COS and they have treated me well. Duplexes+ are pretty rare so well done on getting one under contract. It is pretty normal for an agent to ask you to sign an exclusivity statement, it is really to protect them - nobody wants to hustle to get you a deal and have you turn around an use another agent to close. And if you have an agent you trust, you shouldn't have any issues here. @JD Gunter would be a great person to reach out to.

Colorado Springs market is also very localized. You may be able to get 1500 for a 2br in one area, and just a mile or two away would have a hard time getting 1k. Make sure you take some time to get to know the city and find a place that you want to live since it will be a house hack. 

Are the rocks a structural chimney or just a cosmetic addition? It it's a full chimney then I would imagine it would be incredibly expensive to rip out. Some friends of mine ripped rock off their fireplace and replaced with shiplap an it looks great. 

Hey Chris, it obviously depends on the property and location. But STRs are pretty hot right now with so many people working remotely and spending 1 week to 1 month at STRs to do so. In a lot of popular travel areas you can see higher returns from going the vacation rental route vs the yearly tenant option. However, you need to take into consideration things like guest interaction, cleaning, and maintenance of the property, as well as furnishings. 

Sounds like you've got a lot to consider @Dave Fairb! I can't speak to selling v. building on your property in your area. But in terms of STR, from my experience 9/10 guests are great. Its the 1/10 that is really high maintenance, or disrespectful to your property. While you can get higher returns, it is definitely more work. My wife and I were renting out our basement suite as an STR but the market we were in was very seasonal (great returns in the summer, basically giving away the space in the winter) so we transitioned over to renting to travel nurses. They sign on contracts with local hospitals for 3-6 months and are super respectful generally. You can get better returns than a traditional LTR, but it's less work than going the Airbnb route. Not sure if that would work in your market but it could be worth looking into!

I agree with what has been said so far here - Location is a huge factor for this. It seems that people are trying to get away from dense city centers and are traveling to places that they can drive to instead of fly (hence the decrease in uber rides mentioned by @Jaron Walling). Our family has an STR just outside of Breckenridge, CO. April had zero bookings, then starting mid may they have been busier than ever. On track to have the highest performing year yet. Most people are booking full weeks at a time instead of just weekends, they have even had a few full month guests.

@Ryan Howell is right, there are a lot of people who are working remote right now who want to break up the routine and have the flexibility to work from anywhere. In my opinion this is a trend that we will continue to see moving into the future, with Covid not going away anytime soon, and many companies announcing that they will allow remote work permanently, it is changing the way people view vacation. I think that is going to have a positive impact on STR's moving forward. Especially those in good locations, and that are entire properties rather than just a bedroom.

Awesome work @Nicholas A.! That's how my wife and I purchased our first two properties. Since you will be living there, it is pretty easy to self manage. We set it up so we could clean after work in time for the next guests to arrive the following day. It was probably 1-2 hours a week of "work" (cleaning, and guest interaction is all there is really).

By renting our 1br in our house we were able to nearly cover our mortgage, allowing us to save enough to buy another property that had a walk out basement that we converted into a seperate apartment space for Airbnb guests, turning our first property into a long term rental.

I would recommend using a lighter color pallette, white sheets and comforter. And take good pictures, or hire someone to come take good pictures for you. That is your guests first impression and will have an impact on whether someone decides to book your property or the one down the street. Additionally, it all comes down to reviews - you will want to get the superhost status as soon as you are able, that will help with your booking rate and you can even increase your prices slightly. 

If you do decide that self managing is a little more work than you are looking for, I know Evolve Vacation Rentals only charges 10%. I don't have first hand experience but it could be worth looking into for you. 

Good luck!

@Rahul R. Something to keep in mind is going to be financing. Most lenders I have talked to won't count Airbnb revenue as income on a property. I've managed several STRs here in Colorado so I would be happy to connect more. 

@Erin Spradlin not sure how I missed this response until now! I know at least Pre-Covid the school was still functioning, would often see parents walking their kids to school or dropping them off in the morning. But certainly a large, under utilized lot. 

Carpeting would be a good route to go - we are just attached to the original hardwoods! Current plan is to continue renting it out as two units until the market makes sense to rent it all out as one.