All Forum Posts by: Seth Levey

Colorado now requires a 10 day notice to pay or vacate. Signed into law May, 2019 by Polis.

@Theresa Harris yes that’s a good idea. I posted it for rent again, thinking that would be the fairest way to reimburse them, if I can be made whole.

@Ned J. Thanks for your reply. It’s pretty cut and dry as far as the lease goes. It’s more of a philosophical question to see how others might approach the situation.

I have a condo that generally functions as a short-term rental. I recently rented to employees of a construction company for a two month rental. I was primarily dealing with the owner of the company and had her sign a lease which states that rent would not be returned in the event of tenant default or other lease violation. I worked with her to resolve some complaints about noise and parking in the wrong reserved spot. Then I got complaints of leaving trash in common areas and urinating off the deck. At this point the HOA manager was threatening to fine me or even restrict my rental license so I terminated the lease and kicked them out. This was about one week into the second month and the lease rate is several thousand per month as it's in a vacation area. They asked about a pro-rata return of the rent which I said I'd consider if they left the condo clean and damage-free. They left the next day as I asked with no drama and the condo was left in good shape. On the one hand, I appreciate them leaving it in good shape and without a fight. On the other, returning the money technically violates the lease and represents further penalty to me as I would have been happy for them to stay for the duration and simply follow the rules. What would you do?

@Samantha Rodriguez I have properties in LLC. Some I bought in my name and transferred and some I closed with LLC on title. I have a robust insurance policy on all as well. Costs a bit more but I sleep well at night cuddled up in my liability protection blanket. I don't think it affects taxes. They have gone up, but I've compared to the neighbors which are similar including owner occ properties. I've been able to contest the appraised value on my LLC successfully (sometimes).

Has anyone added a storage shed to the backyard of your house/multi to rent out to tenants? I’m doing a garage conversion on a duplex I own and thinking of adding storage sheds to the backyard for storage. There will still be usable backyard space for the tenants to enjoy.

I'd like to thank everyone for your comments. My lender threw me a curveball after going under contract and the 3.5% rate did not work out. I considered other ways to make the deal work, but it was a stretch and only would work out in a best case scenario so I pulled out of the deal. On to finding the next, better deal. Your comments and insights were very helpful and I wish you all great success!

@Gaspare U. it does qualify for residential financing. I have typically done 30 year fixed in the past but I am looking at a 7-year ARM for this rate because it is 1.25%+ better than the best 30 year I could find and I plan for either 1) I will refinance in 7 years and even if rates are higher then I will have much more principal paid off when I do or 2) I will look to exit between years 5-7

@Steve K. Thanks for your comments. It is in South Westminster near 72nd and Raleigh, halfway between federal and Sheridan. So this might be the C-quad area you’re referring to, as it’s definitely a working class apartment neighborhood. However it’s 0.5 mi from the Westminster new light rail station and there’s lots of development along both Sheridan and federal and 72nd. There’s a high school at the end of the block. 36 and I-25 are close by. All of those fundamentals got me intrigued for the probability of low vacancy and potential to raise rents over time. 

This is a quad in the north Denver market. Four 2/1 units. All units occupied, 2 on year leases and 2 on MTM, current rents are about $100 below market.