All Forum Posts by: Tyler Howell

@Drew Fein

Colorado / Denver agents and legal gurus - is anyone up to date on the issue of pet deposits as they relate to service animals? Guidance seems to be on both sides of the fence. It is generally illegal to refuse an applicant due to a property's no-pet policy if they have a service animal, but is it permissible in Colorado to charge that person a standard pet deposit?

@Heather Harelik What kind of approach are you using to find a tenant? Craigslist only? Other sites / signs in the yard? This can be tough if you're attempting to sort through hundreds of email and then do one-off showings in your spare time. There are some good ways to filter through to well-qualified tenants and then maximize your time in regards to showings, glad to share some insights via PM if interested. 

I think the real question is whether you want this home to be part of your long term / retirement strategy. 20 or 30 years down the road, the property will likely provide far more value for you than the $270k you may be able to pull out now. For instance, if both this property and your primary residence is paid off in 15-30 years, depending on your retirement window, think of the value provided there in terms of regular income and equity available for liquidation. However, if the whole idea of rental property is burdensome to you, you may not want to entertain that strategy.

@Brandon Donahue I began my RE investing career using my VA loan as well. I "house hacked" like @Dorothy Ma mentions above, however VA loans have a cap around $420k, and you're very unlikely to find a multifamily property in Denver that will be approved for the loan at that price point. You might look for a property with some type of in-law suite with separate entrance and rent that out (or live in it for a while). Glad to talk VA loan experience sometime.

Agree with @Kyle Doney
@Nathaniel Boyer

@Nathaniel Boyer

@Nathaniel Boyer

Hi Lygia - what price range are you looking in? Also happy to chat about good areas for your colleague to rent in.

Sean - I work for a big finance firm, and let me second your comment about trying to time the market. 

Paul - there are a few good options based on what kind of properties these are. Able to provide any details?

@Andrew Callahan Keeping a house like yours indefinitely as a rental property is a very strong wealth building and retirement strategy. Houses keep going up around Denver, but they aren't making any more land within a several-mile radius of downtown. Both my wife and I have VA loan benefits so we were able to turn former primary residences into rentals since we didn't need to free up the equity. If you don't need the equity to put down on a place in Hawaii, I'd say absolutely keep the Littleton place. With the right tenant selection and manager, you can minimize, mitigate, and transfer most of the risk involved in renting it out. If you're new to using your VA loan, happy to chat about that as well.