My parents lived in Boulder for 34 years, Colorado is a beautiful spot as well! 

Rehabbing it is definitely the way to go if possible because you can really control quality, but of course it's not always feasible.

Take control of your business and move on from those who fail to perform/hold up their end of the bargain.

My parents' neighborhood did this after they got a fraternity in it! 

As a parent to young kids just starting their school years...I took this to heart.

Buyers are willing to pay $$$ for additional flexible spaces that can be used as office, gym, guest home for elderly parents or adult kids, or simply as rental to help pay off the mortgage. 

This allows you to control costs more as over usage of any utilities is on your tenants and not you. 

We could easily rent it as-is without even picking up a paint brush, but we specialize in higher end rentals.My parents will be lending us about 30% of the total purchase price, as we didn't quite have the cash we needed to get into the best school districts.

The extension is for our aging parents. 

we actually bought from my husband's parents (my in-laws) and made use of a GOE so we had a very low down payment How did you finance this deal?