Our deal analysis today looks at a house hacker who moved from Denver to Colorado Springs to take advantage of the lower price point.  He found a house that’s the perfect setup for room by room rentals and is poised to perform very well when he moves out.  In the meantime, he gets to live for only $300 a month!

Investor Profile

This client currently lives in Denver, where he owns a townhouse that he house hacks.  He’s ready to move onto his next investment property, so he reached out to Leah. 

He was looking to move from Denver to Colorado Springs because he prefers the price point down here.  Fortunately, he works from home, so he has the flexibility to change locations. 

He plans on renting out his townhouse to a long term tenant.

Investment Property Details

This is a single family home in the Briargate area of Colorado Springs.

Appealing Features of the Property

Briargate is on the north end of the Springs, which is a very desirable area with easy access to Denver.  It has great views of Pikes Peak and is popular with renters. 

The house has 5 bedrooms/3 bathrooms plus great yard space.  Overall, it’s the perfect setup for room by room rental house hacking.

Property Contract Details

The house was listed at $440K.  While the market is still competitive, it’s cooling down some.  This gave Leah the ability to strategize more with the offer. 

Contract

Leah was told by the listing agent that there was another, slightly over asking price offer on the table.  The client wanted to install AC in the house, so Leah suggested he offer $10K over list price while asking for $6K in concessions.  In total, that put their offer $4k over list and would give him the cash to install the AC.

Although this was pretty close to the other offer, the seller accepted the offer from Leah’s client.

I’m excited to hear that sellers are once again open to offers with concessions.  Several years ago, it was pretty typical to ask for concessions in offers.  But as the market shifted heavily towards sellers, they stopped accepting those offers.

Inspection Issues

Although the roof was only six year old, it had significant hail damage.  The seller arranged for the roof to be replaced before closing, which was great for the client.

Property Financing Details

I used the Rental Property Spreadsheet to run the numbers on this house hack.

Property Overview

The client was able to take advantage of owner-occupied financing and make a 5% down payment.  His interest rate is 4.875%, which is high compared to the past couple of years, but numbers still work out here.

While he lives in the property, he’s staying in the primary bedroom with a private bathroom and using one of the two garage spaces.  He’s renting out two of the bedrooms for $700 a month, and one for $750 because that tenant is using the other garage space.

When the client moves out, he’ll rent out the primary for $800, conservatively.

Property Operating Expenses

He plans on self-managing the property for now, which cuts down on his operating expenses.  Because the house is in good shape with a new roof, newer appliances, and clear sewer scope, he’s budgeting 5% for reserves and maintenance. 

We’re noticing that insurance rates for everyone are going up.  I reached out to my agent and he explained that this increase is mostly due to the higher cost of rebuilding. 

First Year Returns

When we run the numbers while he’s living in the property, his cash flow is negative $3500 a year.  This means that he’s only paying $300 per month to live in a nice home with beautiful mountain views.  Plus, he’s still reaping all of the benefits of home ownership, such as appreciation, depreciation, and debt paydown.

Once he moves out and rents his bedroom, his cash flow jumps to positive $5300 a year (assuming he still self-manages).  He’ll also have a cap rate of 7.1% and a cash on cash return of 14%. 

Conclusion

This client plans on moving out after the year occupancy requirement so he can buy another house hack.  He wants to stay in the Springs and continue to build his house hack stack there.  We’re very excited to see his next move.

Connect with Us

If you’re interested in house hacking in the Springs, reach out to us for a free investment consultation.  Leah loves working with house hackers and helping them refine their strategy.  

YouTube Video

Great Mountain View for $300/Month by House Hacking in Colorado Springs

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