Based on your results from our Real Estate Investor Quiz, we believe the following strategies may be the right investment options for you:

Lease Option (Owner Carry)

In this strategy, investors lease a property from an owner, and the owner still carries all of the mortgage. The investor finds a tenant for the property and rents it out to them. This practice is commonly known as subleasing or subletting.  This is a potential starting point for those who want to invest in real estate but don’t have the capital or credit score to buy their own property.

Subleasing may be prohibited by the property owner or local regulations. Check the terms of your lease to make sure this is allowed. If renting in an apartment or condo building, make sure the building’s HOA approves of these arrangement, in addition to getting approval from the property owner.

Always check your local laws and regulations. Some jurisdictions allow tenants to sublease under certain circumstances regardless of lease prohibitions.

Learn more about subleasing in this Investopedia article.

Pros and Cons of Lease Options

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Cons of Lease Options:

Short Term Rental Sandwich Condo

A short term rental (STR) is a property or part of a property leased out on a short term platform, like Airbnb or VRBO. Short term rental stays are 30 days or fewer. It is much more management intensive than a long term rental but can earn considerably more income. Property managers and management companies specialize in this area, which can make it less labor-intensive.

In an STR Sandwich Condo, you sign a long term lease on a condo (ideally for 24+ months), and then lease out the property on an STR basis. You only need to pay for the furniture and furnishings. The amount of equity you’ll need is around $10,000 and up. Your typical time commitment to get started is at least 40 hours to find the right property.

Check out our interview with AirDNA founder Scott Shatford to learn how he got started using this method and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content.

Pros and Cons of an STR Sandwich Condo

Pros of STR Sandwich Condo

Cons of STR Sandwich Condo

Wholesaling

An investor who is interested in wholesaling, sometimes referred to as assignments, gets a property under contract for an attractive price, and then assigns the contract to another buyer, usually another investor.  The first investor will be paid a fee for the work. The purchaser of the contract gets all the rights and accepts all the responsibilities of the contract.

If you don’t have much equity (e.g., cash to use as a down payment), and/or if your credit power is limited, assignments can be a way to get started in real estate investing.  You will need to have a strong “sales” personality to succeed at it, though. 

Be advised: Selling real estate without a license is a crime in Colorado and most other states. Before attempting to wholesale, consult with a lawyer about the legalities involved. Learn more about Colorado requirements at the Division of Real estate site.

Pros and Cons of Wholesaling

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Cons of Wholesaling:

Learn More

To learn more about how to effectively manage your short term rental and get all of the tools you need to get started, take our Step by Step Short Term Rentals Course. This course is currently on sale for a limited time.