making an offer on a house tomorrow! mill village longmont - need advices (Denver: houses, to buy)

[Shuffler]

I think you're making a lot of assumptions about steady employment & income, and being able to rent your place for $___.00 ... many people would debate the merits of renting vs. buying right now in this market - there are advantages & disadvantages to both.

as long as you're comfortable with things and willing to take a chance, then go for it, I guess.

you think a commute from Longmont to DTC is going to be okay....good luck if that is the situation you find yourself in...

[tfox]

Originally Posted by danny_isr

i hope i'm not convincing myself here just looks to me like a good investment, and an easier way to pay to mortgage .

Personally, I think that now is an outstanding time to pick up rental properties for the long-term.

I think a difficulty is that you're "mixing business and pleasure" meaning that you're trying to both please yourself as well as make an informed business decision. That becomes difficult, not to say it can't be done.

When buying a traditional rental it's mostly a game of numbers. Figure out what you can get for rent, figure out your monthly expenses and anticipated maintenance, and then buy with a price that will give you a nice monthly income. Typically, the best rentals are not very glamorous properties, and in fact you usually have to look at a number of properties to find the right one and the right seller who will get you the price you need to make the numbers work.

Right now, there's a LOT of foreclosures on the market. Ordinarily, investors usually shy away from foreclosures because the banks are usually way too apathetic to make deals. Now, banks are as uncommunicative as ever but they ARE willing to make deals. Right now, you should be able to negotiate a price that is gong to give you several hundred dollars in monthly income on a rental.

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

When it comes right down to it, buying a house, no matter what the economy, is always a leap of faith. You never know what could change your situation in an instant.

If you can get a great deal and get good financing, and seem to be really comfortable with the place, then buying when the market is low is a good decision. Like you said, you are going to dump money into rent, at least with a mortgage you get to write off the interest you are paying.

Go into being a landlord with eyes wide open. Do no one any favors. Don't feel bad or embarrassed about checking backgrounds, references, etc. Protect your self first and have every detail written down in the rental agreement.

Not sure which schools that feeds into so I can't help on that one.

[danny_isr]

no i didnt say commuting to DTC is going to be fun.
but i'm contracting for few years. and i have no choice here.
Longmont is somewhere in the middle place.
if i will buy in FC and then work in DTC it will be much worse.

if i thought i have steady employment i would buy a house without that studio. the studio is my "insurance" here.

i just have hard time to believe i won't be able to rent it at all. people still need to live somewhere ...

yes i'm aware about the debate of renting Vs owning . not sure what to say on that. i still prefer to own and feel "at home". i'm 39 years old and tired of moving around and renting .

by the way even today i'm car pooling from Boulder to FC, it's actually not that bad when you have to drive only once a week. and get a short nap or interesting conversation ...

[Shuffler]

the big question: IS the market *really* at the bottom? Of course realtors will say yes, after all they're not being paid to tell folks to 'hang on and wait'.

I think there is still some fallout coming, and prices will go down more...it just hasn't caught up to CO (yet)...for me, it's hard to believe we're through the worst of this.

let us know how it goes, and good luck

[osman]

I think it pays to be cautious but you're also right about Longmont possibly being priced right. A few weeks ago I built a fairly detailed model to help my clients think through the implications of investment property. It shows areas like Longmont and parts of Broomfield as having positive returns.

I also have a non investor, buy vs. rent model, which includes a "additional rent" toggle. The buy vs. rent model has been released and can be downloaded directly from my blog for free. The investor model has not, but if your situation is approrpriate for it, I might release a copy to you for feedback. PM me for more details.

Obeying forum rules, I can't provide direct links to my blog. If you're interested, Google "buy vs. rent" with my name and you'll find the released model.

[danny_isr]

well about the market still going down. it's really hard to tell at this point.
yeah it may go down more , and maybe i'm not getting the 100% best deal at the moment.
but i'm sure getting a much better deal then a year ago.
it's like buying stocks. most of the people do the mistake of buying when the market goes up and sell when it's going down in a big lose.

IMO now it's the time to buy , yes when things are bad. buy cheap(or cheaper) sell expensive.

Another reason for possible good price now . the owner is a company.
i'm sure they will be happy to sell this house in 2008. and get it off their books.


i will sure keep you guys posted how this thing turns out. i'm sure other people are holding off now and waiting to see the developments about the market.

Thanks again for your advices !!

cannot wait to start working on that yard and plant some trees

[Shuffler]

what will really help your Mill Village home in terms of resale is IF RTD ever builds a Fastracks station/hub at the old sugarmill. How cool would it be to walk from your house to catch a light rail trip to Boulder or Denver for work?

Too bad the whole thing is underfunded and nobody seems able to make any decisions....the whole thing sounds like it's 'off track' right now as far as the expansion goes...

[danny_isr]

oh yeah that will be nice , in this economy this is probably not more then a nice thought ...

[tfox]

Originally Posted by danny_isr

oh yeah that will be nice , in this economy this is probably not more then a nice thought ...

Yeah, I think Longmont will be very fortunate indeed if it sees rail transit as part of Fastracks -- it will probably be deferred for a future expansion of Fastracks (as unfair as that is).

If rail transit does come I would guess that the EOL station will probably be set somewhere around Twin Peaks Mall / Hover area.