Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Tag: rental properties

10 Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Rental Property

Rental demand is already high in Colorado — and it looks to be trending steeply upwards. Average rents in much of Colorado currently sit far below the average mortgage payment. For example, in the red-hot Denver market, the average rent is just under $1,600 a month, while the average mortgage payment is just over $2,500.

That gap is going to raise demand for rentals. Investors are going to scour an already picked-over market for distressed properties to rehab, and a lot of houses that might have been flipped in past markets are now going to become buy-and-hold rentals.  

So how do you make your rental appealing to renters without breaking the bank? It’s easier than you think — if you get a little creative. Here are 10 easy ways to upgrade your rental property.

READ — 2022 Trends in Colorado Residential Homes

Upgrade your paint job 

Every eager home seller knows that the easiest way to boost a home’s appeal is to repaint the walls. But don’t make the obvious, lazy choice and go with basic white. Although it might seem appealing on paper, it’s not all that attractive in practice. Flat white can seem harsh and institutional, and it ages very poorly since it shows even the slightest amount of dirt in high contrast.

Consider subtler, more sophisticated shades like beige, gray, “greige,” eggshell, or something even more adventurous. These tones can make your property look softer and more inviting to potential renters.

Replace cabinet handles and doorknobs

Upgrading these small touches can have a huge effect on the look and feel of your property, and it’s something you can do yourself. Brass or porcelain doorknobs can upgrade the entire room, and more sophisticated cabinet handles can make the kitchen much more appealing while avoiding the more expensive and time-consuming task of completely replacing old cabinets. 

New cabinet doors 

Speaking of cabinets, outdated kitchen cabinets can bring down the appeal of the entire kitchen, even if the rest of it has been updated. But if you want to avoid putting in all new cabinets, replacing the doors can be a quick and easy fix. Alternately, you could sand down and repaint the old cabinet doors, and install new hinges and knobs to give them an inexpensive but impressive makeover.

Don’t forget the exterior

Making big changes to the exterior of your home can be very expensive — replacing siding, for example, can easily cost thousands of dollars. But upgrading your exterior isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. Sometimes all you need is a good pressure wash to make that dingy exterior shine, and it can be done cheap in a single afternoon.

While you’re looking at your property’s exterior, consider some light landscaping. Adding features like hedges, shrubs, and flowers can instantly make your property seem warmer and more appealing. Small touches like installing flower boxes under your windows can be done yourself and will run you less than the cost of the average termite inspection.

Install new floors…

Sometimes less is more. If you have carpet in your new property, it’s a no-brainer that you should strip it out and refinish the wood underneath it. Next to a new coat of paint, attractive, refinished floors are one of the easiest ways to get a huge bump on your return on investment.

If the underlying floor isn’t salvageable, installing hardwood floors is never a bad idea. Hardwood is extremely durable, ages well, and there are some new snap-in hardwood flooring systems that are very affordable.

… Or make it seem like you did 

If you don’t want to actually upgrade your floors, you can still refresh them. If you have blah-looking vinyl or tile floors, you can make them pop by using stick-on floor panels. You can replace the old floors entirely or install them in an alternating pattern to give the floor some visual flair.

Upgrade your kitchen surfaces 

While we’re talking about stick-on options, you can use high-quality contact paper to quickly upgrade your kitchen counters and backsplash. While putting in a genuine marble countertop might be out of your budget, using marble-patterned contact paper can make a worn, cheap countertop look new. There are also some great options for stick-on backsplash tiles (0ne popular option right now is the subway tile look).

Replace the kitchen faucet 

While you’re in the kitchen, why not replace the kitchen faucet? A graceful, brushed-steel faucet can be installed in minutes and costs less than $100.

Install a waterfall showerhead

A waterfall showerhead is a massive upgrade for a bathroom. It feels like a legitimate luxury feature, but you can get a quality one for under $100, and installation doesn’t even require a plumber. This is a big upgrade that won’t break the bank, even if you’re financing your renovation on a credit card.

Upgrade your light fixtures

The default light fixtures in most rental properties look cheap, but it’s easy to put in better ones. If you’re really getting into the property refresh, you can even shop thrift or antique stores to find vintage fixtures with tons of charm. If your property has dark corners or rooms, you could even consider pendant lights or wall sconces that aren’t hard-wired. It’s relatively easy to disguise or arrange cords so they’re not visually intrusive.

 

Screen Shot 2021 12 28 At 113128 AmLuke Babich is the Co-Founder of Clever Real Estate, a real estate education platform committed to helping home buyers, sellers and investors make smarter financial decisions. Luke is also a licensed real estate agent in the State of Missouri and his research and insights have been featured on BiggerPockets, Inman, the LA Times, and more.

How to Invest in a Rental Property with No Money Down 

Being a landlord investor in Colorado is incredibly lucrative and looks to be getting more lucrative as time passes. Rents in Denver are up 13% since last year, with a minuscule vacancy rate of 4.3%. Rents in Colorado Springs have risen more than 40% over the past five years. And as mortgage rates continue to rise, locking more people out of the home-buying market, demand for rentals will only go up.  

If you don’t have any money for a down payment, it might seem impossible to get in on this rental gold rush. But for a savvy investor, it’s very possible to invest in a rental property with no money down. Let’s go over some of the best methods to get yourself a lucrative investment rental without putting a lot of money in on the front end. 

House Hacking 

This well-known investment method can get you your first investment rental for very little money down and let you live rent-free. 

It works like this: You simply buy a small multifamily home as an owner-occupied property, which requires down payments that are much lower than for investment properties. An FHA loan, for example, requires only 3.5% down, with a qualifying credit score.   

You then live in one of the units — say, one of the bedrooms, or an independent basement unit — and rent out the rest of the place. Your rental cash flow should cover your mortgage payment, as well as maintenance and other associated expenses, which means you’re essentially getting free housing, and can pay down your mortgage in record time. And once you’ve paid off the mortgage, you can turn around and sell the property to a company that pays cash for homes, or sell it yourself to avoid real estate commission. 

Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit 

If you already own your home and are open to using it to buy an investment property, a home equity loan, or a home equity line of credit (HELOC), could help you get in the game without putting any cash down. 

If you have equity built up in your current home, you can take out a loan against this home equity, and put that cash down on an investment rental. One of the big advantages of this method is that, since you’re using your home as collateral for the loan, your credit score doesn’t matter. Home equity loans come with very low interest rates, though they also come with many of the same closing costs as mortgages. 

A HELOC is a line of credit that’s borrowed against your home equity, so instead of a lump sum of money, like a home equity loan, it’s a line of credit that you can withdraw from as needed. One of the advantages of a HELOC is that, in contrast to a home equity loan, there are no closing fees, and you only pay interest on the funds you actually withdraw. The interest on those withdrawals tend to be higher than they are for a home equity loan, though. 

Seller Financing 

We’re so used to thinking of bank mortgages as the only path to buying a house that we often forget there’s a way to buy a home without involving a bank at all. 

Seller financing is exactly what it sounds like: You and the seller enter into a purchase agreement between the two of you, and you make payments directly to them. Because you’re negotiating the terms of the agreement between the two of you, you could simply negotiate zero down payment.  

Most sellers will likely not be interested in this kind of agreement, but you can find motivated sellers who’ll be open to it. Sellers who know you personally, or sellers who are motivated to sell by personal circumstances or an unwillingness to perform needed repairs and maintenance on the property, are great candidates for seller financing. The main upside for them is convenience; after quickly drawing up a simple sale agreement, you start paying them right away. Don’t hesitate to ask a seller if they’re open to seller financing — the worst thing they can do is say no! 

Gap Lenders 

If you don’t have any cash to put down, gap lenders will cover the down payment on your investment property — but they do charge a moderately high price. 

Gap lenders may take a second lien position behind your primary mortgage lender, a risky position (for them). Consequently, they’ll charge high interest and fees to blunt their risk. 

Alternatively, they may take a partial ownership interest in your property, essentially becoming your partner. While that’s a pretty steep price to pay, it may make sense if you’re eager to get into a hot market, and don’t want to bother getting a full investment property loan. 

Assume the Seller’s Mortgage 

Similar to seller financing, this type of deal sees the seller simply passing on their mortgage to you. You’ll make payments on the existing mortgage (which probably has a much better interest rate than a new mortgage you’d acquire today) and pay the difference directly to the seller. 

This approach can work well for unconventional buyers because it allows you to draw on many different funding sources to pay the seller — personal loans, friends and family, even credit cards — while a conventional loan generally won’t let you borrow money to make a down payment. And it may appeal to sellers who don’t want to take the trouble to learn how to offload their house in a turbulent market and would rather do a low-key, seamless transfer. 

Just keep in mind that not all mortgages can be transferred between individuals, so it’s up to you to do your due diligence!

 

Screen Shot 2021 12 28 At 113128 AmLuke Babich is the Co-Founder of Clever Real Estate, a real estate education platform committed to helping home buyers, sellers, and investors make smarter financial decisions. Luke is a licensed real estate agent in the State of Missouri and his research and insights have been featured on BiggerPockets, Inman, the L.A. Times, and more.

Denver City Council approves rental license

Residential,house,decorated,for,halloween,holiday.
Residential house decorated for Halloween holiday.

The Denver City Council on May 3 passed the “Healthy Residential Rentals for All” legislation requiring all rental properties to obtain a license and inspection to ensure rental units are complying with Denver’s minimum housing standards.

“Often, the most vulnerable tenants do not complain about their living situations for a number of reasons including fear of retaliation, living without a lease or not knowing they have a right to a safe and livable housing,” said Council President Stacie Gilmore, the bill’s sponsor. “We are finally taking the burden off our tenants to ensure compliance and providing a more equitable, prevention-based approach to quality housing.”

The residential rental license requirement is phased and will start Jan. 1, 2022 with an opt-in early licensing for multi-family rental dwellings starting Jan. 1, 2023 and single-family rental dwelling units starting Jan. 1, 2024. Licenses will require a fee and third-party inspection process.

The ordinance also adds additional renter protections starting Jan. 1, 2022 that include:

  • Renters have written leases for all new tenancies exceeding 30 days;
  • Rental owners and operators provide notice of tenant’s rights and resources and provide them again if any rent demand is posted. The information will include how to make a complaint related to minimum housing standards, a statement regarding tenants ’legal rights when receiving a notice to vacate their premises, and how to locate rental assistance and legal service providers.

“Denver has been in a housing crisis for decades, and the pandemic has put even more uncertainties on our residents,” Gilmore said. “This policy will help stabilize housing and neighborhoods by gathering basic property owner information as well as important rental data, enabling us to broadly share resources with tenants, and strengthen landlord-tenant education and outreach.”

7 tips for finding the right tenant

Finding the right tenant is key to the success of any real estate investor. In fact, most major problems landlords face are the result of putting the wrong tenant in their property.

Here’s how to find the perfect tenant for your Colorado rental property to make investing in real estate a little easier.

Marketing your listing

Finding a great tenant starts before you even have any applicants — marketing your listing correctly can weed out tenants who aren’t right for the unit or won’t qualify. It’s key to start the process off right so you won’t waste your time or any potential tenants’ time.

You can list your unit on sites such as Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia, Facebook Marketplace, or numerous other free sites — or you may use an agent if you prefer a more hands-off approach. Either way, be sure the listing includes any important information for a tenant to know — location, rent price, security deposit, move-in date, number of beds and baths and also if there are shared spaces with any other tenants, if a washer and dryer are included, if your apartment is pet-friendly, and what utilities the tenant will be responsible for.

Minimum qualifications

If you own lower-end units — like Class C property — or you anticipate lots of applicants, you may want to include any minimum qualifications you have for tenants.

This might be verifiable income over a certain amount, a minimum credit score, and your rules on felonies or past evictions. Again, this helps weed out anyone who wouldn’t qualify and avoids setting up showings with applicants who won’t be approved.

Screening applicants

Once a potential tenant has seen the property and filled out an application, you can now begin the important work of screening them for move-in.

It is extremely important that you screen each tenant and have the same standards for everyone in order to avoid potential legal trouble for discrimination in housing. You can work with a real estate attorney to ensure your lease and screening process abides by the law.

Background check

Always run a background check on a potential tenant even if they don’t report any prior convictions. You want to use a background check to verify their application and learn more specifics about any crimes they committed — including how long ago it occurred and the severity. A background check should also turn up any past evictions. It’s up to you to determine your qualifications regarding any prior convictions and evictions.

Rule-abiding behavior

In addition to legal issues, get a feel for a tenant’s history of abiding by the rules by contacting landlords from their last two years of rental history. Find out if there is a history of noise complaints against the tenant, lease violations, or other issues. Just because a tenant hasn’t been evicted doesn’t mean they’re a stellar tenant — it just means they didn’t make it all the way to court.

You can also ask past landlords if the tenant paid their rent on time, caused any damage to the unit and what percentage of the security deposit was returned, as well as if they were respectful to neighbors. Be sure to document your conversation to refer to it later, especially if you deny the tenant based on what you’ve learned from a past landlord.

Credit check and ability to pay

You invest in real estate to build wealth. And you can’t build that wealth if your tenant doesn’t pay their rent. Losing out on rent means you’ll miss out on valuable income, which you may depend on. You don’t want a bad tenant to result in you losing enough money to have to rely on taking out additional debt and personal loans.

When reviewing an application, ensure the potential tenant has the ability to pay what you’re charging in rent — along with their other bills and monthly loan payments, especially during these COVID times. You should also require the first month’s rent and security deposit paid prior to moving in. Starting out in the negative usually indicates a tenant will have trouble catching up.

You can start with a credit check, which will also include any outstanding debts such as car loans, student loans, mortgage, etc., and their on-time payment history. This can give you a great idea of how likely they will be to pay rent in full and on time.

A good rule of thumb in Colorado is that a tenant’s income-to-debt ratio should not exceed 40% — meaning their monthly rent and debt obligations shouldn’t be more than 40% of their gross monthly income. If this is the case, it’s likely the tenant will struggle to pay all their bills each month — including rent.

You’ll also want to contact any potential tenant’s employer to verify their employment and income or get a copy of their recent pay stub or bank statement.

Once you find a good tenant, keep them!

Any real estate investor will tell you it is cheaper and easier to keep a good tenant than having to find a new one. Expenses related to finding a new tenant include marketing fees, cleaning costs, and background check fees, not to mention potential lost rent if the unit stays vacant for several weeks or even several months and the time needed to respond to inquiries and showings. When you find a good tenant, make sure you do everything you can to keep them there.

Respond to any communication from your tenant in a timely manner, and respect their privacy by giving ample notification if you plan to enter the unit. Show them that you appreciate their good care of your property, make improvements when you can, and mitigate any disruptive tenants in a multi-unit property quickly. By treating your tenant with respect and helping them make the property their home, you’ll be well on your way to being a successful real estate investor.

When is it time to sell your rental property?

The only thing harder than deciding when to buy into the rental market is deciding when to sell off property and deal with the costs that go along with it. Getting in and out of the market at the right times can make the difference between a lucrative investment and just breaking even—or worse.

But the truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The best time to sell will be determined by a mixture of your personal circumstances and the local market dynamics.

That being said, the Colorado market is showing signs right now of being an extremely strong seller’s market. Let’s break down some of those numbers and talk about how long this situation might last before going over a few general principles that will help you decide if now is the right time to cash in on your rentals.

Denver Is an Unprecedented Seller’s Market

If you own property in Colorado, you’re probably aware that the Denver market is red hot—but do you know exactly how hot it is?

After breaking through the $600,000 ceiling for the first time in July, the average sale price for a single family home hit $625,100 in October, a staggering 18% year-over-year increase. Attached properties, i.e. condos and townhomes, also hit a record high of $393,733, good for a gain of almost 8% year-over-year.

This is all the more remarkable considering that it’s happening against the backdrop of a pandemic-induced recession. A couple of unforeseen factors have made the housing market a bright spot in an otherwise dreary economy; intervention by the Federal Reserve has driven down mortgage rates, and cooped-up workers, tired of working from home, are after more space. The result? A 25% increase in home sales after experts at the beginning of the pandemic predicted a 15% market slump.

On top of all that, consider that housing supply in Denver has all but dried up; the number of active listings in the metro area are down 44% year-over-year, so a huge amount of buyers are competing for a tiny sliver of properties. That’s led agents to counsel buyers targeting homes under $500,000 to plan on bidding tens of thousands above the asking price.

You can see where this is going. If you have a Colorado property that you’re thinking of selling now or in the near future, now is a good time. When the pandemic ends—and it will end—it’s reasonable to assume that more listings will hit the market and that a lot of this housing demand will become less urgent. Will prices plummet? Probably not. But they won’t climb like this, either.

Still, predicting the market is more art than science. Let’s look at some personal circumstances that might make you want to sell your rental, even in a hot market like Colorado’s.

You’re Losing Money

Experienced investors know that even in a red-hot market, you can still lose money, especially when it comes to rentals. Maybe you have high tenant turnover, an unexpectedly high vacancy rate due to a lot of apartments for rent nearby, or maybe you’ve just hit some unforeseen adversity. The pandemic has been especially hard on renters—more than a fifth of Americans who have missed a payment in 2020 because of financial stress have missed a rent payment.

In a hot market, you should try to determine if you can correct your course. Huddle with your property manager, and reevaluate your fundamentals to see if you can improve your ROI. In a market like Colorado’s, where demand far outstrips inventory, there will always be strong demand for rentals.

But in the end, you’re in this to make money, and if you’re not doing that, it might be time to get out. Sometimes, it really is that simple.

You’ve Found a Better Investment

Even if your investment is providing good returns, maybe you’ve found a different investment that could give you even better ones. Continually upgrading their portfolios is how small investors become big investors. Selling now in an extremely strong seller’s market is a perfect opportunity to liquidate and upgrade.

A tip: If this is your plan, you might want to consider using a 1031 exchange. The 1031 exchange is a tax strategy that essentially allows you to trade one investment for another while deferring your capital gains. The best part? You can use a 1031 exchange over and over again, as you repeatedly upgrade your investments. You’re deferring those capital gains taxes, not eliminating them, so you will have to pay eventually—but if you’re in buy-and-hold real estate for the long haul, who knows when that will be?

Another tip: if you’re selling to free up cash for a subsequent investment, make sure you figure out exactly how much you stand to clear from the sale; nothing puts a damper on an impending investment like realizing you’re $5,000 short.

You Want to Invest in a Different Market

You know who’s the happiest about Colorado’s booming market? The people who invested in it 15 years ago. Nothing makes an investment like getting in on the ground floor, and while Colorado’s market is looking about as healthy as a market can look, you’re not doubling or tripling your money in the next decade if you buy in today.

But maybe you have a hunch about what the “next” Denver is going to be. If you really believe in your instincts, maybe it’s time to cash in on some of the appreciation you’ve reaped over the past few years, and flip your money into that other market.

Should You Sell Your Rental Property?

The Colorado market is a white hot seller’s market right now, with constricted supply and sky-high demand. If you’re looking to sell, you couldn’t ask for a better market.

That said, don’t sell just to sell. If you want to flip that money into a bigger, better investment or a different market or your investments aren’t performing well, then it might make sense to seize this moment. But don’t cash out and put the money under your mattress. The market’s strong, and all the indicators point to a continuing boom. If there’s nothing pushing you toward a sale, sit tight and ride it out — you’ll be glad you did.

 

How to turn a short-term rental property into a long-term rental

While the long-term rental market in Denver is currently booming, the short-term rental market, which consists of rentals that last fewer than 30 days, is a different story. For one, the COVID-19 pandemic has lowered travel numbers substantially. For another, because of their high turnover rate, short-term rentals are often harder to care for, which has led many landlords to choose a long-term strategy instead.

With that in mind, here are tips on how to turn a short-term rental property into a long-term rental. Read over these tips to learn how to get your rental property set up for tenants with a lease who plan to stay for at least a few months at a time.

Update the property for long-term residents

Before you do anything else, it’s important to get the unit ready for long-term tenants. In some respects, this process won’t be much different than if you were turning the unit over for short-term tenants. For example, you’ll still want to clean the unit thoroughly. However, you may want to take extra steps to freshen it up such as repainting the walls or putting in upgraded appliances.

Additionally, long-term tenants also have different needs that you’ll need to cater to as well. Although your short-term rental likely came furnished, a long-term tenant will be much more likely to want to bring in their own furniture. To that end, if your unit is currently furnished, you’re going to want to make arrangements to sell the furniture or store it elsewhere.

Learn local landlord-tenant laws

Next, you’re going to have to take the time to learn local landlord-tenant laws. Often, these laws are applicable on a state or local level. For instance, in Colorado, a security deposit must be returned within 30 days if another amount of time is not specified in the lease. However, even if another amount of time is specified, it cannot exceed 60 days.

Luckily, the state government has provided a handy guide to help you familiarize yourself with your rights and responsibilities. In addition, the American Apartment Owners Association is also a good resource to turn to on this topic. Beyond doing your own research, however, you may also want to work with a real estate attorney to make sure you understand all of your obligations.

Advertise the unit properly

After your rental unit is ready and you’ve familiarized yourself with your obligations, the next step is to figure out how to advertise a long-term rental. When you were renting to short-term tenants, you likely used websites such as VRBO or Airbnb in order to secure your rentals. However, long-term rentals use different platforms.

In this case, you should investigate websites such as Zillow, which can help you secure a tenant who’s looking to stay in the unit for the foreseeable future. For a small fee, you can also use Zillow’s rental manager feature, which allows you to do tenant background checks, sign leases, and collect payments.

Alternatively, if you’re short on cash, you can look into using Craigslist, which will allow you to post your rental listing for free.

Find the right tenant

After that, it’s all about screening tenants. Because long-term tenants are going to be living in your rental unit for a considerable amount of time, you’ll want to spend some extra time making sure they are the right fit for your property. Typically, this process involves doing a background check, credit check, and verification of employment. You likely need to invest in some type of property management software for these tasks to keep organized.

Once you have a short list of candidates, you’re also going to want to talk to each of them to see which one is the best fit for your unit. Ultimately, as long as the financials make sense and you stay compliant with fair housing laws, picking the tenant who’s the best fit for your unit is a matter of personal preference.

Rewrite the lease

Finally, you’re going to want to take the time to rewrite your lease agreement to fit a long-term rental situation. In particular, you’ll want to specify how long the lease term lasts, how much rent is and when it is due, the responsibilities of the landlord and tenant, and any specific activities that might be prohibited under the lease.

The bottom line

When you’re implementing a buy-and-hold investment strategy, it’s important to decide whether you intend to go after short-term or long-term rentals. Put simply, both of these rental types have different expectations that need to be met. However, it’s OK to change your mind and to switch your property from a short-term to a long-term rental. Follow the tips above to ensure that you’re ready to take on this unique type of landlord-tenant relationship.

6 tips for managing a vacation property during Covid-19

The coronavirus pandemic has radically impacted the economy—and ruined basically everyone’s summer vacation plans. With most countries still closed to holders of US passports, more and more Americans are rediscovering the getaways and amusements in their own country.

More often than not, these in-country vacations have taken the form of road trips to vacation homes or campsites—after all, a car is a sealed environment, and rentals and campsites don’t require passing through potentially hazardous common areas like hotel lobbies or airport terminals.

In the past couple months, there has been a huge increase in rental home reservations; Airbnb says it actually received more bookings in the early summer than it did over the same period in 2019. According to a survey by travel company Expedia, 85% of Americans anticipate taking at least one road trip this summer.

This trend has especially benefited Colorado. The Centennial State has long attracted tourists and investors alike, but in 2020, the state is currently the top road trip destination in the US, up from 10th last year. And it’s easy to see why—with low rates of coronavirus, amazing national parks, and endless opportunities for social-distancing-friendly activities such as hiking, rafting, or climbing, the state is an ideal destination for a pandemic vacation.

But that doesn’t mean everything is business as usual. Managing a vacation property during a pandemic has its own unique challenges, as hosts need to not only keep their guests comfortable but to keep them safe, too.

Let’s look at a few easy ways to make sure your Colorado vacation property is welcoming, reassuring, and safe.

Space Out Your Reservations

Doctors have noted that the coronavirus can live on surfaces for a day or two. For that reason, many experts recommend that travelers seek out accommodations that have been empty for at least two or three days to give any viral traces time to become non-viable. In fact, Airbnb is now offering a “buffer” feature, which ensures that your rental has been vacant for 72 hours before a guest’s arrival.

Colorado hosts should consider doing something similar. Although it might cut into your bottom line, leaving the rental empty for 72 hours between bookings can go a long way toward reassuring your guests.

Spacing out your reservations will also keep you safer if you don’t have to clean a unit immediately after it was vacated.

Provide Cleaning Supplies

Even if you provide a buffer period between stays, it’s a smart policy to provide your guests with plenty of cleaning supplies, as many travelers make a point of cleaning their surroundings upon arrival.

At minimum, you should provide sanitizing wipes for door handles, counters, and miscellaneous surfaces, hand sanitizer (with at least 60% alcohol, per the CDC’s recommendations) for general use, plenty of soap, and sterile, wrapped masks in case your guests want to go into town.

Consider Relaxing Your Cancellation Policy

One of the big draws of Colorado is its low rate of coronavirus infection, especially when compared to other popular vacation states such as Florida or California. But that can change, and guests know that. Even if guests fall in love with your property after viewing it online, they might worry about losing their deposit if an outbreak prevents them from traveling.

Adopting a more flexible cancellation/refund policy in the event of an uptick in statewide coronavirus cases — or if the guests themselves end up contracting the coronavirus and can’t safely make it to your rental — can make potential guests feel much more confident about making their reservation.

Adopt a No-Contact Check-In Policy

Many hosts were already conducting a no-contact check-in before the pandemic, with lockboxes, keypad locks, or other means, but this has become exponentially more important in the pandemic. Devise a secure way for your guests to acquire keys to the property so they don’t have to come into face-to-face contact with you. The technology for this already exists — many cutting-edge real estate companies were doing no-contact showings even before the pandemic.

And remember— this isn’t just for their protection, it’s for yours, too.

If you can’t avoid a brief physical meeting, make sure you stay six feet away from your guests as much as possible and to wear a face covering (and to ask them to wear a mask, too).

Remind Guests of New Policies

Many vacation rentals have gotten rid of some included items and extra amenities as a result of the pandemic. Experts suggest removing soft or hard-to-clean shared objects from your rental, such as blankets, throw pillows, and some floor coverings. The same goes for complimentary food or drink; the risk of contamination is just too high.

Guests will understand and appreciate these new safety policies, but make sure you remind them, ahead of their arrival, that you no longer provide these amenities, so they can bring their own supplies and furnishings.

Provide Socially Distanced Recommendations

Your guests might be coming from across the country, so it’s possible they won’t know the area. Along with your usual recommendations for dining and recreation, you should try and provide information about local possibilities for social distancing.

There are some great resources out there about Colorado social distancing — and a lot of the information is pretty counterintuitive. For example, a lot of rural areas and small towns may seem like they’d offer high degrees of social distance, but studies have found that their public spaces are actually very dense, with a moderate to high degree of risk for viral transmission.

And if you’re surprised by this information, it’s safe to say that a guest will be, too. Hosting and renting in a pandemic can seem very stressful, but it’s doable — if you just take the time to educate not only your guests but yourself, too.

Ask A Realtor: Is fractional ownership for you?

Dear Janet and Tisa,

My wife and I are looking at options for buying or investing in some mountain real estate where we can spend portions of the year.  We’re not ready to relocate (yet) and would like the flexibility of owning something in the Vail/Beaver Creek area while still being able to afford to travel.   Some friends suggested we look at fractional ownership. We are wondering what the pros and cons are for fractional ownership versus buying a home and renting it out, as well as options in and around the Vail Valley.

Thank you,

Vacation Real Estate Buyer

Dear Vacation Real Estate Buyer,

Your question is very timely.  Even before COVID-19, interest in fractional ownership has continued to rise as people, such as your wife and you, explore vacation home options.

Given your interest in also wanting to travel outside the Vail Valley, fractional ownership provides the added benefits of being able to trade your week(s) at premier properties around the world.  The trend among hotels at most major resort areas, including those in the Vail Valley, is to market and sell a portion of their rooms as fractional units. This gives buyers premium properties and locations from which you can choose from for other vacations.

For example, highlights of fractional ownership properties in the Vail Valley include The Timbers, Ritz-Carlton Vail, Sebastian, St. James Place, Villa-Montane, Four Seasons, Park Hyatt and Westin.  Owners can then elect to use their vacation week(s) or exchange on a vacation exchange network, such as Interval International, which is owned by Marriott Corp.   This provides you with the opportunity get into some incredible oceanfront, golf or premier properties at a fraction of the cost of what you would pay as a regular guest.

What it costs

Entry level costs for a fractional unit in the Vail Valley range from $7,000-$15,000 for a one- to two- bedroom condo, depending on the week share and unit location. When you consider the cost of  renting  a premier location condo in Vail or Beaver Creek, buying a fractional makes this a cost-effective way for people, such as yourself,  to enjoy and experience the Vail Valley, as well as other luxury resort properties around the world.

Weighing fractional ownership vs. a rental property

To determine whether fractional ownership is right for you, we have a few key questions your wife and you should consider.  These include:

  • How much time do you want or expect to spend in the Vail Valley?
  • Outside of COVID travel restrictions, what other destinations are on your travel list?
  • Do you prefer having your own personal furnishings or do you like the flexibility of having this taken care of for you?
  • Do you need or are you interested more in having a real estate investment or more flexible vacation options?
  • What kind of properties do you like or wish to stay at and what would you spend on an average trip?

It’s important to note that buying a fractional is more about a vacation lifestyle investment than longer term financial return. It is ideal for people who want to stay at a higher-end resort property at fraction of the cost, factoring in the retail rental price versus the fractional price to own a deeded share.

That being said, if you’re looking to spend more time, such as a several weeks to a few months a year in the Vail Valley, then buying a home or condo and putting it in a rental program might make more sense.  The latter option is also more conducive if financial gain is also a higher priority.

Best wishes in your search.

Janet & Tisa