Many crucial factors go into being a landlord in Colorado. For starters, you’ll need to market rentals, send rental applications, screen tenants, create lease agreements, battle unearned reputations, and more. And that’s before you ever hand over the keys to a tenant.
Fortunately, modern technology presents a simple path toward property management automation that can help you find your footing in the industry.
No matter what stage you’re at in your landlording journey, you’ve come to the right place. We at TurboTenant created this guide to help you manage your Colorado rentals with ease and confidence by reducing the learning curve.
Marketing. Applications. Leases. Payments.
Research the Market
No matter how much experience you have as a landlord, understanding the rental markets you’re considering is always a no-brainer.
Whether you already track local real estate trends and rental conditions or you’re starting from scratch, this one simple rule will never change: Study the rental markets.
To do so, research every last detail of potential rental markets before and during your stint as a Colorado landlord. Doing so is one of the best ways to set yourself up for success.
These key metrics include:
- Job availability
- Population growth
- Economic stability
- Real estate trends
- Inventory levels
- Neighborhood quality
- Affordability
- Tenant demand
- Future development plans
- Proximity to transportation, shopping, and entertainment
- Licensing requirements
The list above only scratches the surface of factors you’ll need to consider, so get assertive with your research, or better yet, check out our guide on the Best Rental Markets in Colorado. Getting to know your markets now could save you from issues down the road.
To take your market research a step further, use our Rent Estimate Calculator. This free tool provides a reasonable estimate of how much rental income your property could generate. Just remember, markets shift regularly, so treat all estimates as a starting point.
Do Some Math
After you’ve analyzed your markets, keep your research going by digging deeper into the numbers. Doing so might sound tedious, but will give you a much clearer view of your potential rental income, property upkeep costs, and overall financial outlook.
Start by asking yourself a few key questions about your property, and be honest and realistic with your answers. The more straightforward you are now, the better prepared you’ll be later:
- Will the property need major renovations before it is rentable?
- What is the fair market rent for similar properties in the area?
- How competitive are local vacancy rates right now?
- Can I cover the mortgage if the property sits vacant?
Once you have the answers to these questions, take the next step and dive into the following critical metrics when analyzing your current or future properties:
NOI: Net Operating Income measures how profitable a property is after accounting for operating expenses. This metric gives you an unbiased view of your true income potential, helping you determine whether a property will meet your financial goals.
Cap rate: A property’s capitalization rate measures your investment return by comparing a property’s price to its NOI. It will help you assess market competitiveness, spot good deals, and quickly compare potential investments.
ROI: Return on Investment measures how much profit you generate compared to your initial investment. It shows whether your property is performing well enough to meet your financial expectations.
Rent-to-income ratio: This essential metric measures tenant affordability by comparing rent to monthly income. Maintaining a healthy rent-to-income ratio helps ensure that you have steady and reliable tenants.
Cash flow: Cash flow measures how much profit you keep each month after covering all expenses. Strong, positive cash flow signals a sustainable rental property that can survive vacancies and unexpected costs.
Rental yield: Rental yield measures annual rental income against a property’s value or purchase price. Higher rental yields typically indicate more substantial returns and better overall investment performance.
Running the numbers on your rental properties doesn’t have to feel overwhelming, as TurboTenant offers free, easy-to-use calculators for many of these metrics.
Read Up On Local Landlord-Tenant Law
Along with federal laws like the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Colorado landlords must understand state-specific laws to stay compliant and protect their investments.
Going over every Colorado landlord-tenant law in this article would be a bit much, so be sure to carve out time to review our complete Colorado Landlord-Tenant Guide. We update it frequently and fact-check it with our in-house legal team to keep it current.
Here are some key Colorado landlord-tenant laws to keep in mind as you build your landlord business. Though these laws apply statewide, local governments sometimes pass rules that override state laws, so always double-check local ordinances before making a decision.
Security deposit rules: Landlords must return the tenant’s security deposit within 30 days after the lease ends or the tenant moves out unless the lease allows up to 60 days. Landlords must also provide an itemized list of deductions for damages or unpaid charges (C.R.S. § 38-12-103).
Entry requirements: Landlords may enter rental properties for reasonable purposes, such as maintenance, inspections, or showings, as long as they respect the tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment. Although state law does not require advance notice, landlords typically provide at least 24 hours of notice before entering (C.R.S. § 38-12-510).
Eviction laws: In Colorado, landlords must have legal grounds to evict a tenant, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or substantial violations like criminal activity. They must give proper notice, usually 10 days for nonpayment or lease breaches and 3 days for substantial violations, before filing for eviction (C.R.S. § 13-40-104).
Rent control: Colorado law prohibits both state and local governments from imposing rent control, so landlords can set rental rates without limits. Landlords must wait at least 12 months between rent increases for the same tenant and give 60 days written notice (C.R.S. § 38-12-701).
Lease breaking: In Colorado, tenants can legally break a lease early if the rental becomes uninhabitable, they are victims of domestic violence, they enter active military service, or more (C.R.S. § 38-12-402). If tenants break a lease without legal justification and the landlord evicts them, they must continue paying rent until the lease ends or the landlord re-rents the unit. Landlords must make reasonable efforts to re-rent to mitigate a tenant’s financial losses (C.R.S. § 38-12-104).
Use Property Management Software
After you have run the numbers and learned the basics of landlord-tenant law, you’ll need a tool to manage your long list of tasks. Well, hello there, property management software.
Property management software simplifies your landlord responsibilities by bringing essential tasks, such as rent collection, lease creation, tenant screening, and financial tracking, into one centralized online platform. Tools like TurboTenant automate routine work, reduce errors, ensure legal compliance, and save you time and money in the process.
In the next section, we will break down a landlord’s typical duties and show how property management software can help you handle them more efficiently.
Market Your Properties
Once your Colorado investment properties are ready to rent, your next step is to attract reliable tenants. Create strong, appealing listings and post them across major rental platforms to boost exposure, attract quality leads, and fill vacancies faster.
To start, set your rent price based on the market research you completed earlier. Then, gather high-quality photos, videos, and descriptions that highlight your property’s best features. Remember, other landlords are competing for the same renters, so make your listing stand out.
TurboTenant makes advertising your rental property much easier. With our software, you can quickly create AI-assisted listings, add pre-screening questions, and automatically post your property across dozens of top rental sites.
Not to mention, this service comes complimentary with all free accounts.
Collect Rental Applications Digitally
Once your property listings attract a pool of candidates, it’s your job to learn more about them. Focus on their employment history, rental references, income, and credit to gauge whether they’re reliable and a good fit for your property.
Collecting this information is easy with TurboTenant. To do so, create your free account, customize your digital rental application, add your applicant’s contact information, and let our software do its magic.
And worry not; every single question in your digital rental application follows federal and Colorado screening laws. Plus, TransUnion, the third-party screeners we utilize, charges applicants the screening fee directly, ensuring you’ll pay nothing out of pocket.
Use a Legally Compliant Lease
After screening your applicants, you’ll hopefully find a standout candidate or two. Ideally, they will have strong credit, solid landlord references, no criminal history, and a steady income. (The key word here is hopefully.)
After you select your next tenant, you’ll need to agree on terms and create a strong lease agreement. A solid rental contract will protect your investment, set clear expectations, and guarantee you comply with landlord-tenant laws.
Hiring a lawyer to draft a lease will get the job done, sure, but doing so is time-consuming and expensive. A faster option is using property management software to create a state-specific rental contract in 15 minutes or less.
With our Unlimited Plan, you can generate unlimited lease agreements across multiple states for around the same cost as a lawyer’s initial consultation fee.
Lock Down Maintenance Requests
It’d be great if our rental properties always stayed in pristine condition, but reality usually has other plans. When repairs arise, tenants expect fast responses, clear communication, and a landlord who handles issues promptly.
And you, the landlord, must perform timely repairs. Failing to maintain basic habitability standards not only breaks the lease agreement but also violates the law, exposing you to potential legal disputes, fines, and other less-than-desirable consequences.
We’ll put it simply: You must stay on top of every maintenance request, whether you handle them yourself or use property management software. We recommend using software, of course, which can automate requests, collect quotes, and schedule repairs with zero effort on your part.
Collect Rent Online
Rent is the non-negotiable monthly payment that keeps your rental business moving in the right direction. Without steady rent payments from tenants, your investment will sputter, cash flow will evaporate, and growing your portfolio will seem impossible.
How can you make rent collection easier, you ask? By letting tenants pay rent online. Unsurprisingly, landlords who accept automatic digital payments are five times more likely to receive rent on time compared to those who still rely on cash or checks.
While collecting rent through Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, or bank transfers works, property management software offers a smoother, more reliable experience with higher send and receive limits. With TurboTenant’s state-of-the-art landlord software, you can set up recurring rent payments, send reminders, and track every dollar effortlessly.
Streamline Rental Property Accounting
Real estate investing is a numbers game and comes down to managing money in and money out. As a landlord, it’s your responsibility to track every dollar of income and expenses, which, to many, feels like the most stressful part of the job (especially as tax season approaches).
To protect yourself from a potential IRS audit, ensure that your accounting and bookkeeping are solid and your numbers are completely dialed in. Keeping finances organized is not optional; it’s an imperative part of running a successful rental business.
Using QuickBooks and juggling spreadsheets works for some real estate investors, but these big-box solutions weren’t designed with landlords in mind. Fortunately, other options are (and you can probably guess which solution we recommend).
TurboTenant, powered by REI Hub’s accounting tools, is the savviest way to manage your rental finances. With it, you can track cash flow, expenses, income, profit and loss, and balance sheets, putting your rental accounting on set-it-and-forget-it mode.
TurboTenant Makes DIY Landlording Easy
Being a landlord in Colorado is a serious gig, but that doesn’t mean the responsibility has to drain your time or energy. With TurboTenant’s free property management tools, you can simplify your operation without cutting corners or risking a legal kerfuffle.
From marketing your listings to screening tenants, generating lease agreements, collecting rent, and tracking every penny, TurboTenant has you covered. Our tools automate your most important responsibilities so you can focus on growing your rental portfolio with a clear mind.
If you’re ready to make landlording in Colorado as efficient as possible, create your free TurboTenant account today to start managing your properties the right way.
