The Rise of the Duplex

 In a world where college prices are rising and employment is low many adults are finding themselves living at home with their parents after school. The American Dream of home ownership tends to get delayed as people pay off college loans that are equivalent to a mortgage payment. One solution that my clients came up with for their grown children living at home with them was purchasing a duplex. It offered the best of both worlds: independence but a home for their adult children. 

Buying a whole duplex in Denver can prove to be difficult though as they rarely have just one owner. Currently in Denver there are only 14 duplexes for sale! Many duplexes in Denver have one owner for each unit.  In Colorado the rules and regulations of a duplex are written up in a party-wall agreement. This agreement is similar to a condo’s HOA but it is between only two parties. It will outline how bills will be split, common areas, insurance and how structural issues will be handled. This agreement is a necessity since most duplexes in Denver  sit on a lot that once housed a single family home so there is only one sewer line and water line. This means duplex owners typically have to split utility bills.

 The party line agreement makes it a lot easier for a duplex to have one single owner per unit. Although, it makes it a little harder for people, like my clients, who are actually looking to be the sole owner of a duplex. It certainly is not impossible though! If you are working with an agent looking for both sides of a duplex, ask how they will work to find you the right duplex.

In addition to writing for Daigle’s Digs, Elizabeth works full-time as a Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty Downtown, LLC. Elizabeth’s expertise is in buying and selling a home, first time home buyers, short sales, and investment properties. Contact Elizabeth for any real estate needs. Cell 303-819.73.71. Work 720-314-8352.