Durango & Pagosa Springs Short-Term Rental Insights

“How do I find an agent who actually understands short-term rentals?” When I decided to focus my real estate work on short-term rentals, I wanted to know if I was onto something real, so I asked the people who see this market every day. Local agents, property managers, and lenders all told me some version of the same thing: buyers here need an agent who looks at vacation rentals through an investor’s lens, and not many agents in the area focus on that specifically. That stuck

“Wait, you don’t need my tax returns?” That was my reaction the first time a lender walked me through a DSCR loan. I’d assumed financing an investment property would look like every other mortgage: pay stubs, W-2s, two years of tax returns, and a long look at my personal income. Instead, the conversation kept coming back to the property itself. What will it earn? What will it cost to carry? Does the math work? That was a lightbulb moment, and it’s the same one I see on buyers

"Is there anywhere left in Durango where I can still get a vacation rental permit?" If you've been looking into buying a short-term rental in Durango, you've probably asked yourself that same question. I know I did. You find a property you love, start reading about permits, zones, caps, and waitlists, and before long it's hard to tell what's actually possible and where to even begin. So in late September, I went straight to the source and sat down face to face with staff in t

"Can I buy this place and put it on Airbnb?" It's usually one of the first questions I hear, and in Durango, the honest answer is: maybe, but not the way most people expect. Durango is a wonderful place to own a vacation rental. The Animas River runs right through town, Purgatory is a short drive up the valley, and visitors come year round for the trails, the train, and the historic downtown. But the city has regulated short-term rentals since 1989, and the rules today are ca