Growing up in Arizona, Cameron McClellan was actively involved in his family’s construction business throughout high school and college. After launching his real estate career in 2010, he learned from one of the top teams in the country before moving to Castle Rock in 2015 to launch Colorado Team. Today, Colorado Team specializes in residential real estate throughout the Denver Metro and Colorado Springs areas.
“I love Colorado,” explains McClellan. “When I was looking to leave Arizona, it was a natural choice to move here.” Starting his business in Castle Rock has been the perfect choice, as his real estate company's growth has coincided with Castle Rock's evolution. “This area is like a Hallmark movie. While Castle Rock is developing quickly, we have a strong downtown filled with mom and pop shops and a great small town vibe.”
McClellan’s company is in rare air, ranking among the top 1% of real estate companies nationwide and achieving lifetime sales of more than $500 million. The company has evolved from buying and selling real estate to offering a range of residential real estate programs that help customers achieve strong returns on real estate investments, despite the current flat market.
Uniquely positioned with construction expertise and a sales history of selling more than 1,000 homes, McClellan has a proven track record in short-term home investments, fix-and-flips, rentals, and more traditional home sales.
“A lot of people don’t know that you can sell a home in two years with no capital gains tax,” says McClellan. “It is a great way of maximizing investment.”
One way for people to stair-step into their dream home is to buy an entry-level home and sell it within 2 years. “A great tip is to buy a single-family home worth $600,000 or less in this area when a majority are selling for more than $700,000,” McClellan explains. “The worst home in the best neighborhood is full of opportunities.” This can be especially true when the home has a three-car garage, backs onto a golf course or open space, and has a great lot layout. “In two years, you can sell the entry home and move up to an $800,000 home and continue to bridge into a million-dollar home.”
If a homeowner is remodeling, one way to get inexpensive customer research is to walk the new builds in the area and see what types of cabinets, countertops, and flooring are popular today. “It’s a great shortcut to success.” Another important consideration is to find the best deal on materials. Don’t overspend.
“We always caution clients to let logic make the decision on homes, not emotions.”
Fix and Flips is another program that Colorado Team offers. The Colorado Team identifies off-market opportunities, acquires the property, repairs it, and sells it. A key tip for determining the right investment value is that when a buyer calculates the future selling price of the home, they should buy the house at 30% under value,” advises McClellan.
During remodeling, the focus will be on great return-on-investment improvements. Basements will be finished as living spaces; kitchens will include granite and quartz countertops, dovetail and soft-closing drawers; bathrooms will require high-quality vanities; and garage doors should be given curb appeal. “Our expertise shows that overspending on windows, solar panels, flooring, or overpaying on finishes won’t produce the right return on investments,” McClellan says.
The biggest advantage of using a real estate company is access to off-market deals. “We see these opportunities every week and bring them to our clients for consideration.” The Colorado Team has completed more than 100 off-market deals for their clients.
Working with customers, McClellan will help clients identify the right real estate opportunity. Regardless of the real estate path, every client will receive top-notch service in pitching, staging, and selling a home. “Now more than ever, it’s important to hold a client’s hand and babysit deals. Buyers want turnkey deals, so preparation, packaging, and delicate negotiations are key.”
For more information on real estate opportunities, visit https://coloradoteam.com/.
In this high-interest-rate market, buyers and real estate agents need to be creative to maximize opportunities. Buyers can successfully invest in the current real estate market with cash flow by taking advantage of off-market opportunities and investing some sweat equity in home upgrades, while balancing contract, permit, construction, and project management risks. With an experienced broker like Colorado Team, this fix-and-flip model has a proven track record of success. Brokers have experience assessing a home's true value and can warn against overpaying or the risk of costly repairs, such as foundation and sewer issues.