Sell your duplex in Colorado Springs, CO: owner-occupied and fully rented duplexes, how both units transfer with tenants, the exemption that owner-occupied duplexes have under Colorado's for-cause law, shared systems and deferred repairs, and how a cash buyer closes. Written offer within 24 hours of our visit.
Duplexes are scattered through every older part of Colorado Springs: side-by-sides in the Southeast and Stratmoor, up-and-downs near Downtown and in the Old North End, converted houses on the Westside. They were a first investment, a way to house a parent, or the house you bought with a VA loan and rented the other half of. Now the roof covers both units and needs replacing, the shared sewer line backs up on both sides, one tenant is month-to-month and the other has stopped paying, and a listing would mean showings through two households. Owners who want out find that retail buyers want either an owner-occupied bargain or a turnkey investment, and a tired duplex is neither.
Colorado Springs Cash Buyers buys duplexes across Colorado Springs and El Paso County, owner-occupied or fully rented, in whatever condition the two households left them. We buy as-is, take the tenants and leases, and close in about a week after a clean title search. This page explains how a duplex sale works with tenants in place, the Colorado rule that treats owner-occupied small properties differently, the shared-system repairs we expect, the tax points, and the sale itself.
Selling with tenants in one or both units
The leases transfer to us at closing, deposits are transferred with written notice to the tenants, and rent is prorated. If you live in one side, you move out on the closing date or a date we agree to in the contract, and the other side stays rented. If both sides are rented, nothing changes for the tenants but the payment address. We do not require either unit vacant and we visit both once, with notice, rather than running weeks of showings.
Owner-occupied duplexes and Colorado's for-cause law
HB24-1098 limits a landlord's ability to decline to renew after twelve months of tenancy, but it exempts owner-occupied properties with three or fewer units. If you live in one side, you have more flexibility with the other tenant than a non-resident landlord does. Once you sell to a buyer who does not live there, the full rules apply to that buyer, which is one reason retail buyers hesitate and one reason we simply take the tenancy as it stands.
Shared systems and the repairs we expect
One roof over both units, often paid at actual cash value after the hail and never replaced. One sewer lateral serving two kitchens and two baths, usually clay and usually under a mature tree. Sometimes a single furnace or water heater serving both sides, or a single electrical service with a creative split. Unpermitted conversions are common in the older stock, where a house became two units without the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department's involvement. We price all of it, including bringing a conversion into compliance where needed, and do the work after closing.
Tax points
If you lived in one side, that half may qualify for the primary-residence gain exclusion while the rented half faces depreciation recapture and capital gains; the allocation is a job for a tax professional. A fully rented duplex is treated as investment property, and a 1031 exchange can defer the tax if the deadlines are met; we can set the closing to fit. Colorado taxes the gain as income, and out-of-state owners face withholding at closing.
How we price a duplex
From the stabilized value of a renovated duplex in your neighborhood, with market rents on both sides, we subtract the repairs and any compliance work, our carrying and resale costs and a margin. Arrears, a pending eviction or a long below-market lease adjust the figure modestly. The offer is written within 24 hours of our visit and does not change afterward. We pay the customary closing costs and there is no commission.
Next step
Send the address, who lives in each side, the rents and lease terms, and whether anyone is behind. We arrange one visit, deliver a written offer within 24 hours, and close in about a week after a clean title search or on the date you need to move.
Selling to us vs. a traditional listing in Colorado Springs, CO
| Comparison | Traditional agent | For sale by owner | Colorado Springs Cash Buyers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash offer | Rarely | Rarely | Yes |
| Sell as-is | Repairs expected | Repairs expected | Yes |
| Time to a contract | roughly two months in Colorado Springs now | Often longer | 24 hours after the visit |
| Agent commission | About 6% | Buyer's agent usually paid | None |
| Closing costs | Paid by seller | Paid by seller | Customary costs paid by us |
| Showings | Yes | Yes | One visit |
| Financing fall-through | Possible | Possible | None, we fund it |
| Price cut after inspection | Common | Common | No inspection period |
| Closing date | Lender's schedule | Buyer's schedule | Yours |
Looking to buy, not sell?
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We buy houses in Colorado Springs for any reason, any condition, or any challenge
Every link below is a page written for that situation in Colorado Springs and El Paso County.