need help looking to Airbnb

[Andy Verge]

We are interested in purchasing an airbnb in the theme park area of Florida.  This would be our 1st airbnb, right now we live in Maine and only do long term rentals in Maine.  Trying to expand our portfolio.  Wondering if this would be profitable.  We heard insurance has gone up in Florida.  Wondering how much for management fees, cleaning, etc might be. Trying to figure the numbers. We started looking in the Davenport area.  Any input or help would be much appreciated. 

[Ryan Moyer]

I own 1 and manage 17 other STRs in the Disney market.

Assuming a normal LTV, if you're buying turn-key, profitability is most likely not on the table after debt service.

If you invest in theming it can be profitable if you do it well.

If returns are your primary goal, there are better markets than Davenport/Kissimmee.  They do have advantages in other areas like personal use (if you've got kiddos especially) and long term security (both in terms of demand and nearly zero regulation risk).

As with most (all?) investments, returns scale with risk.  Regulation risk and long-term demand risk is low in this market, so returns are muted.  If you look at it more like a long term rental where you get help with the mortgage and build equity (and tax advantages) over time while getting a place you can use personally, then it can be a good buy.  If you're trying to maximize cashflow you'd better plan to spend six figures on theming and be creative with it.

If you want you can give me a call and I'm happy to share my numbers on utilities etc.  Ours is a 9br for refererence: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/52612233