Where do you find help for out of state STR investing?

[Allen L.]

I'm under contract on a STR in Austin TX and I plan on self managing. However, where do I find someone to help me do misc things like check out inspection, refill soap? What if the lockbox is stuck and they need an extra pair of keys, etc?

[Luke Carl]

Everything you need is right here.   ----->   https://www.amazon.com/Short-T...

Be careful with Austin they're not psyched about short terms.

[John Jewell]

Great book!

We are in WI and have properties in both AZ and FL. We have a manager in AZ, and we self manage in FL. The self manage in FL outperforms the manager in AZ, full disclosure the FL property was a STR when we bought it, so we did inherit some clientele. For the remote managing we relied on our broker in FL, as well as facebook postings looking for a handyman and cleaners, and of course good old fashion Google search for the contractors. In FL they were more than happy to help us network with people in the area to get what we needed.

[Joshua Messinger]

Hey @Allen L.! 

This would require that you hire a property management company that has on-call concierges. I would start vetting multiple PM companies and figure out who is hiring in-house or does the best work maintaining properties. 

If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to reach out! I'd love to help out! 

All the best,

Josh

[John Underwood]

Quote from @Allen L.:

I'm under contract on a STR in Austin TX and I plan on self managing. However, where do I find someone to help me do misc things like check out inspection, refill soap? What if the lockbox is stuck and they need an extra pair of keys, etc?

 Get a great cleaning team and they should be able to help you with these things.

You can hide a 2nd lockbox for emergencies.

[Henry Lazerow]

I have a back up lockbox full of keys for when I travel (often for month+ I am gone). If you are really far away even put two back up lockboxes. If a major issue call a locksmith. For cleaning I have a neighbor but finding someone reliable is not easy and if they aren't reliable your reviews will destroy the airbnb business quickly which is why I would never try to do it outside a big city where there is a big supply of cleaners, etc. 

Using a PM will destroy your numbers. It's really not much work and you will probably do a much better job answering questions then any PM. In class A/B areas I have many out of state clients self manage their rentals just fine. 

[Jordan Moorhead]

@Luke Carl is right. Austin doesn't love STR but you can do it here with a license. The easiest way to get a license is have it be your homestead. Another way you can do it is in an ETJ, @Conner Olsen has the formula to find those.

We've also had a lot of success with furnished monthly rentals as those are perfectly kosher per any city ordinance.

[Melissa Garcia]

Have your cleaners do most of it (like restocking, etc), but have a handy man in the city just in case an emergency happens. Co-Keeper is an app that can help you manage all that. We use Shipt to order supplies and have them delivered to our place when our cleaner is there cleaning so she can restock.

You can have a backup lockbox for emergencies as well.

[Aaron Gordy]

@Allen L. I have an agent that specializes in managing str in the Austin metro. She may do it on an as needed basis. 

[Christian Ehlers]

I would definitely rely on your cleaners and your real estate agent for small things like this when buying a STR out of state. If you build a good relationship with the cleaners they shouldn't have a big problem with sending you photos of any issues and after each cleaning you do to verify they did it and that the property is in good shape. They love when you pay them ON TIME! You can also use a keycode smart lock like Yale, Schlage or google smart locks that way you don't have to worry about a lockbox, and then you can keep the lockbox with a physical key as a backup incase anything happens to your smart lock. When investing out of state having multiple options to catch potential problems before they arise makes your life a whole lot easier!

[Allen L.]

Thank you all, I can't message you guys all on this thread so I'll send DMs... It's been a while and it's super reminiscent of my noobie RE years but goin through my 1st STR experience makes me realize how valuable BP is.