Should I buy a condo & short term rent it out in KC?!

[Ryan Manring]

Hey y’all - my wife and I booked a staycation on air bnb in downtown KC to get out of the suburbs and hang for the weekend, and I thought to myself…

Why don’t we buy a condo and do this ourselves?!

My mind is spinning on the topic, but wanted to see if anyone with Midwest/KC specific knowledge had any wisdom to share.

Some of my questions:

> Is there enough of a market to buy a condo downtown in Kansas City and short term rent it? 

> Is the market over/under saturated for something like this? 

> How do I do an analysis on a property in my city to know if it’s viable or not long term? 

Little about me…currently don’t own any real estate, live in KC suburbs about 30 mins outside of downtown…been wanting to get in the rental game in some form/fashion— have about $30,000 stashed to put down on a property as of today, no other debt with a good credit score. 

Any advice would be so greatly appreciated! 

[Andrew Garcia]

Hi @Ryan Manring, I would contact a local investor-friendly agent that specializes in STRs.

They would be the best resource to answer those three questions.

Tools like AirDNA can help but they are tools at the end of the day.

They have flaws and do not have intimate local market knowledge like an STR-focused agent.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

[Ryan Manring]

Quote from @Andrew Garcia:

Hi @Ryan Manring, I would contact a local investor-friendly agent that specializes in STRs.

They would be the best resource to answer those three questions.

Tools like AirDNA can help but they are tools at the end of the day.

They have flaws and do not have intimate local market knowledge like an STR-focused agent.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Good call, I'll reach out and keep up the conversations! I know HOA's can be pretty tricky to work with, but, I've stated at 3 or 4 of them myself over the years so, I know it's possible!

[Caleb Brown]

Yes STR's do great here. KC in downtown does well. Also Overland Park and North KC. With condos HOA's need to allow it so I'd check into those. With 30K saved you could try house hacking. Would be tough to find a STR with 20-25% down(would out you around 100K-120K PP). I would potentially house hack a nice multi family. In the nicer spots for a duplex they are 300-500K but would be ideal to use one side as an AirBnB. After a year move out, would get you going

[John Underwood]

Do some research. How many other STR's are there in that area? What prices are they charging, How full are their online calendars?

This will allow you to run the numbers. Put the data in excel and see what it shows.

[Ryan Manring]

Quote from @John Underwood:

Do some research. How many other STR's are there in that area? What prices are they charging, How full are their online calendars?

This will allow you to run the numbers. Put the data in excel and see what it shows.

 Good call - you have some key metrics you like to track when analyzing deals? I am guessing daily averages, occupancy rates/days a month occupied, that type of thing? 

[John Underwood]

Quote from @Ryan Manring:

Quote from @John Underwood:

Do some research. How many other STR's are there in that area? What prices are they charging, How full are their online calendars?

This will allow you to run the numbers. Put the data in excel and see what it shows.

 Good call - you have some key metrics you like to track when analyzing deals? I am guessing daily averages, occupancy rates/days a month occupied, that type of thing? 

 Exactly

[Steven May]

I own and operate Air BNB / Short Term Rentals here in Kansas City. I also have helped several clients purchase Short Term Rentals here. Happy to chat further about that market here and opportunities. 

[Paul Sandhu]

Panasonic.  Get a piece of that 6 billion dollar pie.

[Matt K.]

I'd pause on anything with a HOA, lot of hate directed at STR right now in KC....so I would expect HOAs to take a tougher stance and either add in a ban or enforcement of existing bans.