Updated 3 months ago on . Most recent reply
Deep Dive Financials Case Study on my STR
Hey BP Community! I wanted to start off 2026 with a quick win and year in review series (I'll be sharing my losses too in the coming weeks because not all deals are home runs!). In this first post, I'll be analyzing my best performing Short Term Rental (STR) in 2025. Let's get right into it!
Location: 78255 Zip Code/Northwest San Antonio, Texas
Type: Single Family Home
Built: 2008
Beds: 5 (1 King and 4 Queens)
Bath: 3 Full
Square Feet: ~3100
HOA: Yes
2025 Financials
Revenue: $54,697 (This was closer to $70k in 2024 more on that below)
Mortgage(PITI): $27,768
Repairs: $2,202
Supplies: $2,312
Internet: $669
Electricity: $2,094
Natural Gas: $566
Water: $874
Hotel Tax: $2,927
STR Permit Renewal: $450
Net: $14,835
We were unable to rent this home for roughly 2-3 months as well because the upstairs water heater sprung a HUGE leak when no one was home and flooded a good portion of the upstairs living room and garage. Dealing with the insurance company was SLOW but eventually we got all the water mitigation complete and repairs done just in time for the summer. This lowered our revenue for the year. A family member of ours cleans this home for us in between stays in exchange for us managing their home as an STR so that helps keeps the cleaning costs low.
Based on my experience, this home has always done well because it is in a safe neighborhood and a good area near shopping, theme parks, and other outdoor activities. It is also a larger home with 5 bedrooms so it is great for large groups. I don't offer any incredibly unique amenities (hot tubs, outdoor games, etc). The HOA has tried to give me a hard time and they fined me several times because the color of my roof was black and not grey (seriously?) but eventually I worked this out with them (a story for another time).
This was probably our worst year for this home, given the 3 month repairs but even then we still were able to pay down the principal balance, gain appreciation, and keep some monthly profit after all that even!
Overall, this home has done great for me. I feel that many people think they can buy any home and turn it into a successful STR which just isn't the case. This is the hospitality business and people have high standards! You have to wow your guests. In my opinion, a safe home without any special amenities out of the norm that is not outdated or in need of repairs with a A+ cleaning will outperform a shoddy home with a subpar cleaning with super unique amenities. Trust me I’ve done both! I’ll share my worst performing home that meets the latter description in the coming weeks.
Most Popular Reply
Assume the revenue number includes the hotel tax you show as an expense? I usually treat occupancy and sales tax as a pass through and don't include it in the revenue line. Curious, what is the market value of the home? I use this to also gauge whether or not it is a good investment, hard to tell otherwise unless you are just looking at cash flow positive.