Our Poconos experience - purchase in 2024

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Our Poconos experience - purchase in 2024

Dean Waite
Investor · Boise, ID · Member since 2014 · 8 posts · 6 votes

I posted this as a reply to someone else sharing their #'s, thought it was worth sharing as its own post as well.

After nearly two years of kicking the STR tires we pulled the trigger in 2024. My wife agreed(somewhat nervously and maybe a little reluctantly) to make this purchase her project. We did a bunch of market research, actually visited Galveston and Blue Ridge, GA for the first time. Really wanted to buy in FL(my personal favorite for visiting.) But, we ended up buying in the Poconos due to "bang for buck" price to rent #'s.

Closed in mid 2024 and brought it online just before Christmas. It took some extra time for my wife to run the rehab from 2000 miles away(we live in Idaho.) After one full year of operating here are our rough #'s.

PP $425,000 Rehab/design/furnishing $90,000 All-in $515,000. We used about $300k from a 1031 exchange and have a mortgage of $140k.

2025 gross rents $97k (100 % Airbnb)

2025 Expenses total(including everything) $75k

Net cash in pocket $22k

This is with my wife self managing from 2000 miles away. I think we will be able to reduce our expenses in this second year and should be able to put 25-30k in our pocket for 2026, assuming we have the same rents(so far so good). We also have some tax benefit, mortgage buy down and appreciation that does not show up here. So far we are happy with our purchase. Although my wife is pissed about getting her first less than 5* review almost exactly one year after we came online(actually got two 4* in a row in DEC 2025.)

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Drew SygitBusiness Member
Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
4mo
Quote from @Basit Siddiqi:

Hmmms, I am sketpical and I don't think the numbers make it a good investment.

1) if you passed it to a property management company, they would likely ask for 20% - 30% fee which would be $20,000 to $30,000 making the investment break even or lose money.
Maybe some of the $75,000 expenses are one-time expenses and won't reoccur. It is not certain without getting a breakdown.

2) $22,000 on a $300,000 investment is about 7.25%
This 7.25% likely required hundred's of hours of time of either you or your spouse.

3) You may get some tax benefit / savings from this - Uncertain of the amount.

I personally would not call this a win unless you can either scale down the expenses or increase the revenue in future years.


 It's actually worse: $515k all-in for that $22k.

22/515 = 4.27% ROI

Hopefully, the 2nd year dramatically increases income and reduces expenses.

[email protected]248-209-6824
Logical Property Management4.9458 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
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  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7mo

    good job!

    [email protected]813-563-0877
    Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
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    0Reply
  • Pierre Guirguis
    Lender · Marlboro, NJ · Member since 2025 · 243 posts · 150 votes
    7mo

    Appreciate you sharing real numbers, this helps everyone.

    For a 2024 purchase, 97k gross on a 515k basis with low leverage is solid, especially self-managed from 2,000 miles away.

    The interesting part to me is how conservative the structure is. With only 140k debt, you’ve insulated the downside quite a bit, which matters in seasonal markets like the Poconos.

    Im interested to hear from you, if performance holds steady into 2026, would you consider levering it up and redeploying capital, or is the goal long-term yield and stability?

    Also, two 4-star reviews in a year isn’t bad. That just means expectations are high.

    0Reply
    • Dean Waite
      OP
      Investor · Boise, ID · Member since 2014 · 8 posts · 6 votes
      7mo
      Quote from @Pierre Guirguis:

      Appreciate you sharing real numbers, this helps everyone.

      For a 2024 purchase, 97k gross on a 515k basis with low leverage is solid, especially self-managed from 2,000 miles away.

      The interesting part to me is how conservative the structure is. With only 140k debt, you’ve insulated the downside quite a bit, which matters in seasonal markets like the Poconos.

      Im interested to hear from you, if performance holds steady into 2026, would you consider levering it up and redeploying capital, or is the goal long-term yield and stability?

      Also, two 4-star reviews in a year isn’t bad. That just means expectations are high.


       Being conservative was pretty important to my wife. I think we will keep it that way for now. 

      ive done 3 long distance BRRR projects over the last few years, still in two of those. Likely going to keep going on those as I find deals I like.

      0Reply
  • Jennifer Huang
    Member since 2024 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    7mo

    This is really helpful, thank you for sharing!

    Is the 1031 from an existing prior property that you own?

    0Reply
    • Dean Waite
      OP
      Investor · Boise, ID · Member since 2014 · 8 posts · 6 votes
      7mo
      Quote from @Jennifer Huang:

      This is really helpful, thank you for sharing!

      Is the 1031 from an existing prior property that you own?


       Yes, well I did own it, but sold and moved the equity into this property

      0Reply
  • Ken Boone
    Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7mo

    That is great. I am still struggling to bring my Poconos property online. Here are few questions for you.

    1) Where is the property located in the Poconos. That is a huge area spanning multiple counties. 
    2) How big is the property, sq ft, bedroom, bath count?
    3) Your 2025 expenses were super high based on the gross rents. Why in your opinion were they so high?

    4 star reviews happen, we just got the other day. The review was great and the stars were 4. We followed up with them and they said well there was a terminator 2 game in the photos and it wasn't there and we really wanted to play that. I'm like man, a guest broke the screen and I literally replaced it with 3 - yes 3 new arcade cabinets as T2 was not available. It happens. It makes it look real though.

    0Reply
    • Dean Waite
      OP
      Investor · Boise, ID · Member since 2014 · 8 posts · 6 votes
      7mo
      Quote from @Ken Boone:

      That is great. I am still struggling to bring my Poconos property online. Here are few questions for you.

      1) Where is the property located in the Poconos. That is a huge area spanning multiple counties. 
      2) How big is the property, sq ft, bedroom, bath count?
      3) Your 2025 expenses were super high based on the gross rents. Why in your opinion were they so high?

      4 star reviews happen, we just got the other day. The review was great and the stars were 4. We followed up with them and they said well there was a terminator 2 game in the photos and it wasn't there and we really wanted to play that. I'm like man, a guest broke the screen and I literally replaced it with 3 - yes 3 new arcade cabinets as T2 was not available. It happens. It makes it look real though.


       We are in Tobyhanna, Pocono Farms

      6 bed 3 bath

      taxes were crazy high. Paid extra for quick responses on a few repairs. Wife's travel for 3 site visits included. It all added up pretty quick. As stated, I think we can reduce that in this second year 

      0Reply
  • Mike GrudzienPro Member
    Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7mo

    Nice work!

    0Reply
  • Basit SiddiqiBusiness Member
    Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    4mo

    Hmmms, I am sketpical and I don't think the numbers make it a good investment.

    1) if you passed it to a property management company, they would likely ask for 20% - 30% fee which would be $20,000 to $30,000 making the investment break even or lose money.
    Maybe some of the $75,000 expenses are one-time expenses and won't reoccur. It is not certain without getting a breakdown.

    2) $22,000 on a $300,000 investment is about 7.25%
    This 7.25% likely required hundred's of hours of time of either you or your spouse.

    3) You may get some tax benefit / savings from this - Uncertain of the amount.

    I personally would not call this a win unless you can either scale down the expenses or increase the revenue in future years.

    [email protected]917-280-8544
    Basit Siddiqi CPA4.979 Reviews
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    0Reply
    • Drew SygitBusiness Member
      Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
      4mo
      Quote from @Basit Siddiqi:

      Hmmms, I am sketpical and I don't think the numbers make it a good investment.

      1) if you passed it to a property management company, they would likely ask for 20% - 30% fee which would be $20,000 to $30,000 making the investment break even or lose money.
      Maybe some of the $75,000 expenses are one-time expenses and won't reoccur. It is not certain without getting a breakdown.

      2) $22,000 on a $300,000 investment is about 7.25%
      This 7.25% likely required hundred's of hours of time of either you or your spouse.

      3) You may get some tax benefit / savings from this - Uncertain of the amount.

      I personally would not call this a win unless you can either scale down the expenses or increase the revenue in future years.


       It's actually worse: $515k all-in for that $22k.

      22/515 = 4.27% ROI

      Hopefully, the 2nd year dramatically increases income and reduces expenses.

      [email protected]248-209-6824
      Logical Property Management4.9458 Reviews
      WebsiteView Page
      1Reply
    • Tyler Divin
      Property Manager · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2018 · 175 posts · 134 votes
      4mo
      Quote from @Drew Sygit:
      Quote from @Basit Siddiqi:

      Hmmms, I am sketpical and I don't think the numbers make it a good investment.

      1) if you passed it to a property management company, they would likely ask for 20% - 30% fee which would be $20,000 to $30,000 making the investment break even or lose money.
      Maybe some of the $75,000 expenses are one-time expenses and won't reoccur. It is not certain without getting a breakdown.

      2) $22,000 on a $300,000 investment is about 7.25%
      This 7.25% likely required hundred's of hours of time of either you or your spouse.

      3) You may get some tax benefit / savings from this - Uncertain of the amount.

      I personally would not call this a win unless you can either scale down the expenses or increase the revenue in future years.


       It's actually worse: $515k all-in for that $22k.

      22/515 = 4.27% ROI

      Hopefully, the 2nd year dramatically increases income and reduces expenses.


      I don't think $22k / $515k tells the full story. That uses after-debt cash flow against the total project cost, which mixes metrics. If you're measuring cash-on-cash, the denominator should be actual cash/equity invested. If you're measuring return on total cost, you'd want NOI before debt service. Plus, that ignores appreciation, loan paydown, and tax benefits, all of which are real parts of the return. The cash flow alone may not be amazing, but total return could be meaningfully higher than 4.27%.

      0Reply
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