Rental Property Investor · Montgomery, AL · Member since 2018 · 80 posts · 51 votes
My wife and I have decided to OOS invest in a STR/Vacation property in Branson. However, the vast number of STR options are a bit overwhelming. In an effort to narrow down our search for our realtor, We're trying to sort through pro and cons of different condo communities a have learned this is a pretty daunting task, especially for an OOS investor.
So I thought rather than reinventing the wheel, perhaps another savvy investor or professional has already created a “Branson Smart Sheet” product that helps compare and contrast different condo communities.
Here’s some of what we’d find helpful:
1. COA/HOA rates/restrictions (along with what's included). Zillow is hit or miss in this area.
2. PM options. Some are on-site managed, some have no limitations, and others require a specific PM vendors.
3. Accurate list of amenities provided
4. Desirability of location for STR . Performance data would be helpful for like units in community (# days per year occupied, rates received, etc)
5. Intangibles like parking or traffic problems, or condos that are poorly managed, etc.
Does something like this already exist? If not, I’ll try to put something together.
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 93 posts · 110 votes
7y
I value free flowing consistent passive cash flow over squeezing out a few extra dollars and doing nightly because I’m not local. I just purchased a 24 plex in Branson rents are 650-700 and purchase price was $990k. That’s $41,250 a unit. All units are year long leases. So when I figure my cash on cash knowing that I do nothing I have in year one an over 25% cash on cash return. It’s not as high as nightly rentals but I dont have to do any work.
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 93 posts · 110 votes
7y
I have around 40 units in the Branson area. They are all long term rentals. There is a lot of restrictions on the str so while we looked at that first we found Branson is a good market for us for the long term rental market. One of our condos is Rented our long term but you can do short term rentals. That complex is called Fall Creek.
Rental Property Investor · Montgomery, AL · Member since 2018 · 80 posts · 51 votes
7y
@Nigel Guisinger that’s interesting. So you find the long term market more profitable? What kind of ROU are you averaging? Are you renting furnished or unfinished mainly?
That part I struggle with is getting a realistic expense list that accounts for all the extras associated with STR (house cleaning, toiletries, utilities, etc)
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 93 posts · 110 votes
7y
I value free flowing consistent passive cash flow over squeezing out a few extra dollars and doing nightly because I’m not local. I just purchased a 24 plex in Branson rents are 650-700 and purchase price was $990k. That’s $41,250 a unit. All units are year long leases. So when I figure my cash on cash knowing that I do nothing I have in year one an over 25% cash on cash return. It’s not as high as nightly rentals but I dont have to do any work.
Rental Property Investor · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2019 · 63 posts · 52 votes
7y
I invested in STR in Branson 12 years ago. Building my 3rd house there currently. No cheat sheet that I am aware of, but if there is one, Kelly Worley of Worley and Associates would have it. Let her know I referred you if you do talk with her or someone in her office.
As for other expenses to be aware of, it's all your normal things. Do be aware of the high/low seasonality and the booking window is quite short for the small condos.
@John I haven't invested in STR in Branson, but I've invested from Branson up to Springfield since 2015. More of a buy/hold guy personally, but I know (2) really solid real estate agents that might be able to help take some of this off your hands. I know you mentioned an agent, and you may be tied down, but I'd be happy to introduce you if that may help. I'm sure they, or my property manager, could introduce you to a local STR investor!
I'd be interested to know your Branson area real estate agent or property management referals, David. Thanks!
Rental Property Investor · Montgomery, AL · Member since 2018 · 80 posts · 51 votes
6y
@Anita Parsa. Thanks Anita. We ended up purchasing a couple of Condos from one of Kelly Worley’s agents. It was a great experience overall.
Ultimately, there is no cheat sheet. But the local Branson agents are well informed of the various condo association pros and cons.
We ended up in Holiday Hills. Various factors led to our decision, but location, PM flexibility, and amenities (huge indoor pool) were the primary drivers. The low HOA was nice, but no utilities were included.
Does anyone have an opinion on Indian Point near Silver Dollar City? We have stayed at the Village at Indian Point a few times and noticed this last trip that there were a few units available for sale but they all have been listed for 200+ days. Haven’t looked to deep into it but the DOM sets off red flags for me, is this a normal listing for vacation property here?
Rental Property Investor · Montgomery, AL · Member since 2018 · 80 posts · 51 votes
6y
@Daniel Halsted Indian Point seems to be a popular area, especially for those visitors who spend a lot of time at SDC. We only looked at the condos for sale on Indian Point at The Cliffs. According to our REA, the other places for sale while we were there were either overpriced or had PM restrictions.
Many of the condos sit on the market for a long time due to the seller not having urgency to sell a condo that is making money as a STR. These condos are likely at or over market value, have high HOA fees, or PM restrictions to be sitting that long.
However, I’d discuss with a local REA if there’s a condo you’re liking that’s been on the market a while... could be other factors.
@John McGonigal Why don't you do STRs in Wynnewood? I'm killing it here in Coffeyville with my 23 STRs. CVR Energy contractors are my tenants. CVR has a refinery in Wynnewood and nobody is doing STRs there, that I know of. I get $600/week for a 3BR bank foreclosure that I paid $9500 for, and I have more of these than I can count on one hand.
Interesting, I am researching it now. Although I am nowhere close.
@John McGonigal Why don't you do STRs in Wynnewood? I'm killing it here in Coffeyville with my 23 STRs. CVR Energy contractors are my tenants. CVR has a refinery in Wynnewood and nobody is doing STRs there, that I know of. I get $600/week for a 3BR bank foreclosure that I paid $9500 for, and I have more of these than I can count on one hand.
Interesting, I am researching it now. Although I am nowhere close.
Ponca City OKlahoma is another town to research. It's like Wynnewood, it has a refinery. When some of my tenants finish their jobs here, they ask me if I have any houses in Wynnewood or Ponca. Because that's where they are going for their next job.
I wanted to pop in to this thread. Branson Does really well for STR's. I own an STR Management company (Freedom Vacation Rentals, LLC) based in Branson as well as multiple nightly rentals. You need to be careful where you buy because some communities make you use their management at RIDICULOUS fees! You need to be careful you are getting your information from someone who isn't giving you 2016-17 numbers and giving you real data and KPI's. We manage properties all over Branson from 1 bedroom condo's to 14 bedroom lodges. They all do very well and make good returns that we don't see in MOST parts of the country.
@Kendra Levy, @Chris Mantell, @John Morgan - We are the largest PM in the Vineyards with another 16 in the pipeline. If you would like REAL numbers out there, feel free to reach out. Also Heather Henderson and Todd Bradshaw are the Realtors you know the community the best. They are the absolute "go to" if you are interested out there.
Good luck Y'all and let me know if there is any way I can help.
Property Manager · Arvada, CO · Member since 2017 · 14 posts · 5 votes
6y
@John Morgan - Freedom Vacation Rentals, LLC has multiple plans available. We understand that in the STR space, some investors like to be involved and we welcome that.
Our Booking Manager Plan is 10%. This covers all marketing, guest communication up to the booking date and check-in as well as calendar maintenance. The owner then takes over and handles cleaning and maintenance.
Our Elite manager plan is 18%. It takes care of all the aspects of the above Booking Manager Plan as well as housekeeping, stocking and housekeeping payouts.
Our 5 Star Management plan is a full service (mailbox money) plan. This also includes tax payouts to State and City, 3rd party utility payment. We max out at 25% for full service or 22% for multiple properties.
Our Legacy Manager plan is fully customized with owner responsibilities and FVR responsibilities and pricing is based on such.
All of our plans include:
-Marketing on ALL major STR sites including Airbnb, Homeaway/VRBO, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Booking.com, ETC...
- Month end and quarterly reporting with key performance indicators and transparent owner statements
- Owner portal log-in to view calendars, create work orders, block dates and view reservations
- One off cart services for maintenance or property upgrades. We will facilitate everything from re-decorating to getting the carpet cleaned at a very reasonable price through our Vendor Network.
- No limitations on owner/family use. It's your property and your business model, you should have access to it anytime. The majority of PM's will limit you to a couple weeks a year.
**Very Significant factor** Our structure is very different in the fact owners have a dedicated Asset Manager as their single point of contact. If you have questions about billing, property care, pricing, taxes or anything to do with your property, you have one single contact and their direct line number. Our Asset Managers only handle 20-30 properties so they can know each property under their management fully.
Thank you. I’m paying way too much for service. I live out of state so I need someone to handle everything. I’ve been happy with my property management team (Sunset Nightly Rentals) but I could probably save several thousand a year with your team. Do they have any properties at Stonebridge? That’s where my two bedroom cabin is and sunset handles a lot of them there.
That’s very interesting I have a 2 bedroom 3 bath home with a complete Movie room in a furnace 1200 sq ft basement with the movie Theater room on one side and on the other side of 50s Diner’s theme room with pool table giant air hockey machine and other equipment as well as exercise equipment I also have a finished guest home one bedroom one full bath with kitchen and living area on the same property which also includes a $30,000 dock with boat lift nice setting area and tackle shop room on Lake Taneycomo the main home has a very nice size deck with a beautiful view of the lake breathtaking in the winter in Branson Missouri with no homeowners fees or any other fees except for a small $75 a year fee for road maintenance around the lake area that is in Branson Missouri
@David Pere I appreciate the offer, but as mentioned I do have an agent who I think will help shed more light on the Branson market when we visit next month. Does your PM manage STR as well?
Could you PM me the agent’s info that you have in Branson?
Property Manager · Branson Missouri · Member since 2022 · 73 posts · 51 votes
3y
I am just seeing this conversation thread. We are a nightly rental property manager for stand alone homes in the Branson market since 2005. Rent Branson. We do not act as realtors for buyers or sellers but are very familiar with our market place. For the most part we
focus on homes/cabins (not condos). Please feel free to reach out to me should you have any questions.
@John McGonigal Our first property has done very well so we just closed on our second in July, it’s about two weeks from the rehab being finished and our property manager thinks she already has a family set up to move in.
Hey Janelle! I have several STR's in Branson and have been considering a few LTR's. Out of curiosity, what websites do you use to actively market LTR properties to potential tenants? I am simply unfamiliar with the LTR world, but would love to get into it!
@John McGonigal Our first property has done very well so we just closed on our second in July, it’s about two weeks from the rehab being finished and our property manager thinks she already has a family set up to move in.
Hey Janelle! I have several STR's in Branson and have been considering a few LTR's. Out of curiosity, what websites do you use to actively market LTR properties to potential tenants? I am simply unfamiliar with the LTR world, but would love to get into it!
Hi @Trevor Flota we rely solely on a property manager because we don’t live in the area (we actually have never even been to the state of Missouri). Our property manager markets our units so I am not sure what sites she uses.