Northwest Arkansas · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 23 votes
I've been looking for a location in the Northern Texas and Oklahoma area not too far off route 66 we can purchase an affordable home to use as a second home and a STR while we are not there. So far my research has landed me on Wichita Falls, TX. The area has a surprisingly high occupancy rate per AirDNA and that appears to be fairly accurate after confirming directly on AirBnB. Since this is a new location for me I am trying to understand what the primary driver is for that. The college, air force base, location, something else? I haven't been able to pinpoint through reading reviews and other searching if it is something specific. If it is indeed the college or air force base I'd assume buying closer to those makes more sense. Anyone have experience with this area OR have a good tip to find out this type of information when investing out of state?
Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
@Brady Beshear I have 23 STRs, about as many LTRs that you have. My wife does the turns. Probably 10/month. We make more money renting out houses than she could bring in as the office manager of a law firm.
Rental Property Investor · Valley View, TX · Member since 2018 · 174 posts · 87 votes
6y
@Brandi Scharrer On three of the properties, our make-ready was about $500-$700, so not much. On our Lindale house, we put in about $5000. Mistake we made on that one is that we had a handyman do the work because we couldn't find a contractor, and it was really more than he could handle. (Took a looong time for him to finish.) My guess is the STRs would be something that either service members (officers, not enlisted) or health professionals would want in WF, but I can't say how big that market is. To give you an idea on LTRs, our rents are from about $900-$1200 and our tenants are in these lines of work: 1. high school coach (single), 2. big box store assistant manager, 3. retired marine corps vet, 4. mechanical engineer at local glass company. Incomes range from about $40k - $60K. Our neighborhoods are in the B category, so it's possible to get good margins on LTRs there by renting to people who are solidly middle income. I just can't speak too much on STRs. One other thing is that property taxes and insurance in TX are fairly high, so you might not be used to that. Taxes run about $2000/year on each of our houses, and by shopping HARD I got good coverage on each home for about $800/year in premiums. Longest vacancy I've had was 30 days, but it's easier to find renters in spring and summer, and that was just this past month when the rental market gets slow.
Northwest Arkansas · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 23 votes
6y
@Alfred Litton The STR occupancy rate for WF is what sparked this thread for me. I pulled the data from AirDNA and while I know I can't rely on that 100% the occupancy rate for STRs in this area seemed pretty good (70%). I wasn't really sure why. When I checked some vacation rentals sites I saw lots of the homes were indeed booked. I heard Texas in general had higher taxes and I've looked into that too but appreciate you calling it out. It is one of the other reasons I am looking at both northern TX and southern OK. I was figuring a lower insurance cost than what you have so thanks for sharing that, I'll adjust. Appreciate all the info you've shared on WF!