Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
6y
Start a spreadsheet with info on similar properties. Look at their calendars on vrbo and airbnb to see how much they are charging and how their occupancy looks.
Then put in all your projected expenses. The numbers will give you your answer.
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
6y
Hey @Ethan Ross, that will depend on a lot of things. How much do you want to spend? What are other places renting for in the immediate area? How much profit are you talking about?
You will have to do some strong research on the area to get some numbers. For example, we are profitable now with a season of about 5 months.
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
6y
Start a spreadsheet with info on similar properties. Look at their calendars on vrbo and airbnb to see how much they are charging and how their occupancy looks.
Then put in all your projected expenses. The numbers will give you your answer.
Anyone have experience with seasonal rentals in the Catskills region? Considering buying a small house to rent out for fishing destinations.
Can you be profitable with these types of properties when only renting for a few months a year?
So, look, I'm gonna say this as nicely as possible and of course to each their own: you can only invest every dollar once, you should invest it where you can make the absolute highest return, and that is certainly not The Catskills. And that is also why I don't invest in or near my hometown either. Because the highest ROI is about 1000 miles away from me where I own a number of properties that make a ton of money
I tend to buy in the Southern half of the US for 3 reasons:
1) you get much higher year-round occupancy rates in the South & it’s simply tough to earn a good ROI in the North if your place sits vacant for a big chunk of the year
2) Culturally, the Southern half of the US seems to be a lot more accepting of STRs regulation-wise. A lot of these southern beach & mountain towns have been supporting STR for 75+ years, long before Airbnb was a thing, so they're very comfortable with it and it's a built-in part of the community.
3) The Southern half of the US is more forgiving if your property is out of service for a couple months (a flood, property damage, coronavirus) bc you earn year-round revenue. People in the north can get really screwed if, for example, their property is out of service during the peak summer season when they would typically earn all of their revenue
A lot of Northern places are FREAKING OUT over STRs & STR regulations & they don’t seem to be very supportive of it. So, in the North, best case you’re fighting an uphill battle with a lot of uncertainty. Worst case, it gets outlawed in a town AFTER you’ve bought a place there & now you have to sell at a HUGE loss bc there’s no buyer demand once STR use is banned! I’ve seen it happen...
Anyway, there’s a great resource on the internet that shows the amazing numbers you can earn on STR down south. I used to post links to it as a courtesy to newbies bc it’s extremely helpful, but I’ve been asked by BP mods not to link to it any more (they thought I was getting paid a referral fee to recommend that data set but I wasn’t, I just recommended it bc it’s sooo helpful!). So you’ll have to google & try to find that data by yourself now.
Anyway, once you see the STR data on these various southern towns, you’ll see that you simply can’t get annual revenue, annual occupancy rates, annual net income, & annual ROI like this in the north
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2020 · 148 posts · 97 votes
6y
Hi Ethan, we have 2 STRs in southwest Michigan and our busy season is Summer. We get some weekends booked for spring and fall and always felt lucky to have anything booked in the winter. However, each winter we tend to get more guests around the holidays, so it seems the trend is changing. Our properties definitely aren't year round rentals, but we like to use them at times, even in the off-season, so that's a benefit for us. In your case, you can research other properties in the area and see how their calendar is booked as well as what they charge. Of course this won't give you a completely accurate picture since properties should be looked at on a case by case basis. There are vacation rental analyzer tools out there that can help you identify profit by looking at income and expenses. Rentalizer is one tool, Transparent has a market intelligence dashboard, and I have a proforma tool I like to use as I look for a new STR to invest in. If you message me, I'd be happy to share it with you. Good luck to you!
Investor · Hummelstown, PA · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes
6y
Hi there!
I invest in the Finger Lakes NY - a bit further from NYC than the Catskills. I think you definitely have an opportunity there. I would advise to try to find an area that you can rent year-round, and add hot tubs, which will clinch the deal. I would be really careful what you pay at the moment - the outskirts of NYC is exploding with people moving further from the city. You should also be very careful with any research you're doing right now - Catskills are packed, Finger Lakes are packed...anything in driving distance to a major city is bursting at the seams. I'm literally booked every day through the end of August at all 4 places I rent out STR. Look at the last two years for a more accurate picture of what your potential revenue could be.
Rental Property Investor · North Carolina Triad · Member since 2020 · 26 posts · 5 votes
5y
i didnt, still undecided about the seasonal game. I love the idea of getting a small single family in an outdoor recreational area i love to spend time in where i can rent it out when im not there.
but it doesnt sound like a smart business decision. what are your thoughts?