I am interested in purchasing a short term rental in the Ludlow, VT market but am struggling to cash flow in my analysis. I am not sure if the market is saturated and Covid home prices have made returns difficult or if I am looking at this incorrectly. Has anyone purchased a home in the last year that successfully cash flowed and would be willing to discuss with me?
Stowe, VT · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
4y
Hi Emily,
Vermont realtor here! I have had much more success with my Stowe investors successfully cash flowing than Ludlow investors. Stowe is more expensive, but commands a higher nightly rate and Stowe is busy year round, with the slow seasons being only November and April.
Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
4y
Ludlow sounds like a boring town. Something like Gatlinburg or Reno sounds more exciting. Plus you can do more things in Reno than you can in Ludlow Vermont.
Rental Property Investor · Marietta, GA · Member since 2017 · 131 posts · 101 votes
4y
@Emily Wissinger I had never heard of Ludlow VT, but it looks like it's a ski town with 1 ski resort. So I imagine you have one time of the year where this place is full capacity and the rest, not so good. Airdna shows the avg. daily rate around $400, which sounds really good to me and occupancy at 56%. I only use Airdna to compare similar areas and wouldn't take these numbers to heart.
Rental Property Investor · Chatham, MA · Member since 2015 · 75 posts · 65 votes
4y
Search listings in the area on airbnb. Set superhost filter. Look for listings with at least 40 reviews, look at the host profiles and find someone with multiple listings. Those folks are most likely your pros, see if any of them will talk to you. I will assume Ludlow has similar seasonal activity as Stowe, if so , the summers are busier than conventional wisdom would say. Good luck
Stowe, VT · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
4y
Hi Emily,
Vermont realtor here! I have had much more success with my Stowe investors successfully cash flowing than Ludlow investors. Stowe is more expensive, but commands a higher nightly rate and Stowe is busy year round, with the slow seasons being only November and April.
Vermont realtor here! I have had much more success with my Stowe investors successfully cash flowing than Ludlow investors. Stowe is more expensive, but commands a higher nightly rate and Stowe is busy year round, with the slow seasons being only November and April.
Hi Kathleen. Thanks for your response. I love Stowe but have always hesitated because of how far north the mountain is. I’m in CT so Okemo has always been our go to. Prices have gone through the roof in Ludlow in the last year to the point where most of my analysis only breaks even if I am being conservative. Are you seeing a similar trend in Stowe? Any advice on delaying a purchase until the market settles a bit?
I am interested in purchasing a short term rental in the Ludlow, VT market but am struggling to cash flow in my analysis. I am not sure if the market is saturated and Covid home prices have made returns difficult or if I am looking at this incorrectly. Has anyone purchased a home in the last year that successfully cash flowed and would be willing to discuss with me?
Thank you, Emily
Hi Emily! Ludlow is a special place and those who know about it and can get their hands on a property to STR are very lucky. There's barely any inventory for a reason. I just recently found one and am currently under contract on a 3bd/2bth w/ an ADU....been looking and watching the market weekly, if not daily for 8 months. Let's connect if you're still interested in the area. I'm closing mid October so will be in the area to set it up late October if you want to meet up. :-)
Investor · Glastonbury, CT · Member since 2020 · 14 posts · 0 votes
3y
Hi Emily, Wondering how do you find the STR in Ludlow? I'm also in CT and we ski in Okemo quite often. also looking for potential seasonal rentals / Short term rental there too. love to connect :)
I am interested in purchasing a short term rental in the Ludlow, VT market but am struggling to cash flow in my analysis. I am not sure if the market is saturated and Covid home prices have made returns difficult or if I am looking at this incorrectly. Has anyone purchased a home in the last year that successfully cash flowed and would be willing to discuss with me?
Thank you, Emily
Hi Emily! Ludlow is a special place and those who know about it and can get their hands on a property to STR are very lucky. There's barely any inventory for a reason. I just recently found one and am currently under contract on a 3bd/2bth w/ an ADU....been looking and watching the market weekly, if not daily for 8 months. Let's connect if you're still interested in the area. I'm closing mid October so will be in the area to set it up late October if you want to meet up. :-)
Hi Anna, How is your STR so far? if you are around let's meetup :)
We're just coming out of "Mud Season" now where everything shuts down (restaurants, etc), but entering the Spring and Summer, we expect the rentals to pick up nicely. Fall Leaf-Peeping season is also a huge draw, and then things quiet down for "Stick Season" before they start picking back up in December.
Happy to chat with anyone about the area. It's a great market!
Rental Property Investor · Bridgewater, NJ · Member since 2022 · 42 posts · 12 votes
3y
Thanks for sharing Brian! I was beginning to think I made the biggest mistake of my life by buying in Ludlow so hoping summer and fall pickup as my research showed it should.
Your property is beautiful! I'm definitely saving it for our annual ski trip. :-)
Does anyone have experience with Stratton? We are interested in purchasing a home for a LTR in the winter and then short term rental for the other months. The houses are extremely expensive. We want to attract higher end renters with families. I would appreciate any feedback you have to offer.
Does anyone have experience with Stratton? We are interested in purchasing a home for a LTR in the winter and then short term rental for the other months. The houses are extremely expensive. We want to attract higher end renters with families. I would appreciate any feedback you have to offer.
Hi, Kyle. A few points.
By way of background, we have a two-family home in Weston, which is about 15 mins from Okemo, 15 from Bromley, 10 from Magic and 25 from Stratton. Most of our renters are for Okemo, but we see a mix.
Our house is 4 BR, 3 baths and we allow dogs. We've grossed about $45k annually give or take, less expenses, over the past 2 years. We're booked solid for thanksgiving, Christmas, new years and ski season, but I was surprised at how empty we are the rest of the year (something that we are currently working to solve for).
If I was to buy another property in the area, I would not go larger than a 4/3 and may even be more open to 3/2s as smaller properties are also more likely to cater to families vs single partiers.
As it stands, as a mountain, with Stratton you can't go wrong. It's the "bougiest" of the mountains and attracts a high-end crowd—More wealthy families willing to pay for quality homes and less partiers. Also with Stratton, there are more caretakers and cleaners that service that area than where we are.
Red flags to look out for:
Every town in the general area has their own STR ordinances or lack-thereof. Be sure to research your exact town before buying. There is one town near Mt Snow, for example, that has an outright ban on STRs. Know what you're getting into beforehand and know that things could change over time to become less favorable to STRs.
At the state level, there are currently no restrictions on STRs, but that could change. Almost every year it seems that there's a new bill up for vote putting various restrictions on STRs, the current one being that it's illegal to rent out your home if you live there less than 120 days per year.
Big picture, it's foolish for a state that's so dependent on tourism to place onerous restrictions on the ability to house tourists, but many locals make the case that they are getting priced out of the housing market. They are not wrong, but restricting STRs isn't going to change that; building more affordable housing, on the other hand, just may.
It remains to be seen whether or not this law passes or another like it, but whereas we were at one point heavily-considering a second rental property here, we're holding off until we get a clearer sense as to how this will pan out.
Rental Property Investor · Bridgewater, NJ · Member since 2022 · 42 posts · 12 votes
2y
Brian is spot on. I bought my STR in Ludlow on 2022 and have yet to break even with $75k in revenue 5 minutes from Okemo. My house is a 4/2.5 and we allow pets. The locals hate STR operators so you gotta keep you head down. I learned a lot and maybe will come back to STRs when I don't have to overpay to get in, but I'm selling it right now and not looking back while I have the opportunity to offset my cap gains with all our losses. Not doing 1031 for a reason. Times have changed drastically and you gotta play with real estate in a way that won't get you in a world of hurt. I'm not Blackrock.