Expert advice please

[Lindsay Lafeen]

Hello there! I am new to the site and new to real estate. I am planning on purchasing a condo in Utah that would be utilized as a vacation rental for tourists drawn to the area for the ski season. However, I will be using this as my personal residence when it is vacant. Therefore, when I am using the four square analysis guide recommended by the site there are so many unknown variables that I am simply hypothesizing for, in turn unable to get a "true" ROI.

Also, using the analysis there is no specific variable which would quantify the value created by me being able to use this property personally. I would love any suggestions, recommendations or information that could assist me in this type of purchase, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 

[Tobias Falzone]

I would first project the income and expenses out for it as a vacation rental. You have to do some sleuthing, but it can be done. I would first assume that you would not use it at all to calculate an ROI of the property as an investment. Once you do that, you can calculate your monetary cost & benefit from using the property. Your cost is the is your lost income and the only benefit would be comparing that loss of income to other hotel costs in the area. Using that framework you can get a clear financial picture for the investment to compare against others.