Rental Property Investor · Champaign, IL · Member since 2012 · 192 posts · 74 votes
Just completed a Airbnb conversion where I took a small 600 sq ft 2 bed / 1 bath student rental and went through it top to bottom to get the finishes up to a level where it would make an attractive airbnb for short term tenants coming predominantly from the University of Illinois (UIUC) which is 2 blocks away.
Rough Numbers
Timeline: 27 days
Labor: $14K
Construction Materials: $10K
Furnishings (Including Appliances): $6K
Total Rehab Cost: $30K
I actually documented the rehab in 3 videos which are on youtube if you are interested. You can just click on my BP profile and go to my Everyday Home Repairs website where you will see the 3 videos stepping through "My Plans," "Progress!" and "Finish Line."
3 Videos on Everyday Home Repairs Website
So now it is time to put the unit to work and see if the time and money invested will provide my targeted 20% cash on cash return. I will post updates as we progress to give a little more information if this rehab and additional time commitment to manage was a good idea or not.
Sorry, I know it is a bit confusing but i don't think I can include a direct link to my youtube since that will be against the terms of use for BP. If you go to my profile and click "See More" you will see the website link which will show the videos.
Hope it works out for you @Scott Dixon. I can"t wait to see the updates. I have been very curious on how an Airbnb would work in a college town like Champaign/Urbana.
I was able to find your website from the screenshot you posted. Great job you did! But so that know, the link to your website doesn't show when one clicks on More.
I am pretty curious myself. Looks like there are a number of people in the Chambana area which are bringing in a consistent cashflow. If you are looking at possibly becoming a host I would recommend getting a month subscription to Airdna which will give you a really good look at the numbers (occupancy, avg nightly rate, seasonality, etc.). My biggest concern is if the additional cashflow will justify the additional management work which short term rentals / airbnb demand over traditional rentals.
Flipper/Rehabber · Yardley, PA · Member since 2015 · 451 posts · 307 votes
8y
@Scott Dixon apt looks great! Curious if you've used butcher block countertops in rentals before and how did they hold up? I have some low end rentals I was debating on using this and sealing it with a waterproof sealer. Thoughts/recs/comments on this? Thanks
Yeah this is a first time for me and I decided to go with the butcher block because it went with the overall design and was cost effective (only needed an standard 8' section). I am treating the butcher block with standard mineral oil in the following process:
Stage 1 - daily coat of mineral oil for first week
Stage 2 - weekly coat of mineral oil for first month
Stage 3 - monthly or every other month coat of mineral oil for life of counter top
I would not put this in my standard rental since it is too much maintenance but since this is a short term rental / airbnb we will be in and out fairly often so it will only take the 2 mins it takes to lay down a coat of mineral oil when needed. You probably can take a more permanent approach to sealing the butcher block but I don't have any direct experience to give an educated opinion.