All Forum Posts by: Andrew McConnell

@Jamie Garcia Love it man! Keep it up. Excellent strategy.

One thought to consider: You should definitely look at bigger multi-family but instead of just looking at flipping options you should consider cash flowing the place by renting it out as a short-term rental (which has been incredibly hot in the LA market lately).  These short-term rentals have been significantly outperfroming long-term rentals in the owners I come across in the area who had previously been renting out as a long-term rental.

If you go down this route, your challenge might be handling all the additional work, but I have a number of professionals in the area who are still getting investors excellent guaranteed returns without the hassle.  

If you are interested in exploring further, feel free to direct message me or give me a call.

@Khalil Gio It looks like you live in PCB but was curious to see if you are planning on managing all the rentals yourself?

I believe that without outside rental management help it is going to be especially challenging for you to expand as rapidly as you are looking to do.

If you are ever looking at local management options in PCB, feel free to shoot me a direct message or call me.  I have some successful local individuals that I would be happy to get you in touch with.

@Tejus Patel I personally am not but have talked with a number of successful owners there.  I've spoken to 4+ successful profitable hosts at the Herrin Lofts building alone(right near the soccer stadium).  Many of them were starting to look to scale.  Houston is a terrific market.

However, you need to own the unit, not just be on the list.  All of the successful hosts I have talked to in Houston have been owners.

If you do go down that route, feel free to direct message or call me.  I might have some individuals in the area who might be able to help you out.

@Blair Russell round trip of an hour and a half (not counting traffic).  If there are issues that have to be resolved in the middle of the night or during work on a more than a once or twice a year basis, there are not many people who have the luxury of spending that much time driving (in addition to actually checking/fixing the specific situation at the home).  Just a rule of thumb, I have heard from experienced folks.  Nothing really set in stone.

@Zhengran Zhou The successful vacation rental owners that I have worked with specifically in Palm Springs have mainly had places either in 92264 or 92262 .

@Chris Frydenlund Great idea! I am not sure if that is where you got your idea, but there is a guy in Downtown Austin who has been wildly successful undertaking a similar strategy that has attracted typical travelers in addition to large corporate groups and wedding parties (I believe he has a few Airstream on his property).

With that being said, that individual has been successful running the operation on his own because he also live in Austin.

I am concerned about your plan because it is so far away from you.  The general rule is it needs to be within 45 mins of your primary residence to be sustainable.

Have you considered either purchasing land in Houston area or getting an Airbnb rental manager? I have some local individuals who have helped other owners that I would be happy to get you in touch with if you are interested in exploring further.  Feel free to direct message or call me.

@Pauline Jones Much more familiar with Vegas.

There you need to looking a picking up a unit at one of the condo-hotels there on the strip.  I have seen owners have success at the MGM Grand for example.  That is the only way to legally rent out a property as a short-term rental.  Everywhere else they are illegal.

Las Vegas/Nevada economy is very dependent on the hotels/casinos. Hence, they have a very influential lobbying presence with the local government there.  Thus, it is not surprising that legislation is very restrictive to rent-by-owner short-term rentals that directly compete with the hotels/casinos.

If you end up choosing that route in Vegas and want to explore short-term rental professional management options, feel free to direct message me or give me a ring. I have some local contacts there that owners I have worked with have recommended to me.

@Zhengran Zhou If vacation rental is your purpose go Palm Springs.  You'll pay a bit of a premium over Indio but that will more than pay for itself in the long-run as there is much stronger year-round rental demand in Palm Springs compared with Indio (drop off during non-Coachella season is significantly more dramatic than Palm Springs).

I would aim for 3-4BR (2BR could work but I would definitely shy away from 1BR) single-family home (condos seem to underperform homes there).  You also will absolutely need a pool, but you should also strongly consider a place with a hot tub or consider in investing in one (the desert can get quite cold during certain times of the year; this will help you get those hard-to-book weeks rented out during the non-peak season).

Also, you need to make sure you understand the short-term rental license application with the local government (you will need one of those to rent out legally in Palm Springs). In addition, do not forget to pay attention to the HOA restrictions which differs by neighborhood. There are still some in Palm Springs that do not allow rentals like this.

Happy searching.

@Danae Meurer  

Locks- Kwikset Smartcode Lever

Garage Door- LAYKOR Keyless Electronic Digital Door Lock YL-99

Thermostat- Know everyone says Nest. Check out Honeywell too. They have a cheap $100 one you can control from your phone.

Lights- Ube electronic control system

Also, Parakeet has an interesting all-in-one solution that solves most of these.

In addition, if you are ever having trouble automating the place yourself remotely, I know some quality local in-person short-term rental professional property managers that I would be happy to introduce you to.  Feel free to direct message me or give me a call if you are interested.

@Anastasia S.  Kansas City is a pretty interesting market due to a lack of competition in many areas still.  With that being the case, you should be able to clean up when it comes to competing against local hotels.

I do have someone in my network who has helped other investors out who have tried to find the right short-term rental investment opportunities in Kansas City.  Shoot me a direct message or give me a ring, and I would be happy to make an introduction.