All Forum Posts by: Ariel Smith

@Ande Andrea in regards to the point you made about the lease option stating that you can't have people in the home for longer than 2 weeks, that clause typically translates to anyone staying longer than 2 weeks needs to be on the lease agreement because they are considered to be a co-tenant. It doesn't translate to allowing you to do STR in the home. As @Neal Collins mentioned, you would need permission from the property owner.

@Hayden H. any brokerage that you hang your license with will be taking a split of commission, so be aware of that. They are assuming a lot of risk in having you under their brokerage, and they will not work for free. Do you have a mentor or someone in a similar situation to this? I'd look to that person to see what they recommend. 

In my opinion, it's always a better idea to work with an agent, especially as the buyer. You pay nothing as the seller pays commission, and you have expertise on your side. Then again, I am an agent so I am a little biased! I'd recommend looking for someone who is investor-friendly in the area and interview a few. Ask a lot of questions!

Best of luck!

@Claratisha Davis welcome from the Bay Area!

Hi @Subhash Reddy and welcome from the Bay Area! Are you looking to invest here locally or out of state? There is plenty of advice on BP for both scenarios.

@Matt Smith I also recommend Airdna.co. However, keep in mind that they only collect data from Airbnb, so details such as occupancy can be incorrect if the owner lists on multiple platforms (most do). It provides a great starting point for your analysis though! 

@David Melton not yet. I'm deciding whether to look at out of state opportunities or to mimic a property I already manage in Indio, CA cause the margins are great for vacation rentals. I'm leaning towards Indio to start because it's a market I'm very familiar with, but I am keeping my options open as my timeline is around 6 months down the line. 

Are you investing out of state yet? If so, which states?

Hey @David Melton, I'd check out the SF Investing Meetup Group. Most of the participants are investing out of state so it should be a good group for you to network with.

https://www.meetup.com/SF-Bay-Area-Real-Estate-Investing-Club/

Hope to see you at a meeting soon!

Hi @Jonathan Pflueger! I know a CPA in South SF if you'd like the contact

Hi @Amzy Dedios and welcome from the Bay Area! There is a summit going on this weekend in Sacramento if you can make it. Should be useful information for that area!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/401183-summit-at-the-guild---on-the-rise-sacramento-region

@Mark Watkins I have experience with this at my previous company. Most traveling medical professionals are working for one of the big companies such as Medical Solutions, Aya Healthcare, or one of their subsidiaries. They receive stipends for housing which they negotiate with their contracts. It is then their responsibility to find housing on their own, which provides a huge opportunity to market to this group.

Universities and medical centers work differently in that they usually coordinate housing for the rotating staff. In my area, Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford has a network of property owners they actually refer business to. So I'm not sure which category the hospital you are near falls under, but I'd reach out to the hospital directly to find out. Call and ask for the HR department or whichever person places the traveling professionals. If they tell you they place the travelers, great! Ask how you can be added to their network. If not, then sometimes the best bet is to use sites like VRBO/HomeAway and Airbnb to attract these corporate guests. 

Either way, there is most definitely a market to house these people and they are great tenants!