All Forum Posts by: Ashley Brooks

Does anyone have property management companies they’d highly recommend in the Houston or San Antonio areas?

My husband and I have been superhosts on Airbnb for about 3 years now. We own a house that we rent out, and for about a year we arbitraged 2 others. I've been able to provide advice and direction to some investors getting started with rental arbitrage. My biggest advice for first timers, before they speak to the owner or listing agent, is to know their numbers. Know the market and the opportunity. Make sure you've researched the area well enough to come off confident and knowledgeable to the owner. 

I'm curious, if you've had success with rental arbitrage for STRs, what would be your biggest piece of advice for first timers?

Being based in Houston, I usually recommend to first time investors to start in the suburbs rather than close to downtown. While getting a young professional rather than a family of 5 sounds great, dealing with older homes and the city may be too much for a first timer. 

I'm curious to know if experienced investors would agree with that. Based on how you got started, do you think that's wise advice?

I agree that LoopNet is stale, but you could call the listing brokers with properties on LoopNet and ask if they have anything off market or something coming up soon. Some times they'll even add you to their email list to send new off market opportunities. 

Great to know! Looking forward to joining. Thank you for setting that up. 

I'd recommend adding a second connection. As a tenant, it would be disappointing to see my neighbor using the washing machines and being reminded you have to leave your home to wash your clothes. Both options aren't the most convenient, but having to leave to do laundry is much more inconvenient. 

My husband and I leased 2 houses from the same owner and listed them on Airbnb in San Antonio. We had a great relationship with the owner. If you do consider allowing someone to do that with your home, make sure it's someone who's already had success with STR. We had already been Airbnb Superhosts for at least a year when we decided to start that venture. We showed the owner our other listing and all of our great reviews to provide some peace of mind. We didn't allow pets or parties in our listings and he appreciated that. Thankfully, we never had massive parties or guests who destroyed our house. There were times when maintenance was needed (new shower head, sliding closet doors, fresh paint from bags hitting walls, etc.), but we had a handy man who took care of all that for us. I say all that to say, if you allow someone to Airbnb your house, make sure you know they are already set up to be responsible for the house. Don't accept a first time host. If you get someone who is set up properly, it's easy cash flow for you. Even if they have months they don't hit their numbers, you aren't affected.

Hi Khane, welcome to Bigger Pockets and congratulations on officially deciding to start this journey! Please feel free to reach out if I can ever be a resource.

Based on what you shared, I'm guessing you are looking inside the loop. Below are a few things to consider.

- Capital expenditures is going to be higher

- The need for having reserves for maintenance is higher

- For some of these older homes inside the 610 Loop (if that's where you're looking), they could be in historic neighborhoods (like The Heights). The remodels in those areas are going to have more red tape.

- Rent to purchase ratio isn't always ideal for these multi-families inside the loop that are priced at market value.

Not sharing to deter you from looking at those, just things to consider. Are you wanting to house hack to rent out all units?

We have short term rentals near downtown San Antonio. Hospitality is a top industry in the city, and with all that's happened over the last year, people still want to travel, but staying in a home over a hotel will make many feel more comfortable.