All Forum Posts by: Bruno C.

 If you're looking for a full service PM company you're likely looking at 12-15% of gross income, unless you've got multiple properties. There are also services that do some of the non physical aspects (Guesty handles customer service and cleaner scheduling for 3%). You might be able to find a happy medium that is not a one stop shop depending on your situation.

@Eric Moeller one of my colleagues did this in Boston for a period of time and scaled pretty rapidly; got to a point where he had a property manager working for him 20hrs/week and had 15-20 units in this model. 

Pros: 

-If your market will support it (which from what you say it sounds as though it does), great. 

-You can go in with a minimal cash influx (furniture etc.) 

Some cons: 

-Higher property management costs (turnover, customer service, etc).

-Once landlords find out HOW much you're making, they will be trying to cut into your margins by raising the rent you owe them. 

-Tax structure gets dodgy city-city

How do you want to structure it the business? 

In general I think it's a great side hustle but it's a matter of time before municipalities at second-tier cities (San Diego, Boston, etc) start clamping down on this, especially renting out each room individually. I would consider that a huge risk, as at that point you truly are the same as a hotel, and will likely get taxed as such.

If you rent out multiple apartments/houses I think you have a better chance of keeping profits high and minimizing your risk with local laws - but I don't know much about SD occupancy laws.  It's definitely something that can be lucrative though and if you believe it's worth your time I'd do it. 

Sure do, PM me and I'll put you in touch.

 I have investment property both in Providence and Boston. In general, Boston's market is an order of magnitude stronger economically. However, if you can find the right teams to grow with, you can definitely invest in the Providence area. 

In Boston, there's still a lot of opportunity, even in places like East Boston which has transformed in recent years.

Overall my general thought is that Providence's economy is a byproduct of Bostons and flex as Boston's economy does. That would be my biggest red flag, but it is not a deal breaker.

@Steve Bracero I've got someone who could be a good fit. PM me and I'll pass you his info.

@Brandt Tingen Try Western FCU. They have a lot of variability/flexibility in their lending (up to 100% LTV, fixed rate HELOC options, etc) and I'm sure they can go above 45 DTI.

@Nathan Cameron here's a few "quick tips" for you as you're starting out - and by the way, welcome to BP! 

-Apply focus: Find a few neighborhoods you would like to invest in, and drive those neighborhoods. Get an understanding of the vibe, the quality of the homes, who lives in those areas, etc. 

-Do your homework: in those areas, what do tenants pay for rent? What can investors purchase Multifamilies in those areas for?

As you're going through this process, make sure you check your numbers when making purchases. These are big commitments, and if you're not careful you can end up in a sticky situation. BP has tons of tools, like the rental property calculator, house flipping calculator etc. that you can leverage. 

Best of luck! 

 I totally believe in it, but it is market and neighborhood-dependent. Boston's market is on fire, and is a huge tourist attraction, so here there is definitely a sustainable business that provides cash flows above and beyond many normal buy and holds. A few tips if you decide to to take the plunge:

-do the analysis up front and make sure that it's significantly more profitable than your standard long term rental. There is more complexity and it needs to be justified by additional profit.

-once you get the hang of it, build systems quickly to remove the need for your daily involvement. Using 3rd parties like Guesty, Everbooked, TaskRabbit, etc will be worth your time and will allow you to scale faster.

-Laws are local - check with your area to see if there are any policies on short term rentals to be sure.

-Prepare for seasonality and save some of your profits for that, especially in the beginning. You don't know how slow the slower months can be until you're in them.

-Use the forums here on BP to learn! There's a wealth of knowledge and information here, and we are all here to help each other. There's pretty much no question that you can't have answered through here.

Good luck!

 Could not agree more Robert. The use of Airbnb in most places is here to stay - they are providing a service that customers resonate with. My guess is that most cities will require multi-listing owners to pay taxes non-personal residence listings.

 It totally depends on your investment market (what city/neighborhood), what type of space you're renting, and what level of space you're providing. If you're interested and unsure about rental income, you can sign up for a trial of Everbooked or BeyondPricing to get pricing analysis by neighborhood for many of the major cities in the US.