All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Taylor Smith

@Chris C. - Tax sales are handled differently from state to state and sometimes even at the county level. I would learn the rules of your location and get with an attorney or title company to do a title search on the property you're going to bid on. If you're doing it frequently enough, you should be able to arrange a reasonable cost for the service. There are also online tools that can give you general title / lien details - and then you can reserve doing a full title search only for those you're going to close on. But YES - you can also arrange to purchase the property directly from the owner before they lose it at auction.

@Nick Sarangoulis - As an investor myself, I well know the need to "make a lot of offers". But as a Realtor who works almost exclusively with investors, I'm not trying to spend an hour of my time preparing an official written contract with all disclosures to make a half-price offer on a property that just hit the market yesterday. So even your "lowest" offer should have some semblance of reasonableness to the property condition, comps, DOM, etc... And I would normally reach out to the listing agent to let them know I have a client seeking to make an offer, and share some of the aspects, along with the "story" of why that amount is the amount - to help sell it. Some will then discuss the verbal offer, but many listing agents won't bite and will say "write it up" - knowing full well it will just be rejected. But what's good is when they counter.

@Felicia Richardson - YES, you are certainly correct in that feeling - but it could also be that seeing you have a separate account with SD funds present and untouched, could be an indication to the lender that you are following your lease, observing proper accounting and running a sound business. They may then extend that to some indication as to how likely you are to succeed in this business and thereby repay their loan. Who knows :)

@Felicia Richardson - Have they specifically asked to see the account statements for where your SD funds reside? If so, maybe that is a new requirement or specific to this lender, as my last refi was at the end of 2024 - and they did not ask for that. But if so, I would just explain the occurrence (seems reasonable). I'd also cancel the debit card or any over-draft protection associated with that account from others - so that there are no exterior ways money can be removed going forward.

@Katherine Perez - I have a 2-unit STR where the main house was intended initially to become our new primary residence. So we have 2 adjustable beds (1 split-king and 1 double) with high-end mattresses, massage function, etc... Then we converted the detached garage into a second unit before offering both as STR when our plans to live there permanently changed. But we did not know how well this property would perform as an STR, so we did not want to put as much money into furnishing the garage unit for others as we had put into the main house for ourselves. Thus, we bought the garage unit beds and mattresses from Wayfair on cheap.

It has been 6 months, and while everyone reports the beds in both units to be "comfortable" - no one raves more about the expensive / adjustable beds in the main house with high-end mattresses. From feedback - you would think the beds in both units are no different. So this leaves me to believe that spending more on high(er)-end beds / mattresses is a waste. I would just order beds and mattresses from Wayfair that have a high star-rating with LOTS of reviews - that are also within your desired budget and fit your style choice. That's my $0.02...

@Jordan Emmanuel Thomas - Your first BP post... Welcome! Were I just starting out in REI, I would certainly be seeking a 2 to 4 unit property to live in one unit while renting out the others. And I'd repeat that process every 366 days at another location.

@Travis Rasmussen - I have ZERO knowledge, insight or facts to know if this is true or NOT - so don't kill the messenger please :) ... But I've read many versions of the theory that STR / Airbnb has (until recently) been largely an amateurs game. But has evolved into one where only the pros will succeed. Now with a grand total of 6 months under my belt - I'm no pro, so you'd know better than me if such theories hold any weight. I have no idea... But that's what I've read from others.

@Felicia Richardson - Do you keep the security deposit funds in the same account at which you also receive rental payments? I ask because I've done a LOT of refinances, and I can't remember a lender ever asking for the statement(s) of the account(s) where I hold security deposits. They have only ever been interested in the account(s) where rents are received and expenses paid.

@Juan David Maldonado - The insurer of my primary residence (Amica) extends coverage to 4 of my rentals. The rest are currently with NREIG.com - but I'll be shopping around soon to see if I could be saving money.

Hmmm - I'm just getting into STR just over 6 months ago with 2 units (late to the game)... So what do you think of platforms like Intellihost.co to provide analytics for improving listings? I wonder how up to date such systems are on the current Airbnb algorithm and as they make changes?