All Forum Posts by: Brian Barch

I do similar, although I found rabbu so low it was irrelevant.

Red wing

Pepin WI

Stockholm wi

Stillwater/Hudson region

North shore

Quote from @Chris Gerard:

That is good feedback to know about for your area specifically, but it would be fair to see you disagree, but because there are many areas I could cite for example (several in Colorado where I live, Bend Oregon, etc) that the community is not interested in saturation of STRs, regardless of if they financially benefit, I think your disagreement might be slanted toward your geographic area of specialization. Many other areas don't want their community to be comprised of a high population of STRs. So, in the spirt of our conversation, going with your line of thought (I assume focused on coastal Florida), that has support of community and government for more STRs. However, doesn't that just mean it is a more saturated area, and wouldn't this combined with the other factors I mentioned in my orginal post make it a tougher area to get started in? In other words, am I wrong in thinking that investors are seeking more undiscovered areas with the other given challenge of interest rates, recent high appreciation, etc.  Open to hear your thoughts.

Not necessarily.  Have you ever noticed that Home Depot and Lowe’s (or Menards) will often build store right across from eachother? It’s because of what is sometimes known as the “Mecca” strategy. Essentially creating a destination out of your offering that will benefit all parties involved. or go to the Wisconsin Dells/myrtle beach/Branson areas. More water parks and mini golf courses than you could ever imagine. The question becomes, if you want to open a mini golf course, are you better off being the 20th one in myrtle beach? Or the only one in small town South Carolina?

the answer is, it depends. Neither is wrong, but it depends on your strategy. Opening in myrtle beach is going to likely give you more potential, however your course has to be inherently better than the others. It’d be like buying an ugly 3/2 house without a view in the Smokey mountains. 

1) many people bought at low interest rates and at only have a $1500 mortgage.

2) others are using furnished finder as a way to subsidize the slower months (off season only)

3) a small monthly cash flow can still yield huge long term gains in the form of appreciation, tax savings, tenant debt paydown, and leverage. Cash flow is only one part of the equation

As a guest, for the most part I would be annoyed if a host was trying to nickle and dime me by having a bunch of a la carte options.

As a host, it’s hard to imagine the juice being worth the squeeze

STRs have transitioned into the mature phase of the product lifecycle. It’s no longer the Wild West. Many people have been successful because of timing, not being a great operator. Those days are past us for the most part.

That said, it doesn’t mean you can’t find a profitable deal, or create one. But let me be clear, the last 3 years convinced people that you could buy a property and immediately replace 50% of your day job income. Traditionally, this has never been the case with real estate.

LTRs for instance have traditionally cleared $0- a few hundred/month in the early years of ownership.

I find this idea that unless you net $1500/mo that an STR is a bad idea to not be reasonable.

Also, many such as myself invest in vacation areas where I personally benefit from using the property and creating memories for my family. It takes some of the pressure off of viewing it as solely a money machine.

The data is legit, but it's using past data, and it includes cleaning fees.  I prefer using awning.com which does NOT include cleaning fees.

Either way, if I was buying a property, I would want a robust under-writing process of:

1) on-line tools (airdna, awning, etc.)

2) Local realtor/PM data

3) enemy method

In this market, I might then layer on a trend, seeing as macro data would indicate that STR's hit a a peak Rev PAN in 2022. So I might apply a -5% to the above numbers

I know a friend on Lake Tenkiller (vacation home, does not Airbnb it).  I think your upside lies not so much in listing on Airbnb (although you should), but moreso in some basic decor and professional photos.  I don't know the area so don't take my word for it, but I'm guessing a small place like that might fetch $90/night in slow season, and $150/night in busy season?  Not to state the obvious, but small places tend to have less seasonality and a bit higher occupancy.  I would tout the seclusion, fire pit, and proximity to the lake

Not as much as you would think.

we bought a place that did $52k on VRBO only last year. Now it’s on both Airbnb and VRBO…. Hard to tell how the year will finish as we are only 2 months of slow season in, but I’d expect it’ll be somewhat similar to last year. Pretty much AirBnb bookings have taken over what used to be all VRBO

I think it will alienate some guests, and attract others. I think all good so long as you blatantly call that out. Wouldn’t bother my family