All Forum Posts by: Cameron Kotara

I think David Greene’s episode 684 “The Energy of Money” would be a good listen for you related to your question on if you should tap into your equity or not.

It was eye opening for me to hear David talk about how equity in a property is similar to cash in a bank account and how it just needs to be converted to access it. His perspective was that money in a bank account is easier to access and deploy where equity in your property is difficult to access when you’re ready to make your next investment.

Hi BP, 

We secured our first STR with an equity line of credit and are now hoping to convert that into a 30-year fixed. Any advice on finding a lender who can do 10% down and no MI on a refinance?

We also are looking to purchase our next deal and would like to use a similar loan product if possible. Thanks for any help!

@Orlando Ortiz I can speak to your first question. We are listed on Airbnb and VRBO with Guesty syncing both calendars. We tend to have better guests coming from VRBO but have lots of bookings from Airbnb so we really couldn't afford to miss out on the extra visibility. The more visibility the better!

You could also consider listing on Booking.com since Guesty and other 3rd Party apps can sync across all of your calendars. 

We provide smart tv's and have upgraded the internet service for faster streaming. We opted to skip cable and have not had any complaints yet! 

@Jonathan Sparks Your listing looks amazing and it's obvious you have put lots of hard work into it. To provide a few very minor comments I noticed:

-The bathroom counter looks a little cluttered with soaps, towels, and supplies.

-The primary shower has a rain head which is a very premium amenity, I almost missed it since the photo is almost cutoff. 

-The primary shower also has a lot of soaps out, seems like only one of each would be needed.

-The treat yo self sign looks a little out of place considering how luxurious the kitchen and space are.

-I also agree with the others that have commented on needing professional photography, you also could benefit from a drone shot showing how close you are to the lake and giving better perspective. 

-Your first 5 photos are all of the pool, from the first page when viewing the listing it would be nice to include a photo of the house or the view, I like photos 9 and 46.

Overall, well done! Very nice property!

@Hung T Nguyen We used a HELOC to make an all cash offer and have converted the loan into a 30-year fixed to take cash back out of the deal. The $19,500 is for renovations/setup costs only.

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $245,000
Cash invested: $19,500

2 Bedroom/2 Bath STR on Lake Conroe

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Strong cash flow projections, waterfront so likely to appreciate over time, lower startup costs buying a condo for our first STR, currently living nearby so it is easier to manage while we learn the ropes.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This was an off-market deal found by calling local real estate agents and was negotiated by offering all cash and a quick close.

How did you finance this deal?

Using a HELOC for the purchase price and self financing the renovation costs.

How did you add value to the deal?

Renovating to a high standard than the nearby comparable properties and taking professional photography to enhance the listing on Airbnb.

What was the outcome?

Profitable first two months and counting!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Hire a painter next time, it will save lots of time and headache.

@David Babayev We have had our first STR for two months and now that all of our systems are setup and we have trained our cleaner the overall time commitment is very low.

Our occupancy rate has been around 60% which translates to seven guest check-in's where some guests have a few questions that are easily answered in less than 10 minutes and some guests check-in without any questions at all. 

We probably spend the majority of our time driving to the unit to check on the cleaner's work. Once we get over our fears and reduce our driving to check on the property the overall time spent should be less than 2/3 hours a week mangaging guest questions and tracking expenses.

Thanks for the inspiring and concise story! Congrats.