All Forum Posts by: Paul Cox

PODs for both

@Bob Prisco...Those stats came from an email from Ken McElroy and as I looked again, those stats seem to be for Multi Family stats which came from this site: https://cbreemail.com/rv/ff011...

Sorry if it was misleading to any...It seems to me that if you do your homework and buy right, then any market can be profitable!

Paul

Interesting article that I received from Ken McElroy this morning talking about rental stats around the country in case you're trying to zero in on an area.

"This was something sent to me I think you all may find interesting. The link to the full article is here "

If you don't feel like reading here are the Key takeaways:

• Las Vegas has been the top performing rent growth market from both 2016 to present as well as 2018 to present
• Phoenix and Tucson have also consistently been top performing markets
• Colorado Springs leads all markets with gross rent growth of 70% between 2009 and present
• Since 2014 Sacramento has been the strongest market with rents up 50%

TOP 20 MARKETS BY REGION

• Western markets have been the top performers over each timeframe dating back to 2009
• Only one Northeast market has been in the top 20 – Boston ranks 18th since 2009, and 10th since 2018
• The Southeast markets have narrowed the gap with the Western markets, as they now represent 8 out of the 20 best performing markets dating back to 2016
• Fort Worth and Austin are the only markets representing the Central region of the country

Right now I'm focusing on STRs so I'm in a slightly different dynamic, but it's good info for myself when I move to purchase my first LTR or multi-family.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Paul

Ditto to everything said above!

@Rachel Hughes, We went with the Encode because it was the only one in the store that didn't need a hub to use it. I'm still not sure what a hub is yet, but I'm sure I may eventually be using one, but in the moment we were short on time as our time down at the cabin was coming to a close and we needed to get something and the idea of being able to work it from the WiFi from our phone was appealing. 

Hi @Rachel Hughes,

We just closed on our 1st Cabin in the Smokies 2 weeks ago and these are things that we have done:

1. Keyless Entry - We went with the Schlage WiFi enabled Encode which we purchased from Home Depot for about $245. It can store up to 100 codes it says which we have been able to set both from our laptops and the app on our phone. It's been awesome to assign our service providers their own temp code and then see on the app when they come and when they go. We have a front door key in a lockbox on the porch just in case there's an issue.

2) Ring door bell (too intrusive?) - We do not have a wire for a doorbell so not an issue right now

3) Other home security tech? - No other security devices as of yet. Thinking strongly about putting a solar powered Ring flood light with camera

4) Fancy coffee maker - We put a older Keurig that we found for $10 at the local Goodwill that we cleaned and sanitized and it works perfectly. We also put an inexpensive drip coffee maker with filters.

5) Smart TVs - 3 LG Smart TVs...One 65" in the Living room and 2 43", one in each bedroom, all connected to Comcast X-finity cable and WiFi

6) Smart thermostat - Cabin came with a NEST Learning Thermostat. We've become a big fan as we can set the temp from the app on our phone.

We've got a lot left to learn, but even though we are still learning how to set up a business facebook page for the cabin and we were not familiar with how to set up a VRBO account we press forward. We put the cabin up on VRBO Sunday night and had both major holidays booked by Monday afternoon for a total of 11 days to the tune of just under 3K...We probably priced a little too low, but we're still trying to find our price point and are happy we are on our way.

Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving!!! 

I'll add...I'm thankful first and foremost that God allowed my existence in this world of ours and that He has a plan for my life though I may not always understand it or even travel the path He would want me to take. I'm thankful that I won the birth lottery and had the privilege of being raised mostly in the USA.  I get to travel the world with my job and love a ton of what I have seen, but I'm thankful to be able to come home to Red White and Blue. I'm thankful that a young lady saw something in me 36 years ago and took a chance and leap of faith on a knucklehead who through her help and gentle persuasion helped mold me into to the constantly evolving child of God I am. I am thankful for the Bigger Pockets community that I've watched from the sidelines for years and the encouragement of the contributors, most recently @Avery Carl, @Luke Carl and @Parker Borofsky who helped me get out of my own way and make a move to purchase our 1st STR in the Smokies, which I just put up on VRBO last night and by this afternoon had my first holiday booking in hand. I'm thankful for good health, great kids and grandkids who truly have grown too fast. I am thankful for my faith in Jesus Christ and His gift to me. And, I am thankful for MARVEL Studios and all the Superhero movies :) Happy Thanksgiving all

@Brian G....The sellers initially were offering a 13K furniture credit because the cabin came unfurnished.  When I made my offer I asked for that 13K to be 15K as well as a slight reduction in price. They countered with asking price, but raised the furniture allowance to 15K and we accepted.  I originally thought that we would be given 15K at closing to go buy furniture, but then saw that the 15K was actually a credit at Smokey's Furniture there in Pigeon Forge.  They specialize in furnishing cabins.  I reached out to them before the closing to explain what was happening and the Owner or store Manager (David) went up to the cabin and was let in by my realtor and he measured the cabin for furniture.  Then after closing we went by the store, gave him the 15K check from the Title company and began to shop to fill our cabin. The furniture and furnishing would probably be considered higher end stuff, but at the end of 2.5 hours, we had furnished the entire cabin to include 3 televisions with install for $28 dollars over.  They had a truck up to my cabin the next day and moved everything in and assembled it within the space of about 3.5 hours. Definitely a positive experience

@Leora Merrell, that's great. We're self managing as well. I failed to mention in my original post that I contacted @Luke Carl on more than one occasion to ask questions. I like Lucas's matter of fact mentality. He's a straight shooter and won't steer you wrong, but with so many people reaching out to him, you just have to remind him of who you are and what property or issues you've discussed with him are :) In fact I'll be reaching out to him again after this post! Maybe we can get a STR meetup going in the NOVA area soon.

@Leora Merrell

So we just closed on our new cabin in the Pigeon Forge area on Tuesday with many thanks @Avery Carl and @Luke Carl and their team in the area, especially my realtor Gennifer and lender @Parker Borofsky with MIG. We spent the week getting it furnished and equipped for a STR and should be listing it with VRBO and AirBnB later today. Many of the cabins as you have probably seen, come furnished though ours came completely unfurnished but we were able to get a 15K furniture credit with a local furniture store their in Pigeon Forge. Our new cabin was just built last year as the previous cabin on the lot burned in the fire back in 2016. That fire, horrible as it was has given new life to the area our cabin now sits as well as a much bigger clearing from the trees, so it has a decent view off the back deck, and you can hear the train whistle blow from Dollywood. This is our first STR. It's officially classified as a 1 Bdr with a loft, but we'll be listing it as two Bdr that sleeps 6. We probably paid a little more than we should have, but it's a beautiful cabin in a great area and so we feel that we'll do very well with it. In the lead up to the purchase I spoke with Avery and Parker in great detail as we were both excited and nervous about the prospect of having a cabin in the Smokys. We paid $333,900 for the cabin and thankfully the appraisal came back at $350 so a plus there. The cabin is just about 1400 sq feet and on .7 of an acre. The whole process from start to finish has taken just about 30 days and when I looked on VRBO and AirBnB for cabin rentals over the Thanksgiving period coming up, there were none. So my biggest question right now, is what should I put the cabin on for the nightly rental at a 4 night min rental for the holiday? I can't say enough good about the STR team. So as Lucas says, don't sweat the small stuff and just jump in and get started. I'll give a bigger picture of the process on a separate post later.