All Forum Posts by: Cliff H.

+1 for MagicPlan. Keep in mind, it's actually the foundational technology to many of the other 3rd party CAD-light software/apps out there as well. Works amazing on an iPad as well. I've designed entire kitchen remodels faster than the pros can do on the $1k software suites. 

@Shawn Dulan absent clarification on goals and pros/cons presented to you by your colleague you may want to look into a Benefit corp:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benefit_corporation

That said, have not heard of any for-profit company with a good cause having much of an issue in raising capital given the right mission and brand. 

@Asif Mohammad other than the first 6 months of my first property, long distance investing and management is all I have ever known. In fact, the biggest challenge in managing at a distance is not the ongoing management of the properties, but knowing that local market good enough to distinguish a good deal from a bad one at the start, then knowing when to divest yourself of that investment based on local market conditions over time. 

Ongoing management should be your cruise control with the right proactive checks and balances in play. Don’t let geography limit your returns. If you can get 30% better returns in a different market that you or your trusted team know inside and out, go for it. 

If you are running your investments like a business you will be following the same rules of putting in place the right local team of marketing, professionals, and contractors regardless of whether they’re right next door or across the country. Necessity being the mother invention, you may even find it easier to get that team in place by managing your investments at a distance. 

Hope this helps and let us know how your investment turns out!

Hi @Troy Ritter I've seen similar results from AirBnB at various times in the past and it's one of the reasons I recommend STR hosts build their own website and do all possible to drive business outside the major channels, at least for those guests that have already stayed in their homes and have no reason to pay the channel tax again if they're already communicating directly with you.

As we've seen with Amazon, Walmart, and virtually every other platform play, when you're in Rome, the rules are at the Emperor's whim. Just because you have a successful STR business today, does not mean your primary STR platform does not decide that it's in their best interest to change the rules tomorrow and tank your rental's ranking. You're a guest in their house, you play by their rules, and their business directive is not always aligned to the interests of the small time STR owner. There's far greater forces in play than most of us know.

As an interim step while you build that personal channel out, consider at lease standing up a channel manager capable of syncing all details, pricing, and availability across the big three: AirBnB, VRBO, and Booking.com.That’s pretty simple actually and it’s often a far easier overhead to learn one set of controls than remembering where X setting was in 3 different places. Booking.com’s controls on it’s own are enough to make my head spin. 

I realize this may be old hat and nothing you have not heard before, but from what I’ve seen across different markets it’s silly for me in an entirely different market from you to tell you to get on board with AirBnB, when you’re already saying VRBO/HA has always been your bread and butter. I see exactly the opposite in my market and have heard Booking.com has 4x the market of the other two any way (open to others fact checking that one since I cannot remember when/where I read it). 

The point is, the channels are in flux, the industry continues to change, and thinking you have a business because you’re the top dog in someone’s storefront today is not putting yourself in the best position for long term success. The number of folks who find themselves hung out to dry because Walmart tells them what price to sell Amazon ape’d their product with an “Amazon Essential” at 1/2 the cost, or Facebook moved to “pay to play” when the stock went public are too many to count. 

Keep us posted on how things progress, but definitely get your place listed in more than just HA/VRBO. 

Hi Amy. Smart thermostats are not the only way to limit your tenants’ energy usage. In fact, I found them to be pretty ineffective for an all-utilities included rental because it assumed that I would be in full control of the Internet, which there was no way I was taking ownership over in a student rental. 

For this reason, I did a bunch of research here and online and found a great “dumb” thermostat that simply allowed the ability to set a max limit on the temperature, regardless of what tenants actually cranked it to. Similar measures can be taken by HVAC technicians on most furnaces themselves, but the thermostat seemed a simpler path in this situation. While setup can be a little tricky if you don’t follow instructions to a tee, once configured it’s literally set it and forget it. 

https://www.amazon.com/BRAEBUR...

In addition, there are smart oil tank tools as well, but that puts you right back in the business of having to install and support “smart” devices, own the network, or get your tenants to agree to put your devices on their network and not decide to change the network name/password at the point they realize you’re using their network to regulate their heating. 

Hope this helps! 

I have a 3BR STR myself and don't think there is a one sized fits all approach here. As @Jon Crosby says, staring with the end in mind in knowing your target guest persona is really helpful in determining what types of beds you want to equip a space with. 

To illustrate this, I'll use my own: 3BR, STR. My target market from the beginning was young couples with a small children, since this particular persona will like split costs and be amenable to a higher per night rate, as well as being the type of guests that are young enough to be vacationing in that area and looking for lodging after hiking, skiing, etc.

For that reason I went with 1 queen, 2 doubles, 2 bunk beds. This gives me the flexibility of having a couple in the queen room, another couple (or unrelated pair) in the double room, and kids in the bunk room. Sure that bunk room’s not going to be one that most grown adults would choose, but I’ve had plenty of larger families where they make it work. 

One thing I did not expect was feedback from cleaners that bunk beds are understandable harder to turnover, extending the time and cost required for rental turnovers between guests. Some cleaners actually refused to even handle a rental with bunk beds (and those cleaners are cleaning other rentals now). 

Again, start with the end in mind, put yourself in the shoes of your ideal guest (even if it’s not what you’ll get to start), and base your bed choices off what arrangement suits them best (and your physical space allows). Personally, I’m not looking to maximize headcount and wear and tear on furnishings, but actually intentionally capping the number of folks using the space because I’m more concerned about providing a lodging experience as customized to my target market as possible. 

@Trent Arey lots of great advice here so I’ll stick to what has not been mentioned about owning and managing student rentals, which I have been doing in varying form for the last 15 years.

Run your conservative projections on a 9 month term. Or be prepared for your tenants to sublease your place to friends over the summer. There are always exceptions to this rule based on differences across markets, but you want your projections to be as conservative as possible, particularly being green to the vertical.
Package in things to your lease that streamlines students’ life. They’re in school. All they know is school and socializing. Take all the rest of the decisions off the table by bundling as much as you can in and making the application and showing process dead simple.

That said, be careful about offering Internet. I’d be curious what others here think, but I’ve heard horror stories about DMCA violations that implicate owners because their name is on the account. YMMV. 

If you’re providing all utilities included, ensure you have remote energy monitoring or a thermostat that artificially caps the temps and gives you regular updates on energy and water usage. I’ve had good luck so far with this basic unit that allows a cap on max temp even if tenants crank the heat with the windows open (as they will do): BRAEBURN 1025NC Thermostat,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A...

+1 on using same items in all units for quick swap outs and replacements. Additionally, tear out anything that can trip, fall, or shatter due to your tenants. This should go without saying but still things I see in other rentals. Ex: chandeliers, glass interior doors, doors that jams, and floors that aren’t sealed down. 
Get your tenants on an automatic email list that reminds them to close windows in the winter, turn down heat before they leave for breaks, and report any issues through an online maintenance request system you setup for them (even if just a standard online form). Sure they’ll ignore it, but as others have said many us forget how little we knew about how a house worked back when we were in college. 

Ensure you have some form of electronic rent payment that can be subdivided between tenants, because no one under the age of 25 knows what a check is or wants to be the collector of funds each month. 

Lastly, reach out and let us know how things go in your journey. We are all here to learn and nobody’s solved everything.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for sharing your experience with RL Julie. From the sounds of what you’re describing this is similar to the way the SmartThings and RBoy apps work as well: push the code to the lock on a initial booking, activate it on X schedule, then push a command to delete code on end of their stay. I haven’t tested it to see if the hub still pushes the command to the lock if the Internet drops out, but since most of these systems are all operating over a standard Z-wave protocol, I suspect they would. 

I’ve looked into some other home automation setups that are fully local (no hub), but am equally as uncomfortable with those options since you’d still want some form of backup for the configuration, similar to way security teams used to move closed circuit security video recordings off-site for archival/backup purposes. 

Valid question. I think this speaks to the importance of knowing your team. 

Example: I've had a few different cleaners over time and what each person specializes in varies greatly. Just this week my cleaner noticed a leak under the sink that I already knew was the result of the disposal screws coming loose and the drain needing some additional plumber's putty. She called it out in the turnover, but did not want to touch the drain screws  due to fear of "getting zapped" by the disposal. That's perfectly reasonable concern if you're not familiar with how the systems work. Ultimately, yes she was able to tighten the screws and address most of the leak, but it speaks to the importance of having that rolodex of names/contacts for each area of potential repair on your place. I like to think of that as a list of mandatory skillsets I need for STRs versus trying to find someone who can do everything: 

• Cleaner: rurnover/cleaning/staging
• Handyman: repair/replace/install of most items
• Plumber: water/kitchen/bath
• Electrician: HVAC/electrical systems

Those are my core four and the question of who handles my lamps and Rokus is basically trying my best to ensure everything is as simple as possible for any team member to address, with the complicated stuff (smart locks and Apple TV) as remotely managed as possible so that I (or someone else I hire directly) can fill that gap myself when/where needed.

As another example, I manage college rentals as well, which are traditionally all-utilities-included leases. The idea of bundling in Internet and providing value through a whole-house mesh WiFi infrastructure has come to mind in the past, but what else does that do? Create a huge skill dependency with a complicated setup requiring specialized skillset that's neither cheap nor readily available where this property is located. 

Design your place to be as simple as possible, then stock a second of as many different items as possible so the turnover team can quickly swap them out without expending a large amount of mental cycles. 

Hi @Thomas Zamora. Welcome the forums and the new investment journey. I spent much time looking at most of the major locks/hubs/systems on the market and for locks I highly recommend taking a look at the Schlage Connected Keypad line. The reason for this that they integrate with nearly any of the remote-connected systems and they don’t try to mechanically open locks/deadbolts themselves, but rather just activate/deactivate the ability for the user to manually twist the handle/deadbolt themselves. This is a subtle, but significant distinction. 

Most smart locks in the product category (August included) are trying to use batteries to physically move a deadbolt in/out of a door jab when they receive a remote command or local user code. 

Unless you have a perfect door jam and minimal temperature fluctuations, most of the mechanical smart locks on the market today are a recipe for short battery life and lock jams that leave your property unsecured. As a host I also spend a huge amount of time patronizing other vacation rentals as well and am always appalled at the level of issues around basic lock function I encounter in rentals where I know the owners are hundreds of miles away. 

For me, the combination of the Schlage Connected Keypad line, SmartThings hub, and the Rental Lock Automator app turns a $400 initial investment into a fully-automated system that allows me to think beyond the lock and start imagining new and better ways of ensuring a great guest check-in experience. Things like ensuring temperature’s set exactly right, lights are all on, and relaxing music is playing when a guest opens the door. Logistically the three pieces work together to do the following: 

• Auto-generate codes for every AirBnB, HomeAway, Booking, TripAdvisor guest I have that are easy for guests to remember because they’re generally based on their phone number or arrival times. 
  
• Auto activates/deactivates codes before/after guests’ check-in
• Triggers user specific actions/automations for any number of other devices, switches in the property. 
• Removes any need for ongoing subscription, monthly fees, or additional costs
• Set it and forget it lock management with codes pushed to the lock so that pre-programmed codes continue to work, even if the hub/connection falls offline