All Forum Posts by: Conner Olsen

@Chip Martin I have a 2/1 MTR in Austin. I was able to increase my revenue from $1,200 to $2,750. There is a huge demand, way greater than I ever would have thought. A 4-bedroom home will attract more families for sure. They might be coming to your area to purchase a home and they need some time to explore first. Maybe the parents are there on a work contract. Maybe their house is being renovated and they need a place to stay for an extended period of time.

The way I determine the market on Airbnb specifically is to find other properties and see if they are booked 2-3 months out. If that's the case their demand is going to be high, maybe 85%+ occupancy. If there is a lot of vacancy in those properties there might not be strong enough demand at that price point.

@Samira Schadt Depends what the purchase price in your area is. If down payment and closing costs are 15-20k I would wait the year.

@Cameron Cooper Like Jordan said I'm doing monthly rentals and I'm living for free!

Revenue: $2750
PITI: $2221
Utilities: $200

Cash flow: $329/month while living on the other side.

Make sure you double check your area to see if STR are even allowed. A lot of times HOA's outlaw them in condos, townhomes, and neighborhoods. Also consider that the arbitrage could affect your DTI and make it harder for you to qualify for a loan on an investment property. I'd run that past a lender that is familiar with STR and double check they won't count that against you.

@Rafael Norat Property should be contingent on the FHA 203k appraisal so if it doesn't appraise you get the earnest money back.

@Allen W. Depends on the type of property for how accurate they are. The CEO of Zillow sold his house in San Francisco for 30% less than the Zestimate. It's a data model and not fact. Especially in non-disclosure states like Texas they have no idea what homes sold for.

@Matthew Stallone you're on the right track. There comes a point where you just need to pick something for the sake of deciding. A lot of times a neighborhood in a city can make a better deal than looking at the city as a whole. 

@Chris Wilson Talk to other investors in your are to see what returns they are seeing. The 1% rule is a rule of thumb and doesn't work in many markets. Your cash flow and cash on cash return is a better metric to look at.

@Ab John I'd say talk to more lenders, I'm sure not all of them follow that rule. If that doesn't work find a commercial lender.

Appraisers don't use Zillow. Are refinancing into a loan from Zillow?