All Forum Posts by: Jessie Dillon

get estimates for having it done, and map out what you'll save (as the owner) not having to pay the utilities per year, and measure your COCR. let's say it would cost 10k to have the utilities all split (i have NO idea what it would really cost), and you'd save $450/mo not having to pay utilities (a somewhat reasonable estimate for a duplex with water/sewer, electric, gas).. that would be a 54% cash-on-cash return, making that investment up front. when many investors are looking for an 8-12% COCR, 54% sounds pretty dang good. it will also make the property more appealing for a future buyer if the utilities are separate.

i don't have an answer for you but just wanted to say to check with the building/zoning/permitting dept to even ensure you can convert this property to a legal 2-family!

if your goal is to build up a small but mighty portfolio of rental properties, then "time IN the market beats timING the market." don't wait for the best conditions to buy. just find deals that make sense with the current rates. it won't be as easy, but everyone's doing it. but don't bank on being able to refi later at a lower rate. that's a bad backup plan. 

hot tubs in that area i would not imagine are THAT big of a necessity. they are going to be more of a non-negotiable in mountainous/woodsy/lakes regions, like in the smokies you really need to have one... however, the maintenance and headaches are notable when you have a hot tub at a STR. really only do it if you absolutely have to. when you ran the #s with that software, i wonder if the properties that do have hot tubs, also had other amenities that were driving the ADR up, and that's what you were seeing. know what i mean? like were they all larger, nicer, bigger heated pools, etc?

& to answer the rest of your Q, some things that will noticeably affect your revenue:

- making the place instagrammable, multiple areas/corners that make for awesome photos

- heavily investing in professional design/decore

- UNIQUE STAYS!!

- upping your max # of guests somehow

- "no cleaning fee" & upping the nightly rate accordingly CAN be a big driver of bookings in some markets

- having your listing/pics done professionally (by someone who specializes in STRs)

- a great outdoor area

- if you wanna spend $, i'm seeing lots of people adding pickle ball courts & more stuff to do outside like that 

- having a car there that they can rent on turo for cheaper than the rental cars from the airport

 @Abe B. no cons honestly! their bookkeeping software leaves a bit to be desired though, i always have trouble connecting my bank accts so i just manually upload the file monthly now. i'll live. i like how simple it is. with RR tenants can pay through the app, they get reminders, you can manually send reminders, they can make partial payments throughout the month, you can pay $5/unit to have their on-time payments reported to the credit bureau to help build their credit, you can do apps and background/credit/eviction report on there.. 

and yeah in MA there are just so many stipulations around how security deposits can be used i'd rather just not even deal with it. 

yeah you should definitely include this if you wouldn't personally be able to pay all the overhead if you were not getting rent for 6 months, due to like a fire or something.

adu tenant: use the binder method (youtube it). cite increased operating costs. do your own research on market rent first using actual rent comps. going forward, reeval every year. 

str studio: is there room to increase ADR? what amenities can you add to justify higher ADR? increasing STR profitability is more of a business thing than an investing thing. lots of str influencers on ig that do really well and have courses.

your insurance broker should be able to answer this for you! if you're using debt to do the project, your lender might also have requirements for this. i've heard horror stories of break-ins & tons of equipment stolen, flooding, fires, etc during flips.

can you use the MTR or STR strategies to boost cashflow? this could be a good solution but you should still at least break even with LTRs as a backup plan. note that even a breakeven deal is only breakeven for a short time. rents go up, mortgage goes down. you could also start looking offmarket! i know an agent out there - granolagirlsinvest on IG. she might be a good plug!

for 1. ask YOUR real estate attorney.

for 2. probably not, move on.

for 3. ask YOUR real estate attorney.