All Forum Posts by: John Carbone

What happens when your “regulated” rentals decide to change laws and “regulate” you out of your rentals? Or is the model, get in an area, get established, then fight to keep it status quo and to keep competition out so you continue to flourish all thanks wonderful government regulation.

sounds like mafia back in the old days. Not very progressive.

I’ll take my unregulated markets and let the market flush out the weak competition. All of the Airbnb listings I’ve seen in the regulated markets are generally lower quality.

4 Votes

Quote from @Wilson Hunter:

I have a hard time understanding how Sevierville is almost -50% unless they are doing something weird like pulling data from within the city limits of the town of Sevierville. Like Luke mentioned in another thread, the Airdna data showing -8% seems more accurate.

I saw this the other day. 50 percent seems overboard.

3 Votes

Quote from @Raj Sat:

Quote from @Amit Sharma:

Hello Group. I am in the beginning phase of my journey towards 1st listing. So every variable, and every unknown is an uncertainty that I need to flip into a confirmed piece of information as I move forward. Request you all for your kind inputs and assessment for the income / expense sheet below.

This is for Market : Gatlinburg.

Price 450,000 ( Yes, very conservative)

Interest rate 6.5%

Avg Nightly Rate $180

Avg annual Occupancy rate - 63%

Going with a property Manager commission of 20%

I landed up with -ive cashflow.

Questions for y'all.
1. Are these numbers close to accurate ( ball park of real life operations)? Does that mean current market doesn't allow a 450K property to have a +ive Cashflow?
2. Is the first property usually a low(or -ive) cashflow investment, where one builds equity to hopefully scale into a 2nd property with a net +ive cashflow?
3. The current listings on zillow for 2B2Ba are almost always more expensive than 450K. Should one wait out this year for price corrections to kick in?
4. What's the experience for any new buyers in 2023 at the current prices when they calculate their cashflow?
5. Any folks here who tried buying land, and built cabins there incrementally over a period of time ending in say 2..4 cabins on a lot?

Really appreciate your time & inputs to help me.

You are not alone @Amit Sharma am also in same boat, trying to do calculate the property prices and operation costs ended up in -ve's, definitely not a favorable market to enter unless we are dropping in cash without interest rates

You can get 4-5 percent risk free or speculate in the AI boom all from the comforts of your couch.

0 Votes

Knoxville, Tennessee

The secret service has issued an advisory for this. 52 billion in fraud reversed, and it’s getting by realtors, title companies, and attorneys.

I know it’s easy to say “a good realtor will catch this” or a “seasoned one will” but I can’t imagine all of these professionals are not “good” or “seasoned” and still being conned. A realtor can go a lifetime without ever having this scenario happen to them. This is an elaborate scam. Earlier in this thread jay hinrichs said he has never been asked to prove his identity.

https://www.businesswire.com/n...

“This recent trend involving seller impersonation is particularly concerning, as the real property owner is typically not aware nor in a position to prevent the fraud, until it is too late,” said Thomas W. Cronkright II, Executive Chairman of CertifID. “Unfortunately, it’s just the latest evolution of wire fraud that affects title companies, law firms, lenders, realtors, and home buyers and sellers. Our company has received hundreds of cases and helped recover over $52M for victims in the last two years alone, by partnering with the US Secret Service.”

0 Votes

Quote from @Caroline Gerardo:

If you read the article. The Realtor caught that the seller wasn't real with some phone lookup.

Realtors, Lenders, Title Officers in some states are required to do a "know your customer" training annually. The first clue is never meeting the stranger in person, stranger contacts need closer checking- RON is helpful but also your instincts, snoop on Google search, ask deep questions, check check

The title company pays for the loss if the notary is faked or ID is stolen.

The article says the bad guys free clear lots and cash deals that are below market price- this is important to prick your ears up when that combination is yours.

If you lose your driver's license/passport/SSIcard report it and check your credit every six months.

Hypothetically speaking, assume in this scenario a buyer went through with purchase and made it all the way through title company. The fraudster gets the funds for the land, then how does it get resolved, who takes the loss, who keeps the land etc

0 Votes

Quote from @Jeff S.:

It’s not just limited to land, @Collin Hays Any transaction that allows the seller to present a notarized deed anonymously is subject to fraud like this. We had a similar issue where the transaction actually went through and nearly cost us over $600k. I wrote about it here: We Loaned on a Stolen House

Similar to your friend’s case, the seller in our transaction was allowed to mail in a grant deed with what we now believe was a fake notarization. No title prelim would have caught that. Nor would working with even a knowledgeable Realtor. Fortunately, title insurance covered our potential loss, and we came out whole.

With the Remote Online Notarization (RON), that most states are now allowing, I’m hoping it gets better. Of course, I was skeptical when the telephone was invented as well as the automobile. And don’t get me started on that Tom Edison.

I think a lot of people think is like those Nigerian Prince emails. These real estate ones are actually very sophisticated. Based on research after the fact, this has been exploding in popularity.

1 Vote

Quote from @John Underwood:

My attorney always holds any escrow money I am putting down.

This minimimizes any scams.

If the seller had their identity stolen like this case though with fake documents and a bank account that he could access, how does having the attorney catch this. Seems like everyone in the transaction could be duped through closing?

2 Votes

https://www.ksat.com/news/loca...

here is an article about how the scam works. Seems to work really well in places where buyers and sellers aren’t actually involved at closing.

“He said the ruse works like this:”

The bad guys search public records to find vacant properties free of liens.

“They then would then impersonate the owner by creating credentials and email that looks like the name of the owner,” Cronkright said.

Next, they contact a listing agent, expressing preference for a quick sale and cash offer. They often list below market value to make it attractive.

At closing, Cronkright said, they give some reason that they can’t attend in person and request a mobile notary, whom they either give fake documents to or impersonate.

The funds are then wired to the scammer.

“It’s just unfathomable, just thinking that this could happen and nobody would know about it,” Buhidar said.

The scheme may not be found out for weeks when the deed is filed with the county, leading to a potential legal mess.

So, how can the imposter scam be prevented?

“I think it’s a shared responsibility,” Cronkright said. “Do we really know the customer that we are dealing with? Have we properly vetted the true owner before we go down a road where somebody is receiving a wire transfer or a check after closing?”

3 Votes

Quote from @Denis Ponder:

For the first month, we are/have booked 19 days in our STR. I'm very pumped about that, good start.

My question is regarding preparation time. Our studio is 400-500 sq ft, so it's not massive or difficult to clean. I can turn it myself in an hour or less. I currently have 1 day preparation time but I am contemplating removing that restriction to open up the calendar even more. I would establish an 11am check out and a 4 pm check in. That would ensure that I will be able to come home at lunch and turn the unit to have it ready for the next guest. I work less than 10 mins from my house and this STR so it shouldn't be a serious challenge. I currently grab all the dirty linens, towels, bath mats, etc, along with the trash, and take care of that during my lunch break prior to sitting down and eating.

Is this a bad idea? Or is this something worth trying to see how I like it? I can always turn the 1 day prep time back on if it's too much.

Thoughts? Ideas?

This is very typical. I have 7 and all of mine can accommodate a same day turn, otherwise you will be losing a lot of money. In the smokies typical time is 10am checkout and 4pm checkin. Have a backup though.

1 Vote

Quote from @Bryan Keller:

Anyone invested in Naples, FL?

I like this area and thinking of gettin a second/vacation home that I could also Airbnb while I'm not there.

My only concerns are: I know this is an area with a high average rate of damage from hurricanes, how does this manifest itself in terms of insurance? How much the insurance cost would be for a good cover?

And even if the insurance company covers everything for me, it takes me time to renovate the house so that there will be no income...

I know that the Fort Lauderdale area, for example, has less hurricane damage and it's also an area that I really like...

Your thoughts ?

I believe there are heavy restrictions and Most have minimums to only rent to snow birds. There are a few pockets that allowed STR, but from what I recall (a few years ago) nothing seemed to be that great.

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: John Carbone

John Carbone has started 38 posts and replied 1079 times.

Post: AirBnB Revenue Collapse? Near 50% in some areas......?

Post: AirBnB Revenue Collapse? Near 50% in some areas......?

Post: Are Gatlinburg, TN current prices already spelling negative cashflows for New buyers?

Post: Beware of "land for sale" scams

Post: Beware of "land for sale" scams

Post: Beware of "land for sale" scams

Post: Beware of "land for sale" scams

Post: Beware of "land for sale" scams

Post: Preparation Time for my STR

Post: Investing in Naples Yes/No?