All Forum Posts by: Joseph Bafia

@Alyssa Czopor

First off, congrats on just the desire to launch into SOMETHING!

I've read many of the responses and I don't claim to know all the answers, but I will say that for every person that says "don't do that", you'll find one that says the opposite.

I "lucked" into the STR business on accident, but after I did, it was amazing.

My recommendations are:

- Follow & read the Short Term Rental forums on BiggerPockets. This group is dedicated to exactly this type of strategy. Many who are offering you guidance either don't do STR or don't think its a good idea. The STR forum is made up of those who do it and you will learn there are many ways.

- I'm not a fan of one-sided opinions, so after you read all the comments on this thread, and then read the STR forum, connect with someone who is following a strategy that you think you MAY like. Connect with that person and pick their brain. That will give you a better foundation of what you are in for if you follow their method.

- Create a "keyword" follow on BP. I simply follow a few and one is "STR". Anytime that term is used in any post, i get alerted (thats how I saw yours). This will give you info about your topic. I've learned everything from what sheets to buy, to whether or not to have a Keuirg.

- Use the "search" box on BP for things you want to learn. Things like "finance a STR", "best door locks for Short term rentals", etc.

From a personal standpoint, I self manage my STRs from 4.5 hours away with no issues while holding a full time career. (actually looking at a STR in CA and I live in NC and I have no concerns). I leave no money on the table in rates as I know my market (even better than a PM...again, my opinion,) and I save the 20-40%. I've learned dos and donts and I follow some of the best STR minds on BP and have learned a ton. I recommend you do the same and would be happy to talk to you about my journey!

Best of luck!

Joe

@Chris McKenna There is a fantastic sub forum on Short Term Rentals that will help answer almost any question you have. I'll suggest checking that out and "follow" the forum for updates. I have a couple STRs and I self-manage. They are 4 hours away from my home. Like you, my first one started as a vacation home and did so well that its a full time STR and we bought another as well. I don't know much about which PM company is better. We looked at a local PM and when we heard 30%, we wondered how people make money. Then I read all the STR forum posts and quickly learned that self-managing is the way to go (in my opinion). Once you've got a system down, it doesn't matter if you are 3 hours or 30 hours away.

Best of luck and enjoy the forums!

@Edwin Lopez Reynoso Good luck to you!  Get that Househack done!

@Beata Domagala We bought ours from MLS, so we don't have any wholesaler connections at this time, but I have seen some mentioned on this thread as well as other threads mentioning this area.

Edwin-

I live in Raleigh NC, but have a duplex that I'm rehabbing right now in High Point, NC which is just outside of Greensboro. Market is very mixed, and some prices and entry is very low. As example, the duplex we purchased was $30k. Rehab will be roughly $30k and ARV close to $75k with a rent of $425 /door.

as a side note, my son moved from NC to Los Angeles last year and loves it out there.

@Joe S. I  self manage my STRs and they do very well.  Furnishing them was part of my "rehab" budget when I bought them.  As many have said, location & regulations are the key items to look at , but if done right, they do very well.  A recommendation would be to browse the Short Term Rental forums on BP and you'll see all sorts of successful plans and methods.

We self manage our STRs in western NC.  We do 95%+ through VRBO, so although Airbnb seems to be the term many use for vacation rentals, our success is has been on VRBO platform.  Early on challenge was making sure we charged the right rates, got the right housekeeper and found a good handy person.  Pain points now are nearly non-existent as we've implemented systems to take care of everything.  I learned most of the tips and systems from BP forums especially from the Short Term Rental forum (if you haven't found that one yet...all your questions are answered just reading through those)

No Property manager as we keep 100% of profits and don't want to pay the high PM fees. 

Be happy to help answer any other questions.

@Josh R.

Looking forward to my first event!

We supply our cleaning supplies (kept in a locked owner's closet).  Housekeeper gives me updates as to what she is low on and I have items saved in Amazon for reordering and shipping to her.  Works great...so far. 

You could try and equate your extra portion based on what a property manager would charge you in your market.

In our area, PMs can charge 20-40% , so maybe your profit split with co-investor could be 70/30, or even 80/20 if you are overseeing rehab.

I believe self-managing is the best option (and truly does not equate to a 20-40% take), but if you need it for profit splitting purposes, that's one method to use.