All Forum Posts by: Kenneth Garrett

@Barrett Johnson

Yes, you can either put the criteria in your listing or advise them when they call to schedule a showing.  I find it best to hold open houses to find applicants.  That way you can garner competition among applicants.  

@David Lou

Always verify with the city/county depending on what jurisdiction you are in. One reason for STR's still operating is they could be legal non-conforming where the old ones are grandfathered in and new ones are illegal. Or they are just plain operating illegally. Redfin doesn't talk about STR's. I'm guessing it was part of the listing and not Redfin stating that.

Again check with the city or county.

@Jack B.

$2700 just to do the walls??? It would be unusual to not have to do any repairs to the walls at least nail holes. Hope it includes wall repairs. No trim. I think your going to be disappointed after the walls are done and trim and doors don’t look very good. I use Sherwin Williams crushed ice on all my walls. It’s a very light gray and then paint my trim with white trim paint. Actually $2700 seems a little heavy to me without trim and doors.

I have painted many of my units and houses. It takes a lot of time by yourself, especially if you have a day job. Probably a couple of weeks and that’s with some help.

@James Mercer

I cash flow about $1000 a month or so. I have a mortgage and HOA fees. Still does way better than my LTR that have mortgages on them. When I get my STR paid off which will be a few years, the cash flow will probably be $2500-$3000 per month, but will probably just by another when the right deal comes along. I look at cash on cash return as a way to evaluate how things are going as well. I'm at around 17%-18% annually, which means in 5-6 years I will have no money in the deal. That's where the profit is, of course the tax advantages of mortgage interest, property taxes snd deprecation make the numbers way better than only CoC. I have a 3/2 house two blocks from the beach.

@Nate Marshall

I get your point, but because the term hard money lender has such a troubling reputation, all they have done is changed the name to private lending.

I personally don’t like it. Private money to me is not institutional money it is a personal individual lending money on a project. I agree for the new or in experienced investor the term private money is confusing. I prefer they use the term institutional lender or any term other than private lender.

@James Mercer

When your running numbers be very conservative. I did use Airdna to look at revenue possibilities. I used 50% occupancy even though people were telling me occupancy should be near 75%. Look at all of your cost. Utilities, HOA if applicable, mortgage, property taxes, insurance (especially insurance) and rehab, furnishings, repairs, linens/towels, etc. I ended up renting an umbrella and two chairs for the season to add value to my guests. I do self manage my property.

@Ivan Zinginov

Congrats on your success. I've done a number of BRRRR projects in the nw suburbs. I bought a STR a couple of years ago in Miramar Beach probably 50 minutes from PCB. Sold a few of my properties and moved to Florida a few months ago. Still have a few rentals in Illinois. Let me know if you have any STR questions.

@Paul S.

Let me just comment on the repair portion. When I buy a property I go over the condition of the unit/house very thoroughly anything that looks worn out or is at its end of life expectancy I replace. I have found this greatly reduces the calls I get. In fact, I rarely get maintenance calls. Some tenants are heavy on maintenance. I let them know I will fix something like a clogged drain once after that they are responsible. It is a fine line about whether things will require maintenance or they will just stop calling. In this case, a quarterly inspection at least of the unit is probably necessary to make sure things are being maintained.

I self manage my units as well.

@Luka Jozic

I think you need the rate to drop at least by 1% at a minimum.  You need to look at the cost of the refinance and how long the payback is to make sure it’s worth it.  A refinance charging 2 or 3 points I probably wouldn’t do, but you need to run the numbers.  It definitely helps if your plan is to hold long term.  There is a chance you could end up refinancing a couple times especially if rates come back into the 3% range.