All Forum Posts by: Kevin Lefeuvre

"A New Year’s banger at an Ohio Airbnb, meant to be the party to kick off 2018, turned into a nightmare when the host lost control and police officers from five departments were forced to shut down the celebration while 200 party goers trashed the residence."

From what I can read, Airbnb declared this is extremely rare, banned the guest (oh thank you airbnb), but didn't compensate the host. $10k according to the host easily verified based on the video

Video and more on this here: Link

What do you have in place to prevent this at your place(s)? What would you do?

@Naveen Koorakula the caps are usually those CLTV percentages Ryan mentioned very often up to $750k or even $1M with a more simplified process if you stay under 500k.

@Ryan S. Thanks for sharing your findings, Wonder what kind of rates were you given when you reached out to them?

The new tax bill limits state and property tax deductions to $10,000 and mortgage interest deduction on mortgages down to $750,000. This could negatively impact appreciation of RE in California.
1) How is this impacting your strategy? 

2) Are you adjusting your portfolio? If so, how?

So how did this work for you @Eric G. ?

@Karen Margrave same answers as @Julie McCoy regarding your 2 questions.

Keep in mind, the same way STR is a different business than LTR landlording, the business of event venues is also very different than urban STR yet different than suburban rentals. Target audience/market is different... you are solving a different problem for those clients. I don't know if what you are projecting will work or not, but one thing is sure, if I had to do that, I would not rely on my experience in LA or OC. I would do my market analysis just like in any new business, more looking into wedding venues or other event venues in comparable locations in the state. I think those venues get booked more through partnerships with event planners than from airbnb/vrbo but not sure.
Best of luck.

not cheap. You can have an opinion on the status of the Dwelling by an engineer visit and a report. Cracks, settlements,  impact of  soil movements on the construction will be reported.  They usually charge you something in the range of  $800 to $1500. 

If you plan to add construction then you need soil analysis to know what type of soil, how deep need to dig to reach rocks, etc. That's gonna be in the range of  $3000 to $4000.

1) Liquidity of investment. You can sell a STR property anytime. LTR would reduce the number of buyers especially when it's a SFR. Not to mention cities like LA with rent control and tough eviction regulations.

2) Flexibility of use. Want to use yourself? Need for a family member? Just block the period on the listings.

3) Maintenance and repair. STR properties are always in good technical condition, because you have to. Try inspecting a STR property and compare to an average home of that type and you'll see.

4) Look & Feel. Since a STR property is nicely decorated and always clean, it's a pleasure to own. Your guests pay for maintaining your property clean and shining 24/7/365.

5) ROI or Cap-Rate : This one may seem obvious. I put it at the end because although it's true, it does require more work and time. STR IS NOT A PASSIVE INVESTMENT.

6) Appreciation: Because of all the above, they sell slightly above price.

As for buying STR or converting, I converted. When shopping for a property I am not coming across many STRs, probably because I focus on purchase "deals". I don't believe an already working STR can be purchased cheap.

Thanks everyone for the great comments.
@Joe Homs I have never made as much gain anywhere as in OC. If you just look at cash flow you get less than most other places but when you add capital gain, some locations beat all those out of state areas, when combined with appreciation. That said, the challenge is that cash flow is known when you buy, while capital gain is a bet.
@Aaron K. that makes a lot of sense. thanks.
@Brittney Johnson 100% agree with the west CM being very under-priced for an almost-coastal city. $350 per sqft for a SFR , 2 miles off the beach is quite rare in SoCal (exceptions are San Pedro and Oxnard, and CM is really not that bad). And yes east CM has airport noise, and is close to the price of Newport Beach back bay, but it's NOT Newport beach. So yes, I was thinking of West CM only.

Question for OC connoisseurs: If you want to invest in a buy-and-hold SFR under $800k and for some reasons (family, personal) you have to either do that in Costa Mesa or Orange, where would you invest for a higher appreciation in a few years? (cap rates are quite similar).

Which of these 2 cities is under-valued and will grow faster, in your opinion?

And Why?

Agreed with Ali. It's too late to invest in Westchester. It's not Playa Vista nor Marina del Rey and prices are close to those areas.

When Google purchased and rented those ex Hughes lands, 5 years ago Westchester was a good buy.

Inglewood has more upside right now.