All Forum Posts by: Kurt Devlaeminck

How did your first season go for STR? I have mostly focused on long term hold rentals west of GR, but have thought about dipping into STR along Lake Michigan. Would love to hear about your experience and if you self-managed/utilized any management companies. I have mostly self-managed and am always looking for more referrals for any trades or property managers.

Hey Jake!
Our first season went well. We've been self-managing besides having a cleaner that helps us with the turnaround and laundry. I know there are management companies in the area, but we wanted to see if we could handle it. Honestly, it was not a big deal. I have a good plumbing contact and a good roofer so far, but I handled a couple of faucet leaks and lack of hot water that we just went ahead and replaced the hot water heater.

We also bought our place from friends that live next door that are a great resource for opening and closing it for the season and they know the place.

We remodeled the bathroom, put a new roof, replaced the hot water heater, and bought a new refrigerator—so this year will be a loss, but we wanted to get the place to a good spot so we didn't have much to worry about. It should cash flow really good next year since we have all good reviews so far on airbnb and vrbo.

I grew up on the Westside by Richmond Park. Where are you buying places? Would love to know your experiences with LTRs over there. I've thought about looking in that neighborhood, Creston, and close to Cheshire Village on the NE side. How are you funding your projects?

Awesome! knowing the neighbor is extremely helpful and lowers the risk of your renters too! I live in Grandville and rent in Jenison/Hudsonville. I have been extremely pleased with the results as there is not many rentals in the area, so there is a high demand to get into the area, and knowing the properties will long term appreciate. So far I have just been using conventional loans as we would live in the home and live and flip it before moving on to the next one and renting the previous one. This has worked well getting started, but long term I will start looking into more private funding to make it easier to scale.

Good strategy. That area is growing really fast. It’s wild to see most of the suburbs of Grand Rapids growing rapidly. We’re land locked on our little island in East Grand Rapids. More and more houses are getting torn down around here for new builds. My family will not sign up for the live in flip. I’m thinking the BRRR method is most likely my best strategy to grow my portfolio despite rate hikes. We’ve entertained a HELOC, but I’m a bit shaky on it.

0 Votes

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Quote from @Marshall Leipprandt:

Quote from @Kurt Devlaeminck:

Quote from @Marshall Leipprandt:

@Kurt Devlaeminck Hey Kurt, I'm from Michigan originally and the area between GR and Traverse City is my favorite part of the state. I split my time between Florida and SoCal now, with the occasional trips back to MI to see family, but I similarly have an LTR and some STRs.

How has your experience been so far with your STR near Lake Michigan? Do you self-manage? Have you had issues finding a good team (cleaner, handyman, HVAC, lawn maintenance, etc?). We self-manage our rentals but we're in areas near large cities that have ample providers for just about anything we need done at our properties. We also own in warm climates currently so don't have many of the considerations that we would have up in MI.

I've considered looking into properties near Lake Michigan, but have been focusing more on FL and CA as of late. Would love to hear about how you manage your rentals and your thoughts on West Michigan as a long-term play for a STR investor.

Hey Marshall,
We've had a good experience so far. We have been self managing since we're a little over an hour away and wanted to see how hard it was to self-manage. We do have a cleaning service though that help us with the turn around and does the laundry as well. I come every week to check on things and mow the lawn and any other landscaping that needs to happen. We have a lot of trees, a wildflower garden over our septic hump, outdoor shower and fire pit that I like to keep stocked with firewood.

Overall, it has not been a lot of work from week to week. I've had a couple of faucet leaks and a hot water heater that I needed to replace, but it is manageable. I'm hoping to pick up 1-2 next year near it. So far, the hardest parts are finding trades that will travel to our spot since it's in between two small-medium beach towns.

I personally think that Michigan and the midwest surrounded by the Great Lakes will be looked at as a great investment especially 10-20 years from now.

How are you funding your projects? How are you finding them and the areas that you invest in?

Kurt, thanks for the response and for detailing how involved you are with everything. That is probably my hang up on being completely out of state with that type of property, but I do know that typically those things can always be hired out...for the right price. But I've also learned that nobody is going to have quite the attention to detail that we owners have with our own properties so that is certainly a consideration I keep in mind.

I've become familiar with the areas we purchased because I've either lived there or in regard to FL, it is where my wife grew up and where here family still lives. We've funded our STRs conventional and our 1 LTR with my VA loan. All of them were on the MLS and we haven't had to cross the bridge of finding off-market deals yet or having to put together creative financing options. With this current market, we may not have to either (at least in the near term), if things continue to push towards a buyer market and inventory continues to increase. But we'll see! We're targeting to buy again in early/mid 2023.

Are you looking to buy again in that area?

Thanks all the info, Marshall. We are targeted the same area for future STR purchases since we mostly have the puzzle figured out. we’re hoping to buy 1-2 next year.

We were looking at buying a condo at a ski resort in Harbor Springs, but we couldn’t get the deal to pencil out. It was an off market deal where we have been renting it for years, but it didn’t cash flow.

Beyond that, possibly an LTR in Grand Rapids. Prices are starting to come down, but not enough to want to buy yet.

1 Vote

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Quote from @Alexis Smith:

My husband and I are working on getting into the rental business in the greater Grand Rapids area. A connection mentioned this website to us, said it would be a great starting point to get information and guidance. We are currently working with a realtor to find our first rental property.

Welcome Alexis! I'm an STR investor along the lake shore, but like in East Grand Rapids. We used Jake Heglund to find our place in Michigan after moving from Chicago. Not sure if he's available, but he has a great team as well. https://www.wearejhr.com/

1 Vote

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Quote from @Jake Aardema:

Hey Kurt!

We also bought our place from friends that live next door that are a great resource for opening and closing it for the season and they know the place.

1 Vote

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Quote from @Marshall Leipprandt:

I personally think that Michigan and the midwest surrounded by the Great Lakes will be looked at as a great investment especially 10-20 years from now.

How are you funding your projects? How are you finding them and the areas that you invest in?

2 Votes

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Hey guys!

I'm new here. I'm a buy and hold investor from Grand Rapids, MI. I've lived in San Francisco and Chicago, but prefer the medium-sized midwestern cities. I'm a Graphic Designer/Illustrator that is looking to become a full-time real estate investor. We bought our first STR near Lake Michigan in February. We have one season under our belts with airbnb and VRBO. Looking for more STRs and possibly LTRs in Grand Rapids. I'm glad to help with any questions about my GR. Sending out good vibes to the BR community!

3 Votes

Grand Rapids, Michigan

All Forum Posts by: Kurt Devlaeminck

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