All Forum Posts by: Patricia Taveras

@Walter Fabiszewski

After being a tenant myself for 10 years, in 2009 I bought a single wide for 10,000 and put it on a lot in the country for $100/mo and lived cheap. In 2014, with the single wide paid off, My husband and I bought a 3 bed 2 bath foreclosure for $83,000 to move into and fixed it up. (House is now worth about 140,000.) We still rent the single wide out for 575/mo. In 2018, we took out a HELOC on that primary residence and used a 401k loan, and purchased a 3 bedroom double wide we rent out for 800/mo. In 2019 I bought two more 3 bed 2 bath SFRs that we have listed on Airbnb. We have acquired one more just like it this year and are looking for more. Loving every minute of it! Thank you everyone for sharing your story!

@Adrian Suarez

Hi Adrian. There is a book called Get Paid for your Pad by Jasper Ribbers. The author hosts a podcast by the same name. The combination of reading his book and listening to his podcasts helped me get started. I now have three homes on airbnb and I love it! Good luck!

@David Li

Go on to airbnb like a traveler and look at similar units in your area. Then look at their calendars so you can get a feel for occupancy rates. Consider your expenses. In addition to normal real estate expenses you will pay utilities, cable/internet, cleaning fees if you hire a cleaner, supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels, and other amenities you will provide. I know nothing about your area - but ask yourself if it's seasonal. In my area I was able to pull general data on hotel occupancy rates during different months, and I have found our airbnb business to trend the same. Some areas make all their money in a few months and have to budget and manage money in the off season. We are fortunate to only have two slow months. And make sure your local regulations allow it. Good luck!

@Michael Reynolds

Hi Michael. Mobile homes can be great deals. We have two that we rent long term. They typically cash flow more than a single family home, and you want them to since you won't get the benefits of appreciation, and you won't be able to refinance. Also, you will most likely have to buy them all cash or with a personal loan. Most banks will only give you a mortgage on them if you will live there yourself. There is a book called Landlording on Autopilot that I used as a guide for screening tenants, writing a lease, and everything that goes into landording. It's an awesome guide. Good luck!

@Santonio Cathery

Hi Santonio. Look at your competitors pricing in your area in the airbnb app. It's good to start a little lower until you get reviews, then raise the price. We have our calendar open for 6 months out, but that's just our preference. Good luck!

@Dave Rav

Hi Dave. My husband and I bought a double wide off Craigslist and moved it to a lot and titled it as real property. The mobile home mover suggested that we pour footers for the foundation in addition to doing the concrete block or brick skirting because more banks would be willing to finance like a regular home. We were able to do this before placing the home, but it can be done with the home in place as well, though it's more difficult so will probably cost more. However, it broadens your pool of buyers if you do decide to sell. Just a thought.

@Jake Wakefield

Try a small local bank. Union Bank in NC is a small local bank that used my airbnb income. I have two loans with them, and the second loan they gave me specifically to purchase an airbnb property. I am also currently applying for a mortgage through Wells Fargo. I told the mortgage broker about my airbnb income, and he hasn't said I can't use it. We will see where it goes. You could try them.

@Luke G.

I see what you are saying. I think describing the space clearly would be easier in the two separate listings. When you set up your listing airbnb will prompt you to select type of space - entire house is one of those selections. I have never listed a smaller space before, but as an airbnb customer I have seen listings described as "private basement apartment with separate entrance" for example. So in the smaller listing, you can make it clear which portions of the house your guests will be able to access. This way you can also set a larger cleaning fee for the larger space. You could still add extra guest charges on either or both listing if you chose. Sounds like a cool property!

@Luke G.

Hi Luke. Why now rent out individually? You can create three listings total for this house on Airbnb. You can have a listing for each individual unit. You can then create a listing for the entire thing. You can link the calendar for the whole house to each individual unit's listing, so that when one unit books, it blocks the calendar for the entire unit so you don't end up with a double booking. Interestingly, in some markets you could charge a more than just the total cost of the two smaller units rented separately, because there is often way less competition among units that will accommodate larger groups. I actually use this same strategy for two houses I have on Airbnb that are across the street from each other. We haven't had too many people book both together, but it has increased our earnings whenever we have. And I can tell you the linked calendars work. Consider it. Good luck!

@Josue R.

We closed on a house in early April at the beginning of covid and put it on Airbnb. It's doing well. We are negotiating on another house now. We'll see how that goes.