All Forum Posts by: Rhonda Blue

Do what I did. Sell while CA is high and 1031 exchange it into money making real estate.

@Jen Faulkner

I have also donated a few times to organizations I personally belong to as a fundraiser or auction item. We have strong ties to military due to my husband's service and They have always been very nice guests and gracious. The way we worked it was to offer an open window of dates then the guests who won the week actually had a set time limit to book directly with us. That way you have the guests who are staying information and can treat them as any other booking. 

I would not just offer up time at our cabin without knowing the organization personally. 

Absolutely NOT. I pay for cable service because I'm old school and like to sometimes just veg out and flip channels. For me it's about consistency. When I stay at hotels for business travel or leisure. I want consistent recognition with being able to catch my shows! 

However It has come to my attention with my children that this is a generational thing. They want to have the ability to connect to  Youtube and their own Netflix. They do not care at all about cable unless it is sports related but even then they say they can find it online. 

So I have smart tvs in all my cabins that can connect to Hulu, Youtube, Netflix, etc. and are still connected with cable and Sports package. It is worth the cost to help my guests feel comfortable in the space no matter what age they are! 

Hope this helps. 

@Eric A.

In response to your question. Scalability of Co-Hosting is possible. In my area we have a Co-Host company and I see it being able to Scale as long as you have quality people to manage the online. Through our company we also offer a vacation away from your Vacation Rental which has worked out to be very popular for owners who self manage but need time off for a cruise or 2 week hiatus with family. 

Lucas, I shared an article that was relevant to @Jason Sterner question and inquiry from the Tennesean. I assume you agree you invest in this area as well.

I wouldn't presume to know the whole on the state of TN as being or not being investor airbnb friendly.

Sorry If you misunderstood my intent.

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge in East TN Airbnb is definitely legal. They actually have an agreement with the State of TN to pay the sales tax for the airbnb's that are here in this area. Huge move on their part to cooperate and create positive legislation. Check out this local article. One major reason why I LIVE and invest here now. Moved from SOCAL this summer and now have 5 STR.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/01/18/a...

@Brandon Pelfrey

I am an agent. I am an investor.

But I agree with previous poster. .

I dont show someone 100 properties. They tell me what they want, what their criteria is.....I either know where to find a property that meets that criteria, or it doesnt exist in my market.

Just be honest with your intensions. If an agent understands the process and what your looking for they can learn to be a great asset and bring deals to the table. In Socal I belonged to an investor colaboration and everyone worked together.

@Anthony Pascual

Hi Anthony

I recommend Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge TN. We lived in Socal for past 15 years with husband working at Blizzard. We started Out of state investing here in E TN after being in St George UT market for 3 years. Great returns on Short Term rentals that leave Long term and multifamily in their wake even with Property management you can still earn a nice return.

@Mark DiRocco

"Ideally, we're looking to get into a property that is at or less than $250k with minimum 10% down. The market in SoCal where we live doesn't have much room for that sort of deal, hence the desire to look out of state."  

WE DID THE SAME THING. 

We lived in Lake Forest, CA for the past 15 years and decided to make it big and more money we needed to get out of state. We went to St George which by the way TONS of California people visit yearly because of Bryce Canyon and so many other red rock hiking areas. SO much potential. 

""How do you go about choosing what city or location to target in order to start developing a network of professionals to get the process started? We are anxious for a location and patient for researching and finding deals, an ungainly combination. We want to have more focus on looking for deals in an area where we can get our feet wet and have some success."" 

THIS WILL TAKE a little time and a little courage. I would focus on areas you would be willing to visit and stay for a while at first. We started looking in Vegas and Pheonix but then decided to go all the way to E TN because we planned to move back here when we retired. We just decided to do it way earlier. Huntsville, AL was where we ended up with Long Term REntals because I have an awesome PM there Carolyn Dietrich rentals. What we did to facilitate our early retirement was to invest into STR cabins here in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg which I compare to Disney World on East TN complete with National Parks, Amazing Hiking, plus every once in a while a few bears. LOL

I absolutely would love to find a rental in Tampa, Orlando, or Destin.... That is my next goal to have a beach house. Maybe even Myrtle Beach! 

My main advice is to NOT get lost in analysis paralysis.. stay motivated and HAVE SOME FUN with it.  

Guilty... We lived and worked in Silicon Valley for a year then SoCal for 15 years. WE packed up and moved to E TN this summer. It was a no brainer. Husband worked at Blizzard Entertainment for 15 years and I used his bonuses to build our investments. First I started in St. George UT with 2 Long Term rentals. Then I wanted more so looked in Phoenix and Vegas. Did the whole multi family discussion and then a light bulb went off. When I was little we would go to Gatlinburg for vacation as a family. So I started looking and within 2 months bought my first Short Term rental that I manage myself over airbnb and have a team to work the cleanings and maintenance. Even though there were issues with undisclosed HOA and learning about shared well agreements, It was a success. fast forward 3 years and Now we have 4 LTR in Hunstville, AL 5 STR in Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg area. We picked up and sold our Primary in Lake Forest, CA also for very nice appreciation. We now live just South of Knoxville within an hour of my cabins and LOVE IT.... COST of living is SO SO low. We have a 28 acre farm and so much privacy. Just filled our truck tank for $1.79 a gallon.