All Forum Posts by: Robert Finn

@Travis C. awesome to hear you getting in to STR here in SA! My properties are in central and North West parts of town. I have an Airbnb link in my signature for my portfolio. Feel free to reach out anytime, happy to help!

I use the august smart lock as well and it definitely has its pros and cons. For right now, I also have a combo lock box with a hard key at the property. If the guest happens to lock the door knob and can't get in, I send them the code for the combo lock box. This has happened a few times, and each time the guest was grateful that there was an alternative to get in as opposed to waiting for me to let them in.

In my experience, they will use 75% of the market rent for that property as qualifying income. Private money and portfolio loans have their own criteria when analyzing a potential deal. Reserves, lending fees, downpayment, market rents, etc. I'd leverage pre approvals and shop around to find the best rate and terms!

As mentioned above, there are certain cities that offer downpayment assistance for first time homebuyers. They will cover the downpayment and some closing costs, but there are requirements that have to be met, such as living in the home for a few years. It's something to look into and talk to a lender about, as this will help free up capital for value add. 

Me personally I'd go with #2 and find a value add or a live in flip property. There are a lot of learnings that go along with multifamily investing and it's good to have some reserves incase there are issues down the road, especially if there is major rehab in the pipeline. 

Welcome to BP and congrats on the REI venture! Great posts from above about the area.

San Antonio has very strong tourism and travel demand, presenting an opportunity to STR/Mid Term the other unit(s). You can apply for an owner occupied type 1 permit and self manage to maximize your cash on cash return. If there's an opportunity to add value (in unit laundry, change the footprint, etc) even better. LTR rents have increased >12% year over year, so also finding an undervalued property SA will bring you some of the higher gross revenues. Seller's have been more open to negotiating when it comes to a closing credit for buying down on the rate or other closing costs.

Also take into account specific market booking trends. Here in SA guests tend to book less than a month before arrival, as we are a big drive in destination, while in other "fly" in markets they book months in advance. I'd also reach out to local PM's who work in the STR space and get an idea on what the average occupancies are in that market.

I have 3 here in San Antonio that are doing 80+ occupancy from spring to the end of summer, and 68% off peak. Pool properties see higher occupancy year round as we endure 90+ degree temperatures 7+ months out of the year. 

Conventional owner occupied financing may be the best strategy to scaling with little money down. With your W2, you may qualify for a larger purchase price in a >B areas. A live in flip on a 2-4 unit will add value over the course of occupying. Once complete, you may be able attain higher rents, provide that to your lender as rental income, then transition into another small multifamily deal repeating the process. 

Are they on any of the OTA's? I agree, interviewing more local PM's is a great strategy as they should have a pulse on that market. 16-18% seems pretty generous for turn key PM in Texas. On their website, it appears they operate in multiple cities in the South Central and South East Texas. Which market did they say they were local in?