All Forum Posts by: Sanderson Mittnacht

My immediate thought was 'finding deals; no argument' but I think the real answer is 'it depends.' 

Good deals will find cash, but good cash will find deals.

I think the most valuable skill is networking. Regardless if you have skills in finding deals or have access to capital, without a good network, you won't close the deal.

Outside of people, think of systems: Airdna.co, hello.pricelabs.co, and lodgify.com have been my best friends for starting my STR endeavor. Airdna for market comparable, pricelabs for pricing automation and lodgify for guest booking automation.

First find your market: In STR there’s three choices, cities (business trips), 2-hrs from metros (weekend getaways), and vacation spots (flights). All have their pros and cons.  

Then, find your audience: Do you want anyone, family oriented, or high-end.

Then, find your home. 

Remember, it’s a hospitality business…

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $645,000
Cash invested: $95,000

STR Property up in the Catskills of NY near Hunter/Windham mountain.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Cash flows and future vacation home.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS & minimal negotiations outside of some stuff from the inspection

How did you finance this deal?

15% Down

How did you add value to the deal?

None at the moment outside of adding a hot tub. Might eventually redo roof to add more solar and kitchens/bathrooms.

What was the outcome?

Breaking even atm but hoping the busy seasons bring some great cash flows.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Still working on my Airbnb strategies. Might have an issue with the roof which was unexpected (should have done more due diligence on it).

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Jessica Surbeck was my realtor.

I'm looking to connect with any investors who own a STR in the Hunter/Jewett/Windham area who would be open to a conversation about the Airdna numbers in the area and building a team (contractors/cleaners/pm).

If anyone has experience up there,  please let me know.

Also very open to any partnerships if that’s of interest as well!

This thread is proof people either love or hate cats…

If they are A+ tenants, get multiple references from previous landlords (make sure they owned the cat(s) back then) and make a decision based on the feedback. 

+ Increase the sec dep and charge a monthly pet fee. 

Where in PA and why? (There’s no wrong answer, I’m more curious).

There’s so much we could dive into but the most important thing is diversification. Do not put $100k into a single property if you don’t have a good portfolio of stocks/savings/[bad] debt free.

It would help if we had a little more details to your personal/financial situation above and beyond the inheritance…

It’s certainly speculative; it’s certainly intriguing. Where can you do this today? 

I’ve always believed in the saying, “Do what others won’t.” 

Sounds like we’re in the time of our lives/existence that this applies for in the [near] future, everyone might be investing in the metaverse… 

@Kaiya Sherriff I always tell my team "Become a sponge." Learn and absorb as much information as you can. Surround yourself with other, like-minded individuals who have proven success (and nice work; you're already doing that here!).

The saying "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with" is absolutely accurate. Want to be financially free, spend time with financially free individuals.

Read as much as you can, go to as many networking groups, find a mentor(s), and most importantly, TAKE ACTION.

As @Michael K Gallagher said, the W2 route with scalable income is the most risk-averse route that can help you get there, and also the route most of us take. The choice is yours and up to your risk tolerance. 

I recently did a (mind you, small job) and payments were not made up front in North, NJ. I would keep searching the forums for better GCs.