All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

It finally happened.  Just closed on my first property in Dallas and one month in - the A/C died.  Can't blame the inspector too much - he notated that the unit was 20 + years old but didn't actually run it because it was inspected in Winter.  Hoping for some insight on the best course of action.  

Option One:  Hire a local Dallas A/C company called Strike Force to replace 2 condensors, 2 coils (the property is a duplex and the front house units are just as old and it sounds like proactively replacing them is the right move).  They have quoted me $12,000. 

Option Two:   Buy the parts on Home Depot and find someone on Angie's list or HomeAdvisor to handle the install.  Should save at least $3,000 this way. 

Option 3:  Do Nothing.  Advertise the house as a Bikram Yoga studio and start raking in the big bucks.

If anyone has a quality A/C guy that you trust - please pass along their information : )

Nice will definitely check out Floor and Decor!  The hardwood in our property is looking pretty old and dated and it seems like refinishing it won't really add to the modern vibe we are going for as a corporate rental.  Using laminate because the floating floor gives us an option to remove if we end up going in a different direction.  Getting such varied quotes for install from $1.50 a sq foot to $2.75 a sq foot so definitely hoping to find a good GC soon!

Just started a rehab in Chicago and it's looking like we need ~3000 sq foot of the wide plank grey good stuff.  What's the best local store to get this something a bit higher quality?  It's for a vacation rental so there's gonna be high traffic on the floors for a few years.  Also, who do you use for installation?  Getting a wide range of quotes from 1.75 to $3.00 a sq foot for installation only - getting a bit tricky to fairly price the market.

Thanks for the replies!

@Alex Bockey The profit was not substantial and a Superhost Airbnb profile is not as heavily weighted as the company would like you to believe.  

For fear of sounding like a war veteran, I'll skip the dramatic details.  However, in 2015, Venice Beach was the epicenter of the lease/sub-lease model for airbnb hosts.  Airbnb had not yet rolled out the "Price Tips" model they recently developed to control the markets.  The city of LA was not imposing a tax on rentals.  Landlords generally had no aversion to removing the "No Sublease" clause from their rental contracts, as long as you had strong credit and references.  It was the wild wild west and we were able to turn a tidy profit on our small portfolio of leased beach houses.  

Now as legislators, neighbors and even Airbnb has gotten involved in nearly every city in the US, everything has changed.  The profit margin has been reduced tremendously by both taxes and airbnb pricing constraints.  Neighbors don't think twice about reporting offending airbnbs to the city for things like noise complaints or parking infractions.  It's simply not worth the hassle or negative energy.  

The only way I'll ever enter into a lease-sublease model again is if the property has some boutique feature (think panoramic views, proximity to an amazing location, lots of space for hosting events) and the monthly rent can be at least tripled by airbnb rentals.  Generally, the only way to achieve those kind of returns is by owning the property outright, not leasing and giving the lions share of the profits to a passive investor.  

Personally, I'm a Zillow fanboy.  The UI is seamless and being able to compare recently sold listings to active listings has helped me avoid a ton of potential mistakes.  I will also admit, the zestimate feature is absolutely addictive (even if it's also wildly inaccurate).   Redfin is a close second, and their crime map has help me target some interesting areas in Gardena and Hawthorne.  

Recently, I started using a couple new sites called openlistings.com and themls.com.   What sites do other LA investors on this forum like to use to find new and exciting deals?  

@Paul Sandhu @Alex Bockey That exact scenario happened to me in Venice Beach.  Leased three units from the same owner for a year.  The landlord saw how we turned his underutilized rental into a money machine and illegally evicted us, renovated the house with our security deposit, and handed the keys to his basket weaving daughter.  Now it's back to being an underutilized rental (now with driftwood laminate floors).  

I have to second @Keith Courtney on mentioning the Orlando area, specifically anywhere adjacent to Disney. My first purchase was an SFH in a rental community 15 minutes south of Disney. My partner and I self manage with an extra diligent cleaning service and things are totally turnkey. The name of the city is Davenport, FL, and it's a huge destination for snowbirds, Brazilians, and European's looking for some sun. I am kind of bored of visiting (I'd rather surf) but my business partner is huge into golf and goes there constantly.

My second choice is Venice Beach.  We have a few property's on lease there and the sublease model is still alive and kicking!  Airdna.co was invented right down the street in Santa Monica and @Scott Stafford (I think he's on this site?) was one of the first more prominent and vocal multi-hosts in LA.  There was a huge public backlash against Airbnb, with many incorporated areas such as Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach outlawing airbnb listings completely.  The overflow from people looking in those areas ends up in Venice Beach, Playa Vista, Culver City, and Pacific Palisades.  Your gonna have to befriend your neighbors (but who doesn't like that) but if you can get a lease or purchase in a cool place, the numbers will make sense!  

I'm going to demo Smartbnb.   We have 60 listings in 6 different states and I probably spend 15 hours a day glued to my laptop.  Has anybody used proper.ly for guest and reservation management? 

Central Florida - location closest to parks and major attractions that people want to visit in Florida!

I know a couple - just sent you a PM