All Forum Posts by: Sofia Sharkey

@Alyssa Czopor hi - did you read the long term investment book by David Greene by chance? That book has solid information on how you can get started while being out of state.

If you are investing from afar, short term rentals / vacation rentals are a fine strategy to start with *IF* you have the right management company. They can guide you on the best areas to target and give you comps on how much it can make based on the areas averages.

*Too many people manage their short term rentals to “save” money from the management fees The reality is that a good vacation management company will make you more money as most host don’t know how to price their units correctly, they under or over price it, therefore leaving money on the table*.

There is a whole science to it, there are multiple tools for pricing for this reason. You need to know the markets numbers and demand to price your places accurately and therefore make them profitable.

Regarding the place you’re interested in, run the numbers and see how much you can make. Then reach out to a local (I don’t recommend the big ones) vacation rental management company and see what numbers/comps they give you. Make your decision after that.

@Javier Kaufmann buying turn key has worked well for me because I’ve bought at prices that cash flow for long term renters. In addition, I’ve turned them into short term rentals and that increased the cash flow significantly. They can be great, It just depends on what strategy you will use.

@Joe S.great question and I should have clarified. I made the return back + profit for the investors I work with. There was no cost from me as I only do the management for a commission. Keep asking questions and I hope you find that something that works for you!

@Daniel Domer

As people mentioned already Evolve will do management and guest communications but that’s the easy part. What actually requires coordination is the cleaning and maintenance which they don’t cover.

You can manage one property yourself but note that if there are damages, you won’t be there to take pictures and inspect. This is vital for reimbursement with Airbnb for instance. You also mentioned leveraging something like Guesty. That’s only worth it if you have 15+ properties. Guesty is expensive and in my opinion not with the money for just one unit.

I manage my short term rentals and started managing for out of state investors 2 years ago. We spend a lot of time on pricing, SEO, guest screening, etc to make sure they are profitable and successful. This also includes making sure they are regulated with the city and not the party house in the block.

If you hire professionals, it should increase your revenue significantly to make the 25% worth it. Do you know exactly how much your property can make?

Many people also want to jump on STR because it's the trendy thing to do. But not all properties are worth the time of hassle. If your margins are so tight, ask yourself if STR is even a good idea for this place. Just my two cents. Best of luck!!

@Allison Leung I added this to the survey but improving the app. It’s hard to consume content in the app the way it is and the threads get super long when people quote the OP or really long replies.

Also would be great to have video capability here on the app linking to the YouTube videos as opposed to having everything in a different platform.

Is there an opportunity to add the Show Notes from the podcast here in the app as well? Just a thought

@Joe S. Yes I have 12 short term rentals, I started my own str property management company, and yes I’ve made all the return back and profited in year one. I focus on excellent locations and keeping an eye on expenses. It’s not difficult if you are in a desirable location, just too many hosts go all out and don’t know how to price their places correctly.

@Joe S. It boils down to numbers and the ROI. Yes, you need to put cash up front for furnishings but if your house is in a desirable area and you have a great team managing it, your returns will be higher than long term rentals at the end of the year. It should pay its investment back and then profit a few thousand.

@Amit Desai short term rentals can yield significantly higher returns vs long term rentals but it depends on property purchase price, how much you spend on furnishings, your market, your pricing. There are homes that are better off as long term rentals. They make would make almost the same for a lot less work. One unit will be fine to manage with a full time job, you can probably just hire out the cleaning. After a few properties, it’s very hands on.

Definitely check out the forums and there is also a ton of info online: blogs and YouTube. Check out the vacation rental machine or success str stories podcast. Lots of great info!

Good luck!

@Michael McCarthy the benefit is the increased CashFlow. Period.

Other things to consider might be that the units are professionally cleaned multiple times a week so they are kept up.

However, do you have experience managing STRs? Many people do it themselves but most have no clue how to do it right to maximize earnings or to keep them filled. They either under price, over price, or don’t have the customer service needed.

Managing STRs requires research, systems, and lots of time (24/7) - even if you bring in technology to help.

@Wesley Myers go with what makes sense for the room. You’ll be taking pictures and don’t want a TV that will look too small. TVs are cheap these days. We have Roku TCL in all our STRs, they’re great! Can buy them in Costco or online.