All Forum Posts by: Sarah Kensinger

I would recommend another mountainous area other than CO. STR regulations and taxes are becoming harder there, and properties are pretty expensive! NC is becoming quite popular, and properties are more within your price range. Wonderful idea by the way, and a great way to offset taxes even in retirement!

Carrie Douglas is in a STR mastermind with us and knows Wisconsin. I would reach out to her and see if she can connect you with someone....Carrie Douglas

Mid-priced cabinets at Ikea are perfect for a STR and would help lower costs for you! Bathrooms are actually the best to put more money into then the kitchen, because people want a bathroom to feel fresh and clean. Whereas a kitchen, guests may barely even spend time in. Wayfair pro line has excellent light fixtures and other items, that would look great in a STR rehab and help keep costs down as well.

Look at your market and see what other STR have. Just because something worked for one host, doesn't mean it'll work for you since each market is different. And always think about your return on investment as you make decisions for rehab. In some cases, it may not help you make more as a STR, but you need to think about when you possibly sell the property and make good decisions for that time.

Creative financing is another great way to finance a STR! Thanks for sharing the post!

Something local, anything unique, and Instagramable walls! 

You can check the zoning but if it's a commercial building that's an apartment complex or old hotel turned residential, you can do whatever and the city can't make you come under the permits they require for non-commercial STR properties. No need to change zoning if it's already a LTR property.

The only issues you may come across is lending. If it's a LTR now you should be able to purchase the property with a DSCR loan, the issue is when the property splits between STR/MTR and LTR. So, if you decide to sell later the next owner would have problems getting a loan, unless they are a cash buyer. As of now, most banks don't recognize the split model and only run numbers on the LTR units since they feel those units are guaranteed income.

Other than that, many people have run properties this way and been successful at it. Just make sure your LTR tenants keep their units nice, so your STR units' market well.

I would pay them per occurrence because it can change each month. For example, in the last few months we've sent someone out twice. If maintenance is kept up, you won't need people to go out that often. 

It all depends on the level of risk you're willing to take. Be prepared for large assessments you'll possibly need to pay into, and I would make sure the majority of the condo is STR already in a large vacation market. It's also best for lending reasons, that the complex is warrantable. At this time, we don't own any condos but would have those things in mind if we considered purchasing one.

As mentioned, it all has to do with LTR tenant rules, and everyone following what other municipalities have done. 

As a guest of almost 50 STR stays, one roll of TP per bathroom is a major pet peeve of mine! It gets so old having to purchase TP on vacation because 1 roll per bathroom for a 3-4 night stay is not enough. There should be no problem leaving 3 rolls out per bathroom, and that would include the one on the holder. Guests don't go walking out with them and just because that many rolls are available, doesn't mean the guest is going to use them all.

For paper towels one brand new roll should be enough for a stay. It's all we leave out, and all I've ever used as a guest myself.