All Forum Posts by: Travis Rasmussen

@Paul Mackay

I'm chiming in on the Airbnb talk. Yes, there are many "slumlord" rentals. They just don't put a 10/10 effort into it. I strongly believe, you make it nice, you care about it, you make it beautiful--and as long as the market supports it (there's good travel trends, etc.) you will do better than 80% of them. 

@Charles Haverty
People like @Caleb Heimsoth and @Omar Khan are bringing up good points. Aggressively pay off your loans, make it a game on how little you can live off of. 

We all love investing, but something a lot of people learned in the 2008 crash was that risk plays a large part, rather we like it or not, and we have to respect that. 

I would recommend, find a room to rent during residency, find the cheapest place you can. Renting isn't always a bad idea, it buys you piece of mind and a chance to make a great gameplan. 

@Karam Charrouf

Here's the awesome part, you are asking these questions at 18. You plan it right and you can be killing it by your mid 20s to 30. 

As people have mentioned, get a job and get a good paying job. Find a career where you can make a good living and work overtime like no one's business. The lifeblood to Real Estate is capital and getting it is key.

A few other things...

1. Go to your local REIs and NEVER stop attending.

2. Start listentining to all the Bigger Pockets episodes starting with episode 1.

3. Lastly, read Rich Dad Poor Dad.

@Jeff Kehl

Yes, yes and yes. We love it so much we are closing on our 2nd soon. As other people have mentioned here, the goal is to look for a market with year-round travel. There are many places in the U.S. people are ALWAYS traveling too. Figure out why people go to that area, capitalize on that. Hope that helps!

@Cynthia Oistad

"Because we only have experience self-managing the ONE single family town home for past 9 years, we lean to acquiring Single Family homes because it is what we know."

I always advise go with what you know. If you don't NEED a strong cash flow, just find a solid deal that works for you. Multi-family is hot right now, and there's nothing wrong with that, but don't use that as a reason you need to follow. Figure out what you need/want and drive forward :)

@Michael Greenberg

Now, I do believe there is value in having your own website, as a back up in case something ever goes south but let's look at the alternative.

As @Julie McCoy pointed out, they are only charging 2.5%! That is huuge. It's by far, the hardest part of the STR market--the marketing.

Airbnb invests more than you and I ever could to get their name out there, and they are providing us--the hosts--a service. 

I feel like someone trying to sell you on using their service is the same argument that you could make more money buying your own taxi brand instead of just working for uber/lyft. Yeah, you could...but would you want to?

@Gabriel Farfan

Sounds awesome! Let me know if you ever want to grab a beer in Downtown SD or up here.

Oh, so many places.

Las Vegas

Reno/Carson area

Florida

Those would actually be my top 3. I love Las Vegas, not even for the gambling but it just offer so. much. Pools, great food, attractions, etc. Reno is close enough to California, but technically not. It's close to Tahoe (which is beautiful) and the homes in Carson City are affordable.

And Florida, Florida is just beautiful and more affordable than CA. 

@Account Closed

Is he splitting any of the profit with you?

@Bryan T.

I wouldn't unless you get your Landlord's approval. Not only is it a lease violation, but think about it this way. I'm assuming because you are on BP you hope to someday become an investor yourself. Put the shoe on the other foot, you worked hard to own property that you care for and a renter is now subleasing without your permission. 

If you want to Airbnb it, maybe you can offer splitting the profits with them, make it worth their wild but you manage it.

We do STR and no we do not.