All Forum Posts by: Travis Rasmussen

Here's the bigger question--have you gotten a security camera for the property? As most STR hosts will probably attest to--the moment you had your first "party" you never want one again. Not just for the setting up costs, but the process to get reimbursement is one of the biggest pains you will go through.

Travis Rasmussen

Real Estate Agent and Superhost for Airbnb

Got to go last month, Great REI meeting!

Hi Joe!

Where are you located?

How much are homes going for in your neighborhood?

Do you have any Points of interest near you? Lakes, colleges, etc.

Now everyone will have a different take, and mine may not even be the best but if I was in your position I would do these things.

1. Get a job that you can make as much money as possible (I know, it sounds loaded but track with me). If you are good with people, focus on getting into a restaurant, possibly work for a local pizza delivery and stow away AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE (Go read Set for Life). I would be working my bum off to try and save 3.5% down for an FHA loan. Being a real estate agent is awesome, but you can spend a lot of money just keeping the lights on if you are new.

2. Learn your market ASAP. Go to Zillow.com and look at what's hitting your market Every. Single. Day. You want to know the going rate of what's hitting your market and this will help you identify what's a good deal, because you have seen what homes are going for. 

Then, set up alerts for some basic keywords "Handyman", "TLC", "Needs Work" etc, and start evaluating deals. In time and A LOT of practice, when you come across a good deal, you might just be able to snatch it up and wholesale it if you don't have money. 

3. Get involved with a local REI, seriously, go to one a week. This will be invaluable and ask how you can help GIVE VALUE to the people you meet.

4. Lastly, once you have enough money, I would househack, hands down. If you don't know what that is please let me know and I'll be happy to elaborate :)

Travis Rasmussen,

Real Estate Agent and Airbnb Manager

At 70, 5 Star Reviews, we don't have any 4-Stars yet (Fingers crossed). 

What we have been doing since the beginning is at the entrance, we leave a snack tray and beside it, a piece of paper with that reads....

"Our Goal"

(Picture of 5-Stars)

"Did we Meet this expectation" 

____Yes.       _____No

"What did you love about the place"

----------------------------------------------------

"If anything, what could we have done better?"

This not only has provided us with valuable feedback that we ASK them for (We have changed some items just from these comments) but I think it helps us both set the expectation we are aiming to get 5-Stars. 

I guess the question is, why did you pick this area to invest in? Why are you moving from your old market to this new market? 

Because depending on that, it could help you steer this decision. For example, I love Short Term Rentals, so I would lean towards the trendy areas and rent them out because people probably travel to them more often.

@Corn M. Agreed! I feel like a crazy person when talking to my friends about what I do. They look at me like I'm a wacko. But, it's all worth it, it's just so much fun! 

@Robert Garcia @Alex Tadros

I would love to meet up! I can share what we are doing or we can just chat about what you guys want to do in the future. Feel free to DM me and we can grab coffee sometime. 

In terms of Airbnb-->Where is the property located? Do you have anything that drives tourism to the area on a consistent basis? i.e. Football games, conventions, etc. 

You say you don't have much to invest, do you currently own your own property? Also, as 

@Matthew Runfola mentioned, he invests in areas outside of the normal LA/Orange County because it's easier to get in to start investing. Have you thought about investing out of state?

Hi Jose,

What's your long and short term goal? Are you looking for just cash flow? Do you not care about negative cash flow but just want to build your portfolio? Do you have other ideas of what you would do with the 80K if you cashed out? That would help us give better recommendations. 

Is it a Fix and Flip? How did it get stolen?