All Forum Posts by: Tyler Divin

I would also add that the returns in any investment reflect the level of risk.  Yes, the competition has increased but also the risk of STRs has come down over the years due to a number of factors.  We have more data and more accurate data.  There is a lot more information and case studies of people being successful with STRs.  Sophisticated software tools have emerged including PMS, AI guest responses, dynamic pricing tools, etc.  The industry has matured and continues to mature so it's not the wild wild west anymore hence the wild wild west returns have gotten fewer and farther between.

I would contact him and offer to add a privacy fence and landscaping in exchange for him taking the wall down.  This is after the property line has been confirmed and staked by a surveyor.

We also do Roku TV's in guest mode with the exception of one property where we have a 100" 4K theatre room it has a Roku stick and a DVD player.  We have a cabinet with a decent selection of DVDs that includes Marvel stuff, Lord of the Rings, Disney movies, comedies, Die Hard, Predator, etc.  A good 1/3 rd or more of the DVDs are big/action/adventure movies you would want to watch on a big screen.  Guests seem to enjoy the surprise of finding a good movie they haven't seen in a while.  You can find good deals on variety packs of DVDs on eBay to build a small collection.

To add to what others have said, you need to be open and honest with your agent or broker about the specifics of the house, amenities, and any specific risks.  If you're going to have a hot tub, tell them and make sure coverage is included.  If you're going to allow dogs make sure guests dogs are covered and be aware of breed restrictions and then sync your house rules to the breed restrictions. 

We had one in Helen, GA, with a 1/1 downstairs and a 3/2 upstairs. When we bought it, it was doing $33k, and in our first full year, we did $80k.

As far as the upstairs vs downstairs, we did a parent/child listing and offered all three.  We set up the pricing to encourage longer bookings further out for the whole thing and then the upstairs 3/2. The basement 1/1 with a hot tub stayed full and did well booking at the last minute so we kept prices higher there longer. The previous owners left a lot of money on the table because they never offered it together, and those were some of the most valuable and longest bookings.

The main issue we encountered was noise transmitting through the floor. We had a couple of inconsiderate guests upstairs and sensitive guests downstairs. We minimized this by adding white noise machines, foam earplugs on the nightstands, and box fans in the closet. In the listings, we made it very clear that you are NOT renting the whole place, and noise transmission was possible, both in the descriptions, messages, and photos. We asked guests to be considerate on that front.  

We added pictures with a box and arrow pointing to the door so everyone was clear on what part they were renting, and we had cutout black metal signs made on Etsy that we put in the landscaped area with the name of the unit next to the entrance of each unit. Overall, it worked out really well. The units, rented separately, were always rented for a slight discount to comparable, freestanding properties, so I think most guests understood the value.

Quote from @Andre Lai:

Hello all,

New here and trying to learn different real estate strategies. I currently own a triplex that I am house-hacking. I've been looking into Airbnb for years but never pulled the trigger. What is the current viability of it now? Especially with the high likelihood that 100% bonus depreciation will be coming back. 

Where is your triplex?  Have you considered turning one of the three units in your triplex into a STR?  Perhaps you have a unit coming up for rent, and you could dip your toe in by converting it from an annual rental into a STR.  You could learn a lot without taking on much risk and you'd be right next door, so you could keep a close watch on it and even potentially do the turnovers yourself to earn the cleaning fee—just a thought.  If you want to post or DM me the address, I can send you some revenue projections or comps.

I'll second what @Andrew Steffens said. I've done two DSCR loans, and they used AirDNA data for the projections. One of the two was an existing STR with a killer income history, and they wouldn't even use it, they used the AirDNA projection.

BNBCalc is the underwriting tool for STR I like using the best, but as others have said, you really have to roll up your sleeves and dig into comparable properties. I like BNBCalc because you can set up defaults and plug properties in much faster than a spreadsheet, adjust them more efficiently, and know there isn't a formula error creeping around in the background from a typo.

Regarding how to roll up your sleeves and dig into comparables, John Bianchi has a video series on YouTube that's an MBA in forecasting STR income. He has a method where you build a buy box by analyzing top performers in the market, comb through the market looking for them, and then set up searches for your buy boxes so you create a steady stream of listings that fit your buy box without wasting time or forgetting to go back and look at that market you were interested in a few weeks ago. This method is far superior to going to Zillow, looking at random listings, and running them through a calculator. He teaches you how to look at a market, understand why specific properties are performing how they are, and ID the must-have features and amenities.

Quote from @Ashley W.:

I also have heard recently about a website called VACASA. I have not looked into it much, but had a friend reach out to me to say that he and his family will only book through that website for their vacations. 

VACASA is the largest property management company for STRs in the US.  To have your property on their website, you have to list your home with them.  They've been struggling with managing 40,000+ homes.  https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VCSA/

Congratulations @Scott E..  My wife and I have recently started a similar journey following a similar thought process and background.  I'm also curious for an update.  Now that a year has passed, my question is, what have been the most effective strategies for finding clients?