STR as my previous primary residence

[Alex Shah]

Hello BP Community,

I just wanted to say hi and hope to network with other members of the BP community.

Currently I am a police officer in Ontario, Canada and my wife is a teacher. We both have comfortable salaries, though, I hope to grow our portfolio as we both have aspirations of financial freedom as we two young child and want to spend as much time together, and to assist with their future finances and housing goals.

BACKGROUND

My wife and I are both 31 years old and worked very hard before our careers. We purchased our first home in St. Catharines (10 mins from Niagara Falls - within the Niagara Region). We purchased our primary residence in 2016 for $220,000 and invested approximately 30-40k. We had an appraisal that valued our home at $800,000. Awesome!!

A property came up across the street from us in a cul-de-sac that also backs onto a park (great location). We purchased this home for $880,000 and are putting $120,000 in renovations (full gut job). Agent gave us an ARV of 1.2-1.4 million when the renovations are complete (end of March/early April).

This is where I hope to get some advice on our current residence that we are going to have rented out OR what I am hoping to do, is to operate it as an STR.

1. If rented, we would need $2672 to break even, in short, we will be cashflowing very little, of any at all with a strong monthly rent.

2. As an STR, the Niagara Region (and my specific location) is very sought after. I have done extensive research with STRs in my area and purchased a subscription with airDNA for specific market research. I have watched countless hours of videos with Robuilt and Tony Robinson on Youtube as mentors. Based on my area, my property (3+2 bedroom, 2 bath) hosting 8-10 guests project $110,000 (AirDNA and BP calculator). After deductions we would profit between 30-50k.

Based on that, I feel that the STR approach is the route we should take as an investor, am I wrong? My wife is having difficult time believing that we would profit as an STR, even after seeing nightly rates/revenue provided by AirDNA.

Lastly....

Proceeding in my real estate journey, and hopefully into the American market, as a Canadian what do I need to do? What should I know? Does it change by state?

Thank you for reading the start of our journey, any advice is greatly appreciated.

Alex