Costs related to short-term rentals vs long-term rentals

[Matyndia Oyourou]

Hello, I am starting on my real estate investing journey. My goal is to buy a multi-family unit and house hack in Houston, Texas. I am trying to decide between renting out the remaining units short-term vs long-term and would like to know the costs involved with each. What are the fixed and variable costs associated with having a short-term rental vs long-term rental? What are some unexpected costs? Thank you in advance for your valuable feedback!

[January Johnson]

Quote from @Matyndia Oyourou:

Hello, I am starting on my real estate investing journey. My goal is to buy a multi-family unit and house hack in Houston, Texas. I am trying to decide between renting out the remaining units short-term vs long-term and would like to know the costs involved with each. What are the fixed and variable costs associated with having a short-term rental vs long-term rental? What are some unexpected costs? Thank you in advance for your valuable feedback!

You also have the "cost" of your time, which will vary a lot, especially as you ramp up while learning the STR ropes. After 10 years of hosting, I don't spend much time each month on my 4 STRs, but newbies who like to watch their cameras, obsess about a lot of (often unnecessary) details, and pile on a bunch of tech (channel managers, dynamic pricing tools, etc.) all at once will spend MUCH more in time, and that's worth something for sure.