First Time Buyer, Hudson Valley/Catskills: City or Mountain?

[Katharine G.]

Good morning!

Not new to the podcast and currently reading The Book on Rental Property Investing, but new-ish to the forums/site and admittedly green. 

I live in NYC and have been saving steadily for a home purchase; I don't have enough to buy the kind of apartment I'd like in the city, but for half or a third of the price, I could buy a home upstate in the Hudson Valley. (FWIW, my rent is very affordable and I can comfortably handle a monthly payment on a house after downpayment etc.) Looking for STR as opposed to long term tenants; I work from home and am happy to add this as an additional job. The idea would be to purchase a home that I AirBnb/VRBO out but also have the ability to use when it isn't booked; profit would be great, but I would settle for paying it off (or even mostly) with renters. After researching the towns along the Hudson and making a trip, my initial thought had been to purchase a home in Kingston. I love this area and it seems there are still deals. As time has passed and I've done more research, I've been wondering if would be wiser to purchase more of a Vacation Rental in a ski area like Hunter/Windham. Selfishly, it's more appealing. It would be nice to have a home that's distinctly different from my NYC apartment (mountain as opposed to town) and it also seems there might be more profit to be made on a ski/mountain rental. At present I'm looking at homes that don't need FULL reno--mostly aesthetic fixes/updating, but still fixer uppers to an extent. 20% down and leaving ample cushion (I think) for reno etc. On the right track? Is a mountain purchase a terrible idea? Glaring factors I might not be considering?

Also: Any HV investors (bonus if you're NYC based, also bonus if you're female) interested in meeting up/chatting--particularly those in the STR game?

Open to any/all suggestions and opinions. Thank you in advance!

[Raul R.]

@Katharine Gentsch

Make sure you understand the local laws concerning vacation rentals and also be aware they may change..

Not sure how much traveling you plan to do expect more managing will be needed for frequent turn over compare to a buy a hold investment property.

I invest OOS and being doing it for several years, in the beginning I travel more than I would like now I have a good system in place pretty much travel just for new acquisitions.

If you will be doing it by a far making sure you have your boots in the ground / team is even more important..