Buying Multiple STR's as a Newbie

[Michael Harris]

Hi everyone!

I am a 26 year old from Colorado that finally feels ready to take the jump in to buying some investment properties. After a lot of thought, I keep coming back to the short term rental space. I am a lender who has been fortunate enough to save up a good chunk of money over the past couple years. I have enough liquid funds to the point where I could buy multiple properties in different markets and still have a good amount of savings. 

There is a couple reasons that I am considering the STR space.

1) love to travel and it gives me an excuse to do more of it. I know from a pure investment stand point that this doesn't make a difference, but I figure if it gives me a little motivation to work on finding deals it can't be a bad thing.

2) My wife is currently a stay at home mom who has been wanting to find some extra work to keep her busy. I have full confidence that between us we would be able to figure out how to manage STR's long distance. I actually think she would enjoy it.

3) I like the idea of purchasing properties in different areas as a way of diversifying. My thoughts are that if for example I own a home in Branson, Phoenix, and the Smoky Mountains I would be more protected than if I owned three properties in the same area.

Any advice options would be greatly appreciated. My main concerns are based around future STR restrictions, STR's in the case of a recession, and starting having no experieince in the STR space.

To everyone out there helping newbies like me, thank you!