Looking to invest in an out of state Airbnb

[Mike Stillwater]

I'm looking to research invest in an out of state Airbnb at a tourist location.  I've never done an Airbnb before and was wondering if anyone knows of a great guide I can read to help me choose the property and find the necessary property management.   It should be managed professionally just like our other rentals but I know there is more to it than a traditional rental and added costs plus different marketing.  

I'm also looking to use it as a place we can use for like a couple of weeks a year for our personal vacations.  (I'm not sure if that complicates things)  There looks to be properties available in our price range but I'm pretty new and am not sure how to analyze a property for an Airbnb using the bp tools or how to determine the income possibilities for a rental.  It seems I need a very good realtor who has experience with these rentals, but first I definitely want to fully understand everything I need to know.  

[Jimmy Woodard]

@Mike Stillwater is your goal to own a vacation home or a short-term rental? If it's the former, then just pick a vacation market you like, find a realtor, hire a property manager, and call it a night.

If it's the latter, I would recommend avoiding property managers if you can. They typically charge 20-40% of gross income for work that you can do on your own spending no more than 1-2 hours per week.

There are plenty of tourist locations across the country that allow for non-owner occupied short-term rentals, you just have to google "[city] short term rental laws" to dive into the details of ones that interest you most. 

Once you've picked your city of choice, a quick shorthand you can do for high-potential properties is look for a gross yield (revenue/purchase price) > 15%. Sites like Rabbu and Airdna can help you find revenue potential based on an address. Once you find these high-potential properties, do further research on Rabbu/Airdna to find out what renovations you can add to your property to stand out from the crowd. 

Good luck and DM me if you have any further questions!