Looking to Expand My Portfolio, How to get Started

[Nicole Johnson]

Greetings,

I am a 45-year-old individual seeking to expand my investment portfolio with additional properties. Currently, my husband and I manage four Airbnb listings. We own two of these properties, while the other two are leased and operated as Airbnbs. Notably, the leased properties are located outside the United States, and we manage them remotely.

We have our downpayment saved and approximately $450,000 in combined equity from our existing properties. We would greatly appreciate any advice on promising markets, recommendations for reliable agents and lenders, as well as insights on how to proceed as newcomers to the industry. Our experience is in short-term rentals, but we are open to the idea of being landlords if we find the right property.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

[Shawn McCormick]

@Nicole Johnson welcome to the forums and congrats on your progress so far! I think we need to know more about your goals to start. Are you looking to supplement your income, replace your income, leave a legacy for your kids, keep scaling and figure it out as you go? If you have figured out STR's and enjoy it, maybe that is the formula for you. Are you risk adverse? Diversifying can be a risk if you don't know all the nuances, the learning curve isnt' as steep as STR, but if you are looking OOS, that presents new challenges.

If STR is the path, are there places you like to vacation, that is always a good place to start. You get some income and have a few places that you get to vacation that you enjoy. I'm in Orlando and see this so much, people with young families will buy a STR because they will be coming here 1-2 X a year for the next 10-15 years. Orlando is literally built for STR as you won't have to get wrapped up in learning and keeping up with regulations and nosy neighbors, I'd be happy to talk to you about that more.

Florida in general has always been very attractive for landlords due to friendly landlord laws, constant flow of new residents, weather, pricing compared to many other large metros, always growing economy and endless hospitality/service jobs that feed the rental market. Cash flow can be difficult to achieve, but appreciation has been pretty great for about a decade.

Hope this helps a little, reach out if I can provide more info.

Best of luck!