Candidate STR in Shenandoah valley: Harrisonburg/Bridgewater, VA

[Greg Moran]

Howdy BP Community, 

Need your help with my first look at a short-term rental (STR) deal. Thanks to @Michael H. Cook we've identified candidate properties that would work well for STR in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  I'm hesitating because this would represent a major upgrade to the active-ness of my passive real estate income.  From my first pass at the numbers (and confirmed by the AirDNA calculator) there is a lot of meat on this prospective deal, but I want to go in with my eyes wide open. My intent on this deal is to grow my portfolio cash flow, while automating as much as possible to stay as PASSIVE as possible.  

What areas could I be overlooking that would come back to bite me?

Basically I'm looking for encouragement/advice/wisdom from anyone who's taken the plunge into STR operations. Thanks in advance!

I'm covered/comfortable with: 

• REI Closing process,
• Mortgage process, 
• Finding property management, 
• Finding yard/maintenance contracts, 
• Basic Rental Operations

May need help with:

• Creative funding options
• Balancing the rehab/design budget to maximize the AirBNB "experience" but not to "over-improve" the property
• Estimating rehab costs based on the aforementioned design
• Energy Efficiency (appliances, windows, HVAC, etc.)
• Branding and Marketing
• Additional ways to automate STR operations.

Thanks in advance for being a part of this conversation!!