Rental Arbitrage in Central Oregon

[David Robertson]

Hello! 

My wife and I are very new to the real estate investment world and still learning a lot. So far the rental arbitrage strategy seems like the right first step in our investment journey (we need to increase monthly cash flow, and the management experience will be helpful as we move forward). We currently live in Redmond, OR. Does anyone know about how STR laws in the Central Oregon region might affect using this strategy? Has anyone more experienced found success with this strategy in Central Oregon or otherwise have pointers?

Thanks so much for your input.

[Bonnie Low]

The City of Bend has very strict STR regulations. They only allow one permit per so many sq. feet in a neighborhood (I think it's 250 sq ft radius but don't quote me). The good news is that the city's website has pretty good, up to date maps that show you whether a property you're looking at would be eligible for the permit. They're mostly filled, but they do come up from time to time. So if you're thinking about rental arbitrage as a STR, be very, very careful about these permit requirements. Also, you would need the owner of the property to apply for the STR permit. It's not something you, as a leasee, would be able to obtain. I don't know the regs for mid term rentals, though, and your post doesn't mention if you're planning to arbitrage STR or MTR.