Tell us about an STR investment you made that didn't go well

[Sean Bramble]

Anyone out there willing to share some of their war stories? What went wrong? What did you learn from the experience?

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Sean Bramble:

Anyone out there willing to share some of their war stories? What went wrong? What did you learn from the experience?

 I bought a house in 2019 that was owned by the same man for over 40 years. The property was on a well in an area where water can be hard to come by, but he hit a good vein and said he never ran out of water. Perfect. We spent six months renovating and preparing it for a vacation rental. During that time, we washed laundry, ran the sinks, flushed toilets, etc. We never ran out of water. Our first guests showed up and ran out of water in the first 30 minutes. They waited several hours and it came back on, then they quickly ran out again. We thought it was a fluke. A few guests later, it happens again. And again. We gave guests warnings and advice to space out their water use and it worked after that, but we were on pins and needles all summer.

Turns out the well pump sucks water for about 10 -15 minutes and then runs out. It takes an hour or more for the pit to collect enough water and pump again. When guests show up after a road trip and all hop in the shower or start doing laundry, it overwhelms the pump and it can't keep up. 

Solution: we installed a 2,000 gallon cistern with a float sensor. Now the water pumps into the cistern and keeps it topped off. If guests burn through 500 gallons of water quickly, it doesn't matter because the pump fills it back up overnight. Now nobody runs out of water and we don't even have to worry about it. And if the pump ever fails, I can just fill the cistern with water delivery to get the guests through until the pump is replaced.