Price of entry too high?

[Pamela V.]

Hi, everyone. My husband and I have been saving for almost a year to invest in our first rental. To me, STR is the only thing that makes sense for us, as we are 40 with 2 kids, and looking for the highest cash flow possible to allow for quick scaling and then freedom from the 9-5. (I recognize that the halcyon days are behind us, and this may still be a 5-10 year process.)

I have been reading the books and listening to the podcasts, so I pulled a pricelabs market analysis on our first choice (dream) market, and then looked at the MLS to determine what price range we would be looking at. 🤯 Went to our more local second choice, driving distance market— 🤯. Million dollar and up for even modest properties, 2 or 3 BRs, no pool or beach front.

Silly me was proud of saving almost 30k this year, when it will likely not even get us close to our goal of 2024 purchase. How do you even get into these beach STR markets as an average person? We make decent money, but it sounds like off-market deals are slim pickings these days, and I doubt we would qualify for a 900k mortgage. A bit of quick math at second home mortgage rates also tells me that breaking even with MLS prices the way they are right now would be a stretch.

I’m happy to put the work in to find a deal, and be patient, but unless you already have a cash flowing property to provide substantial leverage, I can’t see how this is realistic for an average person. Am I relegated to B markets? LTRs in small cities? I am missing a piece of the puzzle I think. 

Help! 

TIA….