Big success for first STR how to grow from here?

[Collyn Bennett]

Mid 2022 I listed my first short term rental. It is a detached garage that I converted into a guest house. I designed the floorplan, finishes, and even did almost all of the renovations. This place has been almost 100% booked since.

I'm well over 200 reviews with an average rating of 4.99 stars. I've even had a couple guests comment on how they will now start visiting Indianapolis because they found my place.

I've been very surprised with the amount of love my place has received, and now I'm looking at how I can apply the same ideas to more properties. I tried going it alone with hard money on one property, and for a variety of reasons that deal didn't work out as I had hoped. 

What would be your advice on how to expand my portfolio from here? I'm self-employed so traditional financing is limiting factor.

[Adam Windham]

@Collyn Bennett second the above, the DSCR loan is probably the best financing option for scalability. These loans can be underwritten with projected short term rental income from sites like AirDNA and Rabbu, if the property doesn't have prior operating history. I just recommend doing your due diligence and make sure you work with a lender that understands short term rentals, a lot of DSCR lenders out there claim they can do short term rentals, but really try to underwrite with standard long term rental / market rental rates and most of the time that does not work out and the deal falls apart or gets re-traded on terms.