STR - How much rennovation & To use a property manager or not?

[Akash Kakumani]

The location is more accurately 

coachella, CA 

The location box didn't have that city so I put what I saw was closest. Anyways onto my question:

There are a lot of tax incentives to having an STR if you do it yourself. This would be my very first purchase in a new market (I'm from norcal) and I'm worried about taking on the burden of managing. I found one property manager that will help me accomplish the requirements for meeting the tax needs as well and only requires 10%. But this manager is less experienced than another property manager that will take 20% and has 50 properties. The other option is I say screw it and manage it myself. Which direction do you recommend?

Also both property managers have recommended that I at minimum have a pool installed in the house since it's hot in this area. One property manager (10%) is more flexible and says that I can get away with 100-150K of rennovations (including pool which is 80K), whereas the other (20%) property manager says I would need to do 200K to get the returns I'm looking for. So - how much rennovation do you think is necessary? 

It's a 5 bedroom 3 bath with 2800 sqft. I intend on expanding the bedrooms since that's what the market seems to really like (the more bedrooms the better) based on conversations. 

Also unrelated question - is there a way to connect and speak to someone live for a full consultation on this website? I'd love to go over my spreadsheet and assumptions as I'm for lack of a better term "******** bricks" with this first property :) 

Thanks for your help!

[Bradley Buxton]

@Akash Kakumani

AirBnb STRs are all about experiences for your guests. What are the most popular features of other rentals in the area and do you have something that can out-compete them to get the booking? Reducing vacancies will be very important in a competitive market. There are 800 Airbnb active accounts where I am in Tahoe, NV. Some are booked all the time and others not so much. The properties that are consistently booked have game rooms, entertainment decks, views, and hot tubs. What is important to people visiting Coachella? Seems like a pool would be important, Are you able to find a house with a pool already installed and then make improvements to the pool and be able to add a kid's playroom or outdoor entertainment area? Also, check with the property managers and ask if you can interview 2-3 current clients of theirs. AirDNA can help and do research on airbnb on top properties to see what properties amenities they have an if they are booked for the popular times already.