STR friendly places in PA and upstate NY?

Question

Hi, im thinking of buying a STR in PA(pocono lake, East Stroudsburg, etc) or Upstate NY. But, i heard there are many restrictive zones in these areas. If anyone knows of a good market without restrictive zones, please let me know.
And if anyone knows a good investor-friendly realtor, please recommend it. Thank you so much!!

Frank Barletta · Answer

I disagree with Allison on this. The Poconos are saturated with Airbnbs, so they have imposed many restrictions in many communities. It's all competition now, so you'll have to be the best at pricing, amenities, and unique aspects of the property to stand out.It can be done since most hosts suck ass.We invest in the Hudson Valley. It has grown in popularity but still has opportunities in various towns/locations depending on what you're seeking in style/returns/etc. Feel free to ping me if you want to chat more.

Allison Craft · Answer

Hey Mark! Absolutely! I am happy to share my actual numbers, I wish more people would! I said I was averaging about $10k per month. You are right.. I had some months where I only made $7k and the summer months I killed it. You are exactly right there. But my average revenue is $10,393 over the course of mid Feb (when I went live) to August. If I add in my Sep #'s it would be averaging $10,192. I am still getting booked in Sep through Dec. So, I will have a better picture when I get through the rest of the year. Here are my numbers so far:

Mike Shemp · Answer

Do you research with some areas in the Poconos as some of the areas in my opinion do not feel safe from a crime standpoint.Mike

Mark Miles · Answer

Yeah I agree with Frank. The Poconos has always been hit or miss (unlike Smoky Mountains or Panhandle or Tampa where you have way more successful STRs), but right now the Poconos is worse than ever:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530/topics/1157934-shor...

Mark Miles · Answer

Hey Allison, your place looks great! Congrats on the nice work!Though I can’t imagine how you’re averaging $10k per month. Maybe in July and August yes, but during the rest of the year Poconos homes mostly only book on weekends. Which means you would need to be charging $2000 to 2500 per weekend in March, April, May, September, October, November. And I simply can’t imagine you would stay consistently booked at those very high nightly rates.You have a very nice home, but there are plenty of homes that are similar to yours that are nearby to yours that are charging $500-$1000 per weekend in March, April, May, September, October, November. So I can’t imagine you’re getting anywhere near $10,000 in those months? Care to share more about how you’re averaging $10,000 per month?! Feel free to post your Airbnb revenue graph if that really shows you averaging $10,000 per month.Not being a hater, just genuinely curious 😊And congrats again on your success!

Matt Schreiber · Answer

@Jiwon Lee I wouldn't get scared off from the Poconos. We just bought a lakefront house there in March and its been booked every single weekend since then. I think it has to be Lakefront or look awesome with a lot of cool stuff at the house like the one @Allison Craft posted. I'd say just do your research on the community that you are going to buy in to make sure STR's are allowed and to find out all of the fees. The township was pretty annoying with us getting our permit. You have to follow a huge list of things and then you need to get a permit for the Hot Tub which is like a three step process. I personally wouldn't buy anything that isn't already a permitted STR because I wouldn't want to go through all the steps to make sure it is ready. Having said that, once it is live, it's the best returns I've seen on any of my properties. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1111771075384519481?adults=8&am...

Mark Miles · Answer

That’s impressive, well done!! 🙌🙌

Tim Foley · Answer

I am a real estate agent in the Albany area and am closing on my own STR soon. Surely some locations are saturated, but the demand from NYC area folks coming Upstate is still high. Portions of the Catskills & Adirondacks are good locations, as well as Saratoga (if you can find an affordable property). You definitely need to do homework on local restrictions. Reach out to me directly if you want me to help you find a great property.

Allison Craft · Answer

I completely agree with Matt here. The permit process was stressful but I got through it. I had to get permits from the township and the community I am in. It was a pain but I am booked every single weekend and if you look at my listing, I am completely booked the entire month of July and August. Every weekend is booked through October. My total gross revenue is averaging $10k a month. Yes, the Poconos area is saturated but I still believe if you buy the right property in the right spot and you invest in design and amenities, you will do very well. There are millions of people who live in NY, Philly, NJ.. all driving distance.. there is still demand in the Poconos area. If you are wanting to buy a short term rental, I would reach out to John Bianchi with STR Search. He analyzes Airbnb data all day long and finds properties for his clients. He can even give projections on how much that property will make.

Allison Craft · Answer

The best place to look is this website here:Pocono Vacation Homes for Sale (poconovacationhomesales.com)For me personally, I own an Airbnb in the Penn Estates community. It is an HOA but is it STR friendly. But even though it is STR friendly, the HOA staff there are terrible. They are very mean to guests and not respectful to any STR owner. A lot of the residental owners want the investment properties out. But the issue with that is, the STR owners bring in so much revenue to the community. The HOA is money hungry so they will never ban short term rentals. Anyway, I think the Poconos area is a great place to invest. You have to stand out from the competition to do well since there are so many rentals there. But I am booked solid all summer and every weekend is booked in Sep and Oct. The demand is there if you give a good product! Here is my listing: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/888987869071828372?photo_id=183...