AirBnB Opportunities in Scottsdale

[JP K.]

Hello BP Community!

I wanted to reach out to the community to get some feedback on a market that I have recently visited and am interested in making an STR investment. My wife and I really loved the area, and saw a lot of potential for an investment property as the area draws a high-end residential community, as well as year round events that bring in droves of tourists.

I am looking for a 2/2 or 1/1 condo in the Camelback area (not far from downtown), that will be in the $100K to $150K range and will meet the cash flow requirements. I live in CA, so this will be ideally be under property management. 

Here are some questions I had:

1) I guess I need to step back and ask - what is the consensus on Scottsdale as a viable STR market? Or is the opinion that a long-term tenant is a better way to go?

2) Does anyone have contacts for a great property management company? What is the % range that these management companies tend to charge and what do their services entail? I have a SFR in KC, MO and property management in that area tends to be around 8-10% of gross rents.

3) I noticed that many condominium communities employ land lease fee's, how prevalent is this in the Scottsdale area?

Thank you all for taking the time and look forward to your responses!

[George Mevawala]

@JP K. I currently own/ self manage a handful of very lucrative vacation rentals in the Scottsdale market and must say 2017 continues to blow me away as I am now booked all the way until the end of May- July with all my units. 

If you follow the strategy correctly, you can make an extremely good “cash on cash” return (27-42% depending on debt services). Which in return can bring strong annual returns. I have represented several buyers and helped them in acquiring, furnishing, getting their platform started, and creating their very own rockstar vacation rental. It brings me lots of happiness, as I am a “pride of ownership “ kind of guy, and like to see everybody be happy with their investments. I am currently a super host with over 90 (4.9 star reviews on AIRBNB), and this all started with just an idea to try and make some seasonal income.

My two most recent has maintained 91% occupancy since going live in November 2017 and brought in over 20k each gross in just under 6 months. Not too shabby for under 200k investments. 

Not to mention seen over 11% appreciation each with no rehab costs. If you have any interest in taking a look at the Phoenix market, any questions about how to successfully run/ manage a short term rental ( in any city), or just want to pick my brain, feel free to reach out. I love hearing other investor perspectives. Hence why bigger pockets has been such a value add to my life! I have multiple properties that meet my criteria currently on the market, breakdown of expenses ( cleaning fees, furnishings, operating expenses, etc.) I’m more than happy to chat! Thank you, George