Thoughts on Canyon Lake, TX

[William Brock]

I recently posed this same question regarding Lake LBJ & Lago Vista, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with STRs in Canyon Lake, TX? I only have long term rentals and am looking at investing in a lake house to use myself a couple times a year, but to rent the rest of the time. So my questions are:

• What are the annual occupancy rates? Good or bad relative to other nearby
• What means to you use to come up with your nightly rates?
• Anyone using Evolve Vacation Rental management or other companies? TurnKey? Vacasa?
• What's your ROI? This number seems to be somewhat tricky to nail down.
• Are there better or worse areas to invest or watch out for, for whatever reason?
• Any tips or tricks?

Thanks for any and all advice and have a great week!

[William Brock]

So, looking at my airbnb numbers, (which is the only online service I use for the time being), I was booked 61% for 2019. I have talked to others in the area and it really is hit or miss, but good management and a professional listing really seems to make the difference. That being said, I seem to be doing better than most.

I had a couple large ticket items to fix last year that really ate into my profits, but I still ended up positive and with a great retreat from the city that pays for itself. This year our rents are higher than last year and we're booking like crazy, probably going to be closer to 70% occupancy, all due to 130+ reviews and sitting at 4.89/5 rating and a SuperHost badge (those things matter) as of 2 months ago, I have even more ratings now. But, I am expecting a much better year than last if I can keep the maintenance costs down. Last year was around only a 5% ROI after all the issues I went through. This year I'm hoping realistically for 20%+ ROI. It's been a learning process but worth it in the end. Ask me in a couple years and who knows how I'll feel lol.

Dealing with that many different people who are renting the property can be exhausting at times, but putting good systems in place really helps alleviate most extra work and stress. I can't stress enough that getting good systems in place is the key to success. After this year I should have a better grasp on how the property will probably perform going forward.