Should I AIRBNB this one???

[Joshua Feit]

BP!

I have 10 rental units in Atlanta, and like everyone else, have been having a harder time finding solid deals that produce the way my current ones do. So, I've been thinking about getting creative and trying something new to me -- AIRBNB.

I'm a mountain biker, and I found a property that would appeal to me as a renter. It's a duplex (3/2, 2/1) that needs a complete cosmetic overhaul + HVAC, but has a lot of character (exposed brick, large deck, unique rooms, etc.). It also has a small garage that potentially could be a third efficiency unit.

It's on two acres of land that backs up to one of the best mountain bike trail systems in the Atlanta region. I think it would be a fun place to rent out for a few days and go biking right out the back door.

They want $204K for it (it's been on the market for 100 days), and I bet they would take a good bit less. I would think it would take about $90K to get both units looking great and ready for short term rental, plus maybe $10-20K to landscape the property, add a fire pit, porch swings, etc. Down the road, another $20-25K to turn the garage into an efficiency unit.

I went through the steps, and AIRBNB seemed to recommend starting the 3BR unit off around $70/night and anticipated about a 60% occupancy rate.

Okay, so there's the basics. My question:

How can I tell if this would be a good AIRBNB rental? It's hard to do the numbers, since there are several unknowns. Any ideas about how to calculate the return? Any other tips in making the decision?

Thank you for the help!

[Jake Cohen]

@Joshua Feit I dove into Airbnb about a year ago in Colorado. I had been focusing on long term rentals but ran a hotel for 5 years and thought I might enjoy short term rentals more. So I sold a property in Denver and bought a duplex in Steamboat Springs, a great ski/biking town. We spent 2.5 months fixing it up and it has been going gang busters ever since we posted it in January. It has done so well, I just sold my other 4 plex in Denver and bought a triplex to do the same thing. We are just getting the listings ready to post. I think it’s a great way to invest in Real estate and have found it more fun than managing long term tenants. You asked about evaluating the property to know how it’ll do. While there are a lot of factors, there are a couple sites that give you at least an estimate to make some projections. I like www.eliotandme.com, the Airbnb and VRBO estimates on their sites and if I am serious about a property will do a market report with www.pricelabs.co . I also called around to some property managers in the area to discuss management. While I ended up deciding to self manage, they each have a rental estimate as well. If you find you don’t like managing you already have an idea of who to call to manage your place. Good luck! If you have any specific questions let me know.