Franklin Square, NY · Member since 2019 · 32 posts · 10 votes
I'm currently looking into towns that are good for STRs. I currently own an STR in Gatlinburg, Tn and I am thinking of buying another property in a similar town maybe in a different state. Any suggestions?
Florida is obviously booming right now in general but especially with the STR market.
We own and operate 30+ Airbnb/STR's here in St Pete, Florida for over the last 5 years and we've seen some incredible year over year growth. Supply still trending well below demand.
Buying right and strategic renovations is still vital. Along with highly process orientated management systems are key to command premium rates and stay ahead of the pack. Also make sure you understand the market and seasonality. Know when to push rates during season and when to shift to 1-2 month stays for the slower season. Hint: Traveling nurses are awesome for this gap filler.
Hope that helps!
@Avery Carl incredibly insightful podcast on BiggerPockets btw, shared it with my STR team. Thank you!
I'm currently looking into towns that are good for STRs. I currently own an STR in Gatlinburg, Tn and I am thinking of buying another property in a similar town maybe in a different state. Any suggestions?
Ahhh, a fellow northerner investing the south. I’d def pick a tourist town in the south, there’s lots of them. No one visits Woodstock in November. Or February. Or maybe just buy another property in Gatlinburg? Or across the border in NC? Or maybe beachfront in NC or SC? Soooo many great opportunities down south.... weather was dreadful here in the northeast again today. Sheets of ice. Blegh
Hey @Brandon Bonfiglio, I am not on the only in the south bandwagon. You might look at some places that feature year round sports. Places that have great skiing in winter and great summer sports.
Maybe Whitefish MT. It will of course depending on your budget. Breckenridge maybe. Pretty pricey. I was thinking of Sandpoint, ID as well. Up the road from our current rental. On Lake Pend 'Orielle. Very close to top notch skiing and the lake for summer.
So @Brandon Bonfiglio, my place is a bit unique. We bought it as a place for us and then decided to rent it when we weren't using it. Right now it pays for itself with a small profit. That is when I don't have a major expense like the A/C unit that went out this summer.
We are on Lake Coeur d'Alene. The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes runs right in front of our house which is a 72 mile bike trail then our beach.
We are far from skiing and the like so it is a single season rental. We do get some bumpers with early June riders and late Sept riders and fisherfolks. I did have my first Thanksgiving family this year.
I do plan on meeting with the HR dept of the small hospital local to us and the school district to see about longer term short rentals for visiting medical folks and teachers.
So, I don't think we are the best comparison for a pure investment. I suppose if I could do it again I would try something with a bit more 4 season ability. Sandpoint ID is a decent place like I said. One of the best small towns in America. I grew up in the area where our house is so...there ya go!
Why not grab another place in the Smokeys? It seems to have it all really. I am looking there for our next place. That would be for investment. I can't just drive over. :)
Don't bother with Coffeyville Kansas. In '17 and '18 we were the worst town to live in Kansas according to Google. I did my own research in '18. Our per capita homicide rate was right behind Baltimore and Chicago.
Florida is obviously booming right now in general but especially with the STR market.
We own and operate 30+ Airbnb/STR's here in St Pete, Florida for over the last 5 years and we've seen some incredible year over year growth. Supply still trending well below demand.
Buying right and strategic renovations is still vital. Along with highly process orientated management systems are key to command premium rates and stay ahead of the pack. Also make sure you understand the market and seasonality. Know when to push rates during season and when to shift to 1-2 month stays for the slower season. Hint: Traveling nurses are awesome for this gap filler.
Hope that helps!
@Avery Carl incredibly insightful podcast on BiggerPockets btw, shared it with my STR team. Thank you!
@Brandon Bonfiglio - I'm a Realtor and Investor in Destin, and you can most definitely cash flow around here. The income and occupancy in very seasonal (i.e. For one of my units, I charge $1000/nt in peak season and $125/nt in off season), and I've had a lot of clients who really enjoy the seasonality of it. They can come visit their awesome beach houses in the off season without hurting their bottom line!
Historic downtown Mount Dora FL is a really cool historic area with a huge demand for STR year-round. It doesn't get as much coverage in national lists since it's a small pocket without the volume of Kissimmee. Most STRs are single family bungalows and small 2/2 and 3/2 houses under 1500sf within walking and biking distance of downtown (Centered around 5th Ave and Donnelly). The older and more character the home has, the better. Newer block homes 1-1.5 miles outside of the central town still do well also, especially if kid and pet friendly. There are frequent street festivals downtown and plenty of markets and eclectic restaurants to draw people in even when there is no official festival. Most VRBO and AirBnb listings are booked solid through May currently.
The city and residents and visitors love the old historic vibe and do not want large hotels there. The small businesses downtown thrive on foot traffic. As such, the city is very STR friendly and many guests come back year after year. It is only about 40 minutes to Disney, but most go to Mount Dora for the old Florida enjoyment away from blatant tourism of the plastic mouse ears. Little 2/1 bungalows in Mt. Dora average $120-130/night, 3/2 houses can easily do $150-180/night. Good houses in the desirable areas can be found for $200-250k. As long term rentals they may only bring $1500-1600/mo for a 3/2, but STR runs much better numbers.
How do you get a hold of the traveling nurses for your STRs? I belong to about 10 traveling nurse Facebook groups and got 1 reply for my STR, and the price was too high for her. Do you rent individual rooms to the nurses? What is your house configuration? I have a 2/1, so 2 nurses would have to share the bathroom. Thank you!
Check out the Kissimmee and Four Corners areas near Disney World for your next STR. Just make sure the HOA is STR friendly.
Chuck, i traveled to kissimmee a while ago and i like it very much. But i am in Colorado now. How do you suggest to manage long distance short term rental? Thanks!
@Ashley Zhang I have a local property manager on the ground in Kissimmee that handles the cleanings, pool care, pest control, maintenance and has a toll free number for the guests to call in case of an emergency. I keep the villa rented via VRBO and keep my calendar synced with my property manager. Many property managers will also coordinated keeping your villa rented but I preferred to do it myself. I should also mention I travel to the area several times a year and stay in my villa to vacation and to check on how things are running.
How do you get a hold of the traveling nurses for your STRs? I belong to about 10 traveling nurse Facebook groups and got 1 reply for my STR, and the price was too high for her. Do you rent individual rooms to the nurses? What is your house configuration? I have a 2/1, so 2 nurses would have to share the bathroom. Thank you!
Start by automating as much as you can. It property management system such as smoobu or owner reservations can handle incoming bookings, it can handle automated email responses, calendar management,
good quality vacation rental lock that will handle check-in and check-out
there's a lot of self-management advice already posted and people who give you input on this
avoid the high-priced property managers. They add little value if you know what you're doing
Facebook groups are a good idea however I use Zillow and Facebook marketplace to cast a wide net. The key is use the title "Short term rental" or "Fully furnished". Also be sure to set the term for monthly or less than 6 months. This usually generates plenty of leads from all types of traveling workers and digital nomads.
However we have found that referrals is a great way we generate leads. We make sure the nurses that stay with us are taken care of and we ask if they can please let all their colleagues know about us. We are flexible with the length of stay they need, have reasonable prices, and give referral credits if they send anyone our way.
Also reach out to any company headquarters that are in your area. Headquarters are usually doing a lot of 2-3 month tainings for new employees who need temp housing.
@Ashley Zhang I have a local property manager on the ground in Kissimmee that handles the cleanings, pool care, pest control, maintenance and has a toll free number for the guests to call in case of an emergency. I keep the villa rented via VRBO and keep my calendar synced with my property manager. Many property managers will also coordinated keeping your villa rented but I preferred to do it myself. I should also mention I travel to the area several times a year and stay in my villa to vacation and to check on how things are running.
Thank you Chuck! Synced with your calendar is a good idea! I like the idea that you also travel there several times to make sure thing are right. I am thinking the same thing, i love to buy property in the place i wanna go, so i can enjoy the property while earning income for me. It sounds like finding a reliable PM is the key. Do you have any strategy on how to find a good PM? Thank you again!
Facebook groups are a good idea however I use Zillow and Facebook marketplace to cast a wide net. The key is use the title "Short term rental" or "Fully furnished". Also be sure to set the term for monthly or less than 6 months. This usually generates plenty of leads from all types of traveling workers and digital nomads.
However we have found that referrals is a great way we generate leads. We make sure the nurses that stay with us are taken care of and we ask if they can please let all their colleagues know about us. We are flexible with the length of stay they need, have reasonable prices, and give referral credits if they send anyone our way.
Also reach out to any company headquarters that are in your area. Headquarters are usually doing a lot of 2-3 month tainings for new employees who need temp housing.