Looking for Vacation Rentals in NY state, 2-3 hours away from NYC

[Account Closed]

I'm interested in buying a vacation rental in a New York neighborhood that's zoned for vacation rentals. I want to be 2-3 hours away from NYC. Any BP members own vacation rentals in New York? If so, which areas do you favor? Also, what's a realistic forecast for cash flow in your preferred area for self-managed properties?

[Mark Miles]

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

I'm interested in buying a vacation rental in a New York neighborhood that's zoned for vacation rentals. I want to be 2-3 hours away from NYC. Any BP members own vacation rentals in New York? If so, which areas do you favor? Also, what's a realistic forecast for cash flow in your preferred area for self-managed properties?

You & me both! Sadly it's tough to make strong returns with STR in the northern half of the US.

I tend to buy in the Southern half of the US for 2 reasons:

1) you get much higher year-round occupancy rates in the South & it's simply tough to earn a good ROI in the North if your place sits vacant for a big chunk of the year

2) Culturally, the Southern half of the US seems to be a lot more accepting of STRs regulation-wise. A lot of these southern beach & mountain towns have been supporting STR for 75+ years, long before Airbnb was a thing, so they're very comfortable with it and it's a built-in part of the community.

A lot of Northern places are FREAKING OUT over STRs & STR regulations & they don’t seem to be very supportive of it. So, in the North, best case you’re fighting an uphill battle with a lot of uncertainty. Worst case, it gets outlawed in a town AFTER you’ve bought a place there & now you have to sell at a HUGE loss bc there’s no buyer demand once STR use is banned! I’ve seen it happen...

As you can see, I’m not the only person on here with this viewpoint. As you can see from this thread that I’ll link to, most of the experienced investors on here are also heavily invested in the Southern half of the US!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Also, keep in mind, if you’re looking 2-3 hrs away from nyc then you’ll be managing it remotely anyway, so might as well remotely manage a place that will actually make you big money down south.

Though, if you’re REEEEAAALLLLYYY set on investing in the Northeast, I’d go with Vermont or New Hampshire bc they’re the only legit ski places in the northeast. Not to mention the amazing fall foliage! Anywhere else in the northeast just doesn’t capture enough year-round traffic.

“Wise Northerners invest in the South” -Mark Miles