Creating an Air BnB Plan

[Matt J.]

Hey everyone. We currently have 3 long term rentals that have done pretty well for us and for our next purchase, I want to dive into a short term vacation rental.

This will be located too far away from me for me to handle the turns or maintenance issues, so a lot of the operations will need to be outsourced.

Here’s what I believe I need so far.

Financing. Are there banks out there who specifically lend on a BRRRR type basis for a short term rental?

Cleaning company. I believe I’ve read a few posts about using a cleaning company to come in and take care of each turn in between guests.

Licensing with the local municipality and making sure any property is within compliance.

Handyman. Having a handyman on call for any maintenance issues will be key as well.

Furnishing the property. Tv, bedroom furniture, couch, wall decorations, etc. Any go to stores for cheap items that are durable?

Budgeting for cable/internet, utilities, and the other normal expenses involved in a real estate asset. Anything I’m missing here?

Setting up a lockbox paired with an app for guests to do self checkin along with forms for them to fill out noting any issues with the property prior to them checking in.

Amenities like a bbq/grill, patio furniture, etc. Yay or nay?

Professional photographer to really make the property stand out on air bnb and vrbo.

Price out comparable properties in the area to properly analyze deals.

Is there anything I’m missing here or that you would add?

Thanks in advance!

[Michael Baum]

Hey @Matt J., there is a lot that goes into providing a 5 star experience to guests. Here are my 2 cents:

Your cleaner and handy person is your number one consideration. They will be your boots on the ground.

Furnishing the property is also a key area. Frankly we did our house mainly with used pieces from Craigslist, OfferUP and LetGo. Go with USA made furniture and solid wood. They will hold up much better and look great. Nothing screams cheap like laminated particle board. It is amazing what good deals you can find out there.

Always go with new mattresses. I highly recommend Zinus Green Tea or the like. You can get them on sale for under $200 for a queen and under $300 for a King. They hold up really well and everyone loves them. I use a 1.5" memory foam topper and a Serta Black mattress protector over the hold thing. Works awesome. We get good reviews.

Artwork, absolutely necessary. You don't need to get really complicated or fancy. I bought nearly all of our stuff at second hand stores. Goodwill, St. Vincents etc. There are a lot of great pieces out there for next to nothing. We went a bit eclectic with a beach theme for our lake house. Try to avoid having large bare walls. Put something on there.

I have our house setup as a smart home. A simple smart home. I have a Samsung SmartThings hub that manages the thermostat and the lock. The thermostat is a Emerson Sensi and I use the Schlage Smart Connect lock. I can do everything from my couch 360 miles away. Easy to use and setup. You will need to check the furnace and make sure you can use a smart thermostat. If you have a "C" wire, then any unit will work fine. If not, the Sensi works without a "C" wire. We have A/C so it just pulls power from the unit that is not operating. Everything is Z-Wave. The lock uses AA batteries and the last a year or so.

Definitely get a grill and patio furniture. I have a Weber Genesis II 3 burner setup. It's a Weber so it is great. Many on here have charcoal. I have been buying the aluminum patio stuff from Costco. Rust free and UV resistant fabrics (Sunbrella I think). 3 years in and they still look great. If you wait until end of summer, you can get them on clearance.

You didn't say where the property is so linens can be up in the air a bit. Our home is primarily a summer rental so our sheets are a 70/30 percale weave white sheet. I can't stress enough the percale weave over the sateen. Sateen will pill up. We tossed our first set of sheets due to that in less than a year. Percale weave sheets sleep cool and crisp. I am using the Big One sets from Kohl's. They have been awesome. They are also cheap when they are on sale.

For blankets we have a ton. Both small throws for snuggling up as well as king and queen for extra warmth. The primary bedspread/comforter is the Charisma units. Costco and they are the best. They wash up great, sleep cool and hang great on the beds. Not under sized like so many others. 3 years in they still look great. I just buy them when on sale and add them to the pile. We have 4 per bed at the moment. They are summer weight so we have a bunch of generic comforters that are winter weight just in case.

I would make the kitchen the center of the house. If you go overboard anywhere, this is the place. We get rave reviews about our kitchen. It is very well stocked. 40+ spices, flour, sugar etc etc. More pots and pans than you can shake a stick at. There is a wok, steamers, 2 coffee makers plus 2 Keurigs. We provide coffee pods, creamers, Splenda/sugar packs and tea.

All those amenities make for great reviews. There are more things that go into making the place solid, but this is a start!