Thought I'd share a deal diary of a vacation rental/short-term rental in Colorado that my clients will also use as a second home when visiting. (Pics at the bottom.)

The Goal
Out-of-state buyers wanted an STR mountain home outside Colorado Springs or outside Denver that could legally be rented on Airbnb and that they could stay in when visiting Colorado.

The House
A 6br/5ba home + a 1br/1ba apartment on 2.5 acres of land. Incredible views, privacy, roomy lot and roomy house and still just 20 minutes from a few grocery stores and bars/restaurants in Woodland Park.

Also two RV garage spots and three outdoor RV spots with full hook-ups that can be rented. The property is near Florissant, about 10 miles west of Woodland Park or 30 miles west of Colorado Springs. Was built in 1996 but updated fully in the last few years.

Price
$820,000. It was originally priced at $930,000. They dropped the price numerous times and were at $850,000 when we offered. We came in below $800k and ended at $820,000.

Numbers

$3,200 -- all-in mortgage (PITI -- principle, interest, taxes and insurance)
$9,600 -- STR gross revenue potential just for the main house. (There's another $1,000/mo for long-term rent for the 1br apartment and another $1,500/mo for renting the RV spaces for six months of the year, if desired.)
$5,750 -- net STR revenue (I always take out 40% for costs to be conservative with a short-term rental/Airbnb investment.)

$2,550 net profit

Again, that net profit doesn't include another revenue from the 1br apartment or RV spots.

Location
I'm a big fan of the "one town over" or "one neighborhood over" idea. You have a place that's popping off -- be it a neighborhood or a city -- then look one step over and that's likely a good buy and where the money will go next. In this case, Woodland Park is already hot for the California and east-coast buyers who want their mountain homes. But what about Divide or Florissant just a touch west of Woodland Park. If this house were in Woodland Park, it would cost $1.2M to $1.4M.

Other considerations
We're always staying on top of the Airbnb laws in an area. In this instance, the property was in unincorporated Teller County which allows STRs, but the property also had a small HOA. I dug into the covenants and talked to a board member about their short-term rental regulations. They had none, but it's always important to do your due diligence on this matter.

Pictures
A few select photos.