How can remote investor setup Airbnb

Question

I am a remote investor living in Bay area and recently bought properties in Austin and Dallas. I really want to turn those properties into Airbnb listings due to promising ROI and no HOA restrictions … The biggest challenge for me is to hire someone on the ground to set it up and coordinate with vendors, for example running errands to pick up the keys from my agent, purchase / receive / assembly furniture, installing smart lock so I can have full control over my property remotely.. After calling several local short term PM company, they only take care of the property in make ready state. Anyone has similar problem? Any referral on the vendor that can setup would be appreciated...

Lucia Rushton · Answer

@Vincent Sun. One of our companies owns and operates Airbnb properties here in Texas and manage them on behalf of other owners. We have Superhost status with over 200 reviews. I will DM you.

Collin Hays · Answer

I think it's going to be difficult to hire "someone on the ground" to get your properties set up to your liking.  You can manage them remotely, but setting them up is another animal.  Plan on investing a week in each city to get everything to your liking.  Not only do you want to properly outfit the places, but you are going to want to do a thorough risk management assessment for each place to mitigate the risk of accidents.

As for managing them remotely, you are going to need to have in your smartphone address book the names and numbers of reliable contractors and/or handymen that can take care of things as they happen.  You need a commitment that they can address issues on the same day, or you are going to have unhappy guests and lots of refunds.

Housekeeping...you are going to want to take your time and find the best fit here.  Don't go cheap.  You hire Suzy off of Craigslist to clean it for 50 bucks, and she decides to skip out on you when you need the place cleaned, guess what, you just lost more rent.  Find a reliable, bonded, insured housekeeping company if you are managing remotely.  That doesn't guarantee you don't have headaches, but at least you have hired someone with some credentials.

Good luck to you!

Lisa Ma · Answer

I am also based in the bay area. Got the same issue. I have called like 30 property management companies out there, and only one that does STR setups. I just started working with them. Will see how it goes. https://www.gobreeze.live/

Luke Carl · Answer

It’s easy. We’re all remote. It’s part of what makes short term so appealing. Read a book called short term rental long term wealth.

Kyle Mccaw · Answer

@Lucia Rushton I didn't know yall did STR's. We'll have to meet up soon are talk about our experiences. I have a Keller one that is on fire and closing on a Kissimmee, FL one next month.

Jimmy Woodard · Answer

@Vincent Sun you can't legally rent an Austin SFR in a residential zone so that's probably out of the question. Dallas might make sense depending on the numbers (check Airdna and Rabbu and Airbnb). You can reach a lot greater cash flow self-managing remotely vs. hiring a property manager, so if you need any tips/tricks there feel free to DM me.

Ryan Moyer · Answer

My copy from Amazon was backordered even though I preordered (finally arrives tomorrow), but does Avery touch on this stuff in the book?  Note OP here is not talking about managing remotely, he's talking about doing the initial setup remotely.  IE making sure the kitchen has can openers and a dish drying rack, picking up the mailbox key from the post office, assembling night stands, etc.

Most of us manage remotely just fine, but most of us also visit our property once before going live to get it all setup.  He is looking to bypass that step.

Really someone in these major vacation rental markets could make a living being an "airbnb initial setup" person for remote buyers at this point.

John Underwood · Answer

Hire a local handyman to help you get set up.

Ryan Roberts · Answer

Hey Vincent! I'm a Realtor in Austin and manage several Airbnbs. It's difficult to get an STR permit from the city (STR defined by City of Austin as less than 30 consecutive days), so I recommend renting for 30+ days at a time to families relocating to Austin or remote works who want to "vacation" in Austin while continuing to work. There are tons of other benefits for 30+ day rentals too.

I can handle most of the items you mentioned as well as the ongoing management. For tasks like assembling furniture, I'd recommend Fiverr or TaskRabbit. Let me know if I can help.

How can remote investor setup Airbnb

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