New Investor Looking to Build STR Cabin in Catskills

[Matthew M.]

Hey Everyone!

New to the game but I have been researching and educating myself on buying my first property and start investing in Real Estate. Currently looking to buy land in the Catskills, mainly in and around Sullivan County, and build a modern cabin on it for STR. Looking to meet individuals generally and build my network, but would also love any advice on this area, contractors, realtors, lawyers, and any other general guidance with just starting in.

Excited to be part of the community and looking forward to meeting and learning from some great people! Currently based in Brooklyn and am a freelancer.

[Brian Anderson]

Alyssa, 

We can discuss more in depth but some of the simple math I use is: 

Figure ~100 nights/year of rental income. (Based on 52 weekends/year).  You’re not going to rent every weekend but your not going to rent Only weekends.  Our 3-season property (mud season is slow) has us at 107 nights this year.  We are priced on the higher end of the local market.  We could price a bit lower and bump that to 125+ but this increases wear & tear and turnover.  The price point we use provides a good balance of cash flow and vacancy for us. 

You’ll want to price (and be able to get that price in the market) at:

your carrying costs + desired profit divided by that ~100 nights/year. 

It’s VERY important to keep all of your costs in the above number. Things such as HOAs, maintenance, furnishings, decor changes, broken items, and utilities are a few that I see people “forget” to put in and then they lose a little money.  That’s not the worst if you’re using it yourself but we Are here (BP) to make money right??  

I assembled a spread sheet that I can plug in the house cost and the estimated rental numbers (nights and average per night) to give me a quick valuation on a particular home.  We’ve been very successful this year even with Covid shutting things down a bit.  
STRs are a little more work to get set up but like anything once you have a system set up, you should have a pretty easy time running it.  

The second home market has been HOT lately with Covid causing prices to drive way up. I’ve seen houses in NH go for 40% over asking!  Key point, know your numbers and buy what fits your numbers and desired location/property type.  We got a house under contract recently after 4 lost bids and a dozen showings.   

Best of luck in the search and I’m happy to discuss further any time.