Short-Term Vacation Rentals in Washington

[Damian P.]

Hello BP Washingtonians, 

I'm looking to invest in a vacation rental this year around Western Washington. Will short-term rent it out, and plan to also use it personally a handful of times a year with family of 3 and a dog. 

Right now our sites are set on Glacier, WA (Mount Baker) for reasonable priced homes, and potentially Chelan, WA where the home prices are likely to eliminate this option for the time being. You can get a great cabin house in Glacier for around $400,000 - $500,000; in Chelan, not so much and you are looking at $600,000 - $1,000,000. 

Anybody have experience with STR in Washington? Any experience in Glacier or Chelan? I'm based in Maple Valley, WA and would like to keep within a 3 hour drive or less.

Any other good spots I might be missing? Thinking possibly also Cle Elum area. 

Thanks! 

Damian

[Michael Haas]

@Damian P. we own 3 short term rentals in King County, and 1 in Homer, Alaska.

I'll echo what has been said about Chelan - the new commissioner is more supportive of STR's, but you'd best wait for the official regulations to be signed into law before making a purchase.

Cabin inventory is extremely tight, and with the HUGE interest in STR's this is one of the few parts of my business I don't like sharing publicly on Bigger Pockets. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to talk about what's working for us 1 on 1 though.

Cheers!