Five Bedroom Five Bath Home in the Reunion West Resort. 5 Min from Disney, and other area attractions. Fully furnished and setup for STR. The association dues are quite high, but include Pool, Lanscaping, Cable TV and Internet. There is a water park area in the resort which I also have access to. A Gym, Meeting Rooms, Clubhouse and a few restaurants.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I purchased the home thinking it would be a nice home for my family. It was a sight unseen purchase, as I live in Belize CA. I did not figure out just what I had until I went to change my address and found out the house was in a Short Term Rental Community and the post office would not deliver to the home. After some quick research I realized I had not bought a home for my family but a potential income generator. I have a demanding w2 job which keeps me traveling throughout the Caribbean.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this House through interest in another home that was no longer available on Zillow. I sent in my phone number and email address and within 5 min an agent contacted me. We hit it off over the phone with like personalities, so I asked from him to send me homes comparable he had. I found one I liked, made an offer, offer accepted and was referred to a finance company for the mortgage. The entire process took 1.5 days to complete and 30 days later I was a homeowner.

How did you finance this deal?

I have a conventional 30 yr fixed rate mortgage at 3.625%. which at closing was 78% LTV as the house had appraised for more than the purchase price.

How did you add value to the deal?

This was accomplished with pure dumb luck. The only improvement made was the purchase of an 85" TV for the family room. Within the first month the home value jumped to ~600,000 and today is at 670,000 per most of the sites. I am sure this will slowly back off as I just have never been that lucky and given interest rates have now doubled since, my gut feeling may be a reality.

What was the outcome?

Short Term Rental land here I am. Haven't the slightest Idea if this was a good decision or not. As I have only been up and running since May 25. To date my total Gross Revenue is around 15k. Given my W2 gig, I had really no choice but to go with one of the two Prop Mgt Companies certified to operate in the resort. The HOA gave me the names and I contacted each of them for a meeting. Only one showed up, Jeeves, so I signed with them. I am somewhat happy so far but.....

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I am sure I do not have the proper mortgage for this type of activity, as well as insurance. During my vacation these past few weeks I did some more research and am not sure about the whole mgt company decision. Also, this company has now been sold twice and has been absorbed into Vacasa. What that will bring I have no idea. Also, I do not see the property listed in any of the Major Sites so how and where the 5 bookings I have had came from nor do I know if there have been any reviews.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Chris Gabriel was a big help and kept me on track when I was ready to pull the deal due to Title Company delays. He also assured me over and over that I was making a good choice, I mean its his job right, and that I would make money.