Our First STR in Orlando

[Charles C Blessing]

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $215,000
Cash invested: $215,000

This is our first STR property and an attempt to get our feet wet in this field. So far, it's been a great decision as my wife is having fun and we're turning a profit. After almost a year of steady returns, I've decided to pull our cash out of this property to start buying more. It's now an addiction and I look forward to building our portfolio.

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

We wanted to have a place for our family to stay when visiting, but wanted to make sure it could pay for itself. After playing around with the rental for about six months, we found the sweet spot and it now makes more than I could've imagined.

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

I found it on the MLS. I offered cash, about $10k below asking...pretty straight forward.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash

How did you add value to the deal?

I've remodeled the rental interior. The previous owner financials showed average nightly rate of $176. We are now averaging $213.

What was the outcome?

Passion to buy more properties.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Don't rush to turn a STR on immediately. I would buy the property and stay for a long weekend. Check out of the property and have your cleaning team do their job. Check back in and stay for a couple more days. We turned our rental on way too fast and had to deal with headaches from vacation travelers. It wasn't super painful, but could've make our first year better.

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

I'm an agent in Florida.