How we made $5000 on two weekends i.e. 4 nights on a $135k condo!

How we made $5000 on two weekends i.e. 4 nights on a $135k condo!

Investor · Jericho, NY · Member since 2015 · 171 posts · 148 votes

First of all, I would like to thank BP and BP community because this deal has BP written all over it. This property was first mentioned in the post on BP here:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/223/topics/15...


After sometime, it was posted on BP marketplace for sale, here:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/517/topics/18...

After initial discussions, I decided to fly to Athens and check the property out and finally agreed on the price of $135k to buy it.

So, we are using this property as a weekly executive rental + weekend vacation rental as mentioned in the initial post. During the week, we rent it out the professionals who leave over the weekend. We have 5 rooms and we rent each room separately. Over the weekend, we rent it out using vacation rental sites. Since the close in July, we have been renting about 2 weekends on average a month (except for the month of August).


Since the college football season is in full swing and University of Georgia has been doing well, we rented two big home games with South Carolina and Alabama for $2k and $3k respectively. It is a big place and can accommodate 12 people comfortably. People like to come to big games in big groups. You may think that it’s a lot of money for a weekend but for big groups it comes out to be cheap and convenient. If you do the math, it’s only $125/night/person for a 3k weekend and ~$85/night/person for 2k weekend. These two weekends were exception and not the norm. But in general, we rent out our weekend for $400 to $500.

For the weekday rental, we rent out 350/month/room. If fully occupied, it can fetch $1750/month. As of this month, we are fully occupied. This makes the September revenue to be about $4750. That makes this a 3.5% property at least for September.

Now the road to this has not been fully rosy either. We have had fair share of problems. One of the guests, who visited for a weekend left us a terrible review. It was super exaggeration and some of the things were not true. We refunded all of the money to her. Also, the expenses to run a vacation rental are VERY high. We have to pay for the cleaning twice; entire condo has to be furnished, we have high utility bills plus cable/internet. We just put an expensive TV in the living room. We replaced the bedding, sheets, towels, bathroom stuff, comforters etc for 3 of the rooms. That stuff is not cheap either. We are learning along the way.

I would like to say a big THANKS to @Jack Tucker who made this deal possible and has been there all along. Creativity in top gear!!!

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Karen MargraveBusiness Member
Moderator
Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
11y

@Pancham G. Great post, and very creative marketing! I also wanted to let you know that there's a forum Short Term - Vacation Rental Discussion in case you haven't seen it. It's under Real Estate Strategies when you're scrolling down the forum titles.  

See this reply in the discussion

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  • Professional · Spartanburg, SC · Member since 2015 · 55 posts · 9 votes
    11y

    that is great. Vacation rentals always seemed to make more sense to me than traditional rentals. Maybe I'm just dillusional, who knows. Anyway congrats and hope you continue to do well

  • Investor · Jericho, NY · Member since 2015 · 171 posts · 148 votes
    11y

    Thanks @Daryl Williams. Yes, I hope so too. Vacation rentals in general are a different animal but yes can be lucrative depending on the dynamics of the location.

  • Professional · Spartanburg, SC · Member since 2015 · 55 posts · 9 votes
    11y

    what are some of the major differences you've found so far? If you don't mind me asking.

  • Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    11y

    @Pancham G.

    Congrats on your success, well deserved.

    Continued success

    David Krulac

  • Investor · Jericho, NY · Member since 2015 · 171 posts · 148 votes
    11y

    @David Krulac Thanks!

    @Daryl Williams: Here are some of the major differences that we have found so far:

    1) High expenses compared to regular rental. You have to pay for utilities + cable/internet. You have to pay for the cleaning before and after. We pass this on to the guest but still. High property management costs.

    2) Guests expect this to be like a hotel. So, you have to make sure that everything is in the right order and available. For example, one of the guests during the stay asked for an iron and an iron board. It sounds obvious that we should have it but we did not. We had to go and get it the same day and provide it to them.

    3) Picky guests will complain about everything. But customer satisfaction is important.

    4) More time consuming as you have to constantly get it cleaned.

    5) Your reviews on vacation rental sites become really important. They define your future business.

    6) You have to be very responsive when it comes to replying to inquiries or issues that come up during the stay.

    I am sure that I am missing a lot more but this is a start.

  • Professional · Spartanburg, SC · Member since 2015 · 55 posts · 9 votes
    11y

    great insights. Thanks for taking the time out to reply. Much success to you. I will continue to explore that option

  • Karen MargraveBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    11y

    @Pancham G. Great post, and very creative marketing! I also wanted to let you know that there's a forum Short Term - Vacation Rental Discussion in case you haven't seen it. It's under Real Estate Strategies when you're scrolling down the forum titles.  

  • Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    Very interesting threads from Jack's original purchase to now. I'm glad you posted a follow-up thread and am curious to see the ongoing experiences you have.

  • Investor · Jericho, NY · Member since 2015 · 171 posts · 148 votes
    11y

    Thanks @Karen Margrave! Yes, I noticed that forum and have been following it.

  • Investor · Jericho, NY · Member since 2015 · 171 posts · 148 votes
    11y

    @Michael Le: Glad that you found it interesting. I will try to do another one to follow up on this in sometime from now.

  • Investor · Commack, NY · Member since 2014 · 22 posts · 5 votes
    11y

    Good stuff! Very motivating. 

    Keep it up!

  • Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 31 posts · 10 votes
    10y

    Wow! This is awesome! Congratulations. 

  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    10y

    We have a Lake House that we converted to a vacation rental. It is close to Clemson University.  

    Events like Clemson Graduation and popular home games fetch a fairly good rate.

    I am realizing that I need to make sure the high demand games are priced appropriately.

    I found out the hard way that the Clemson Notre Dame game was a $2000 weekend after I had it rented for less than half that.

    Football games are the off season for a Lake house. We are realizing good demand in the non Summer months.

    Since our house sleeps up to 10 people $400 plus per night is easily attainable for certain events and times of the year.

    John

  • Real Estate Investor, Flipper, PM, vacation rental, Wholesaler · Athens, GA · Member since 2013 · 260 posts · 210 votes
    10y

    @Pancham G.

    Congrats, Pancham and Monika.  Thanks for taking the leap of faith on this (what most naysayers call) CRAZY business model.  Now get ready for the Wedding season!  Now... Please stop telling folks how much money we are making down in Athens Georgia by University of Georgia ;)

    Shout out to @Steven Duffee and wife Donna, whose blood sweat and tears helped turn this dilapidated condo into a money making beast!  Not a rookie anymore, and neither is his bank account.  

  • Mindy JensenPro Member
    BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    10y

    @Linda Weygant. This story sounds like your place!

  • Investor · Jericho, NY · Member since 2015 · 171 posts · 148 votes
    10y

    Thanks @Eric Feng!

    @John Underwood: Yes, you never know what these games can go for. You have to do comparative study on what the rent can potentially be. Clemson vs Notre Dame was huge.

    @Jack Tucker: Big Thanks and congrats to you as well!  Lets hope to continue and keep the same momentum going...

    @Steven Duffee & Donna Duffee: Great going!!!

  • REAL ESTATE CONSULTANT · CHICAGO, IL · Member since 2008 · 5 posts · 1 vote
    10y

    Nice deal.  I look at long term returns which to me will be a gold mine for you guys as compared to cleaning and other petty expenses!  

  • Eugene, OR · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    10y

    Wow congrats! I have been interested in vacation rentals and have always seen them as a cash cow if found in the right place but I never really took into consideration how much work they would actually be. If you don't live in the same area as your rental do you find it to be a difficult task to respond to your guest request like the need for an iron?

  • Investor · Jericho, NY · Member since 2015 · 171 posts · 148 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Aaron Allie:

    Wow congrats! I have been interested in vacation rentals and have always seen them as a cash cow if found in the right place but I never really took into consideration how much work they would actually be. If you don't live in the same area as your rental do you find it to be a difficult task to respond to your guest request like the need for an iron?

     Thanks @Aaron allie! Yes, it can become really difficult if you are not local and you are self managing.  I guess that's where a great property manager can make a difference vs an good one. You have to have an open communication line with your pm. Hope this helps. 

  • Rental Property Investor · PA · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    10y

    congrats on your investment opportunities. I too have vacation rentals, question what website are you using and do you use multiple vacation sites(i used one site to avoid double bookings). I must say out of pocket expense to run vacations can be high and sometimes you do have downtime.

  • self-employed · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 24 posts · 7 votes
    10y

    Congrats and great work @Pancham G.! This is inspirational.

    While I haven't thought of a scenario quite like yours, my hope is to get a downtown condo in our area and rent for events. 

  • Eugene, OR · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    10y

    Yes this does I will keep that in mind. Another question to you is, how did you come to find your property management firm and what really sold you on them? @Pancham G.

  • Investor · Jericho, NY · Member since 2015 · 171 posts · 148 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Dareo Lindsay:

    congrats on your investment opportunities. I too have vacation rentals, question what website are you using and do you use multiple vacation sites(i used one site to avoid double bookings). I must say out of pocket expense to run vacations can be high and sometimes you do have downtime.

     Thanks! We are mainly using vrbo and airbnb. Yes, double booking is a valid concern. You have to be really careful with that. What we do is that we are using vrbo as a primary. So if we get a booking through airbnb, we update vrbo manually. This way you see all of them at one place. Thinking of putting this on flipkey also.  

    Yes, you are right on expenses. They can be very high. 

  • Rental Property Investor · PA · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    10y

    yes vrbo and homeaway are one site that works off each other, thought about flipkey also but didnt want to create possible double bookings. I own a up and coming property mgmt company that will manage properties in all rental aspects. Keep up the good works guys, time cosuming business but fast monthly return.

  • Investor · Corona, CA · Member since 2014 · 746 posts · 372 votes
    10y

    That is awesome! I love vacation rentals and college markets are great! We went out our 2nd bedroom on Airbnb and have done great with being so close to Yale University. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with what's going on at the school so we can adjust rates accordingly.

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