First Short Term Rental

[Zara Ryan]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Nellysford.

Purchase price: $240,000
Cash invested: $30,000
Sale price: $460,000

Purchased this home as our second home with 10% down and rented it out on Airbnb. It consistently grossed over $50,000 per year in rental income and nearly doubled in value in three years.

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

We wanted to try investing in a short term rental, and this market had a low price of entry with high potential for 4 season rentals.

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

On the MLS with an agent.

How did you finance this deal?

30 year fixed second home mortgage

How did you add value to the deal?

We made some small cosmetic updates and began renting it as a short term rental.

What was the outcome?

We sold it three years after purchasing it for almost double what we paid, and we’re able to complete three 1031 exchanges into LTR in our local area.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Short term rentals are a great way to increase cash flow, however they are labor-intensive, especially with a large home.