Raleigh STR House Hack UPDATE: Month 01

[Benjamin Carver]

In December, my wife and I bought an old 1984 3/2 split level home with a walkout basement in a great area of Raleigh NC and spent the next 5 months renovating it, spending a little over $40k and pouring every ounce of energy and time we had into it. Now, we are 1 month strong and counting in renting out the top 2 bedrooms on airbnb, with us living in the bottom half (completely separate) - here's how it's going so far:

Guests Stayed: 15

Reviews: 5 stars, 8 reviews, super host

Occupancy: We had 3 nights of where 1 bedroom wasn't rented. The larger bedrooms had a couple in it for the entire month, while the other turned every few nights on average. Takeaway is having at least 1 medium term guest will yes have lower rent potential but less headache and helps stabilize income.

Gross Earnings: $2,200

Expenses: $75 supplies (we clean ourselves, takes 10 minutes, and it's right upstairs no biggie)

PITI: $2,700

We paid $800 including utilities and any little repairs needed to live here.

When we move out, we expect to cashflow around $500 a month conservatively. The plan is to hold it long enough to see appreciation do it's thing AND in time we have the option to turn it into an entire house airbnb or even a long term rental for passiveness sake. Will do another update in time, cheers!