All Forum Posts by: Akash Y.

Hey @Akash Y.

Actually I didn't - I talked to a bunch of people and it seemed like remote management of short-term rentals could be a pain. Also asking around for the numbers, they just didn't seem to make sense. So now I sublease places locally and re-rent it out at a higher price to make the spread. Only 6 units so far but it's working well enough (but I could also see how managing remotely could be very bad as there are enough headaches managing locally).

Interesting note, I think Airbnb's algorithms look for bots/scammers, and I think my behavior of polling a bunch of landlords was identified as spam, so they perma-banned me. So perhaps not a great idea to ping landlords. Maybe make a fake account on an IP address you never use if you want to do such a survey in an area you're interested in.

I don't think that legislation is a huge issue so far - there's always ways to sidestep it, etc. and they generally are not enforced (unless under HOA which most newer homes are). Also low rent is also generally needed because 1) tourists are willing to pay more to be on the strip (it's a gambling market so they are OK to spend money), and 2) hotels on the strip are already really cheap and in high supply. Seems like you'll only be able to bag road-trippers passing through or the overflow market during conferences, of which there are a lot. Or maybe if you're close to UNLV some students or professors. Completely speculating now, though.

Hi,

This is going to be a long post.

Before I ask the vague question "should I buy a property in Las Vegas for the purpose of short term rental?" on BiggerPockets I thought I might ask the owners themselves first.  I did a little experiment by sending this message to hosts on AirBnB:

Hi ___,

My first question is: is there anything I could do to make my copy better?

I've gotten many responses back even though I only sent 30 (30 is apparently the maximum number of messages you can send per day) and here are a few highlights:

So anyway, my initial thought was that Vegas is a global tourism spot and so would be good to have some short-term rentals there.  However, my main worries are legislation and the possibility of high vacancy/low rent needed.  Seems like general opinion is somewhat mixed.

But anyway, has anyone here done short-term rentals in LV?  How has it been for you?

@Akash Y. the 1031 exchange can be a powerful tool for the foreign investor to avoid the withholding required under FIRPTA.  There are two ways that it can work for you - either through simultaneous exchange where both sale and purchase happen concurrently to the satisfaction of the selling escrow company.  The other option is if you first obtain a certificate of non-withholding that exempts you from FIRPTA withholding as you complete a regular deferred 1031 exchange.

Even if you cannot do a simultaneous exchange and fail to get a withholding certificate in time you can still complete the 1031 exchange and report a sale with a non-recognition of gain on your next tax filing.

But if you mean that you recently closed on a sale then you're opportunity to complete a 1031 exchange is over.  A qualified intermediary must be in place and the sale documented as a 1301 exchange with you not touching the proceeds in order to be valid.

@Akash Y. @Kyle S.

I'm glad I'm came across you guys because this is something I'm looking to expand into away from LT buy and hold. Have you guys had a chance to listen to J. Massey's presentation on making money with STRs? (If not I can post a link to the webniar replay if it is still up). He has been quiet successful and most of his 19 investements center in the Orange County market producing a gross of over 70K monthly. He also sells a "Blueprint for STRs" - sort of a guide to getting started in this arena, so wanted to get your feedback as I was thinking of purchasing it to learn the ins and outs of the trade. 

Btw, are you guys looking to rent from others, or purchase the property outright?

Any update on the search here?  I was digging around on airbnb and it looks like the general vicinity has an extremely high occupancy rate or just extremely low amount of home I am not sure exactly which but I was going 2-3 months out and anywhere between 75-80% of homes in the area and even extended areas had already been booked?