All Forum Posts by: Asury Johnson

@Paul Sandhu I totally agree! I prefer to train my team instead of hiring established cleaners. Also, I learned to only prep beds that will be used and I never leave more than 2 towels per guest available. Laundry is what takes the longest. STRs have become my favorite. We are slowly turning all our 1000 sq ft homes in our inventory into short terms. They are definitely an unmet demand in my market. We have a military installation that have frequent family visitors and transitioning families.

@Alexander Krasne I tried to contract a cleaning service to do my cleanings and had horrible results. I don't think my homes are with their time. I since have hired my own cleaning girls. One was a friend and other I found on Care.com. They are both stay at home moms that need the flexibility and extra cash. I drew up a contract and list of responsibilities between us and they have been with me for over a year. I added them to my calendars as co hosts so they can see the schedules. I pay them a standard rate per cleaning, unless the home is extra dirty. I also provide all cleaning supplies. Each house has its own cleaning supplies/extra linens in locked closet that guests can't access. One of my girls prefers to get paid at the 1st of the month and the other biweekly. It's their responsibility to manage a cleaning ledger and submit it to me before I send payment.

@Alexander Krasne I host 7 short term rentals on AirBnB and HomeAway. We haven't seen a drop in reservations with ours. We're in a less touristy area than Asheville. Our homes are near the interstate and a military base. We stay over 80% occupied and book out 2-3 weeks. We have lots of halfway point travelers and families visiting their soldiers. Have you looked at the prices of your competitors? Maybe how far out they're booking. Instant booking turned on? How about your minimum night stay? I know lots of hosts don't like one night minimums because of the turnover rate, but it works great for passing travelers.

1. Acquire our first MF 2. Sustematize our aggressive marketing strategies & CRM. 3. $30k cash flow 4. Connect with investors in a different markets 4.Travel to 3 different countries

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $185,000
Cash invested: $37,000
Sale price: $259,900

This home was built in the 1950's located minutes from downtown Nashville. Completely renovated with refinished original hardwood floors, fresh interior and exterior paint, granite counter tops, and oil bronzed fixtures. It was originally a 3 bedroom. Garage was converted to bonus area by previous owners, so we decided to add a his and her closet to make it a 4 bedroom. It also has 2 full bath with tiled shower/tub, 2 car detached garage/shop, car port, and fenced in yard.

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

We wanted to explore the Nashville market.

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

We contacted a realtor in the Nashville area that brought us this deal. Owners originally wanted 199k, but instead took our offer of 185K.

How did you finance this deal?

This was our first time using a Hard Money lender. We are trying to establish a positive relationship with them so they keep lending us money!!

What was the outcome?

Home is still listed for sale

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We learned to have a better scope of work for contractor and to maybe look into hiring a project manager to organize and follow up on project. I usually like to do all the subcontracting myself, but decided to let the general contractor do it to safe time. He is great, but was caught up with so many other projects that he couldn't give our home the undivided attention I would've liked.

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

We used Marshall Reddick for a Hard Money loan. I believe they are based out California? (My husband handles the funding portion)

@Joshua Feit that's awesome! We visit Gatlinburg at least once a year. We live in middle Tennessee. We also own and manage short terms in our area. Short term rentals are such unmet demand in a lot markets!

yes! Just read your response to my message. Yes, we did our homework. Comps were great when we purchased the house. I'm not sure if it's that it went on the market when the slow season began. We weren't expecting an offer in days, but certainly no offer in 3 months! 

@Kyle Loganadan we have a home we flipped for sale Madison. We decided to invest in the area because how "hot" the market is there. We have yet to get an offer! It's been listed for almost 3 months and have dropped the price. We have gotten LOTS of showings and positive feedback. This has been discouraging us from looking for more properties in that market.

@Grayson Gist He would definitely not get my business. That is VERY unprofessional and that speaks a lot about his character. I'd question his integrity and how he would speak of me to others since he felt so comfortable to speak negatively of others to a stranger. Cut ties and keep your business/name out of that man's mouth.

@Sarah Pursell I agree with others to increase rent and keep tenant. I manage my rentals as well. Before hiring an assistant, I would use my middle name and "act" like an assistant when tenants messaged or called the business line. They can't shoot the messenger right? I learned to "train" them. I told them that I'm more responsive to emails vs calls. They can submit when orders via email and that gets forwarded to my maintenance guy. They quickly learn the drill and know what to expect. They're less rude via email and you're less likely to naturally snap back. Good luck!