All Forum Posts by: Chris Rodriguez

@Nathan Weaver - yes, this would be fairly hands off for me.  I'd hire a management to host the website, market, clean, etc.  Generally this costs 20-30% (from what I've found initally, could be wrong) of gross rents.  

@JJ Jackson - appreciate the insight.  Sounds like you are on the same train of thought as me.... If you could dm me your buddies' info that would be super helpful.  Interesting idea about the "soccer team" / etc niche, I'll look into that as well

@William Beck - correct. I'd be looking in a complex that is all / mostly short term rentals. I know some people are renting out SFR that aren't zoned appropriately and that isn't my strategy. I could understand the neighbor's frustration in your example for sure

@Paul Forcey - Thanks for the insight here, looks like your son should have plenty of work in St George for the forseeable future.  Some great mountainbiking in Prescott as well.  

Hi BP Nation-

I’m considering adding some short term rentals to my portfolio in areas that I’d enjoy spending time in.  One of the benefits of COVID, is much greater geographic flexibility for work.  I love the outdoors and find myself in Utah at least a few times a year.

A good friend of mine recently bought a short term rental in a condo / resort complex in St. George, Utah. I stayed there last weekend, and it seems to be super high demand. Lots of folks are escaping the inversion from Salt Lake and getting out of cities with COVID, so I like the potential there.

On the other hand, there are new buildings everywhere, and I’m concerned that the city may get overbuilt and investors will get caught with their proverbial pants down. There aren’t a lot of high paying jobs in the area as well (median household income 58k- https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/st-george-ut-population) , so you’d be relying on people working remote should you have to rent to a longer term tenant in an economic downturn. Also, in the summer months it gets super hot and outside of the 4th of July, I don’t see many people traveling to the area.

My question is to people that invest in Southern Utah - is this growth sustainable? From a short term rental perspective, are the numbers still attractive?  I imagine numbers could do quite well in the peak months and you could squeak by in the slow seasons.

Thanks for the insight

Hi @Mike Pennington, I built a duplex from the ground up in 2016.  It was a fun experience and ended up costing me less than buying a used property that needs a ton of work and requires more upkeep costs.  

Part of the beauty of building from scratch is you can tailor the property to your target market.

We bought a batch of 6 lots, split them with a couple partners and built from there.  The plan originally was for everyone to get 2 lots each, but one of the partners got a little overzealous and ended up keeping 3.  I was grateful to get the one lot, but next time will have something in writing vs a verbal agreement.

Second hard lesson learned is to work with the city planning department very early in your project.  They can make the project fun or a pain in the butt.  This mistake cost me 4-6 months of back and forth.  All good

I used advanced house plans out of Omaha.  We built a customized version of the Moorehead building.  I recommend them

https://advancedhouseplans.com/collections/multi-f...

More details of the project are here.  Let me know how else I can help

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/223/topics/34...

@Cody McDowell  - welcome, and nice work doing some research on your end.  I'd suggest investing somewhere you "know."   There are definitely areas with more capital appreciation than Nebraska, but that all depends on your goals.

I'd welcome a "crash" as it presents great buying opportunities.  In Omaha, we saw a pretty minor dip in prices, maybe 20% or 30% max..... far more subtle than other markets like Vegas, Phoenix, Etc.

Again, welcome.  Let me know if there is anything I can do to help 

Hello BP nation!  My CPA retired in 2017, and I'm in the process of looking for a new one.  Does anyone have a recommendation for an accountant (preferably that is an investor him/herself) that can help with my schedule Es?  I'm also working to get a 20-30 unit building under contract, so someone experienced with small-mid size apartment buildings would be excellent also.  Any guidance?  @David Chan @Owen Dashner @Kyle Godbout

Thanks in advance!

Hi Clyde.  "Welcome to the Jungle" :-)

That is a nice house, especially like the kitchen tile, backsplash, and countertop.  

I don't know the Bellevue rental market well, maybe @Owen Dashner can chime in on if your place is at/above/below market.  That said,  yes you can raise it to $1000 and if one of the people who originally reached are are amazing, I'd give it to them at the lower price, don't sweat it.  

There is also something to be said to renting slightly below market (ex: $25-50/mo) so you have a nice pool of applicants to choose from.

Schedule all the people to check it out at one time, so you don't burn up your whole Saturday waiting for people who may or may not show up.  Also shows potential applicants that others are interested and that they should have some urgency if they want to live there.

Let me know if I can help with anything else

Congrats @Christopher Erwin .  Here are a few more nearby points of reference re: market rents

https://omaha.craigslist.org/apa/d/55th-street-2-b...  55th and L - 2 BR 1 BA with garage.  $990/mo

https://omaha.craigslist.org/apa/d/5514-stbeds-1-f... 56th and Q.  2 BR 1 BA with garage.  $995/mo

I'd shoot for $800-$850, but I do have a history of pricing rents low.   Part of this is a strategy to have a larger pool of applicants, low vacancy rates, and tenants that don't call about petty things (replacing light bulbs). 

On the other hand, rents have steadily risen over the past few years, so I wouldn't be surprised if $900 happens. 

 @Joe Lambert-thanks for sharing Mike's info.  Seems to be a business model that makes more sense than traditional property management (where PMs are incentivized to turn over properties and spend more $$ on repairs/maint.)

Again, congrats and welcome.   Happy to see fellow Papio folks helping you out 

@Kyle Godbout  - those numbers sound solid to me, and the acquisition would help you get closer to your goal of 40 units by age 40.  

One question for you and @Owen Dashner , @Matt Morgan , @Sterling Anderson is about the Benson area.  Generally, I try to stay south of Dodge, but hear from some that Benson is up and coming, while others have concerns about crime, schools, etc.

Have you had luck finding and retaining strong tenants in that area?  

Welcome @Kelly Nuno , and congrats on the growing family.  I love Duplexes myself as they tend to cashflow better than single family units and don't require twice the upkeep.

Are your properties in Omaha?  

Happy to help if/when you need it. 

Welcome to Bigger Pockets @Christopher Erwin.    To quote Zig Ziglar, you can have everything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want.   

Identifying each members' goals and your definition of a successful club would seem like a good start.  

No direct experience here, but there are a ton of REIC hosts on the site that can give you guidance.

Welcome!