All Forum Posts by: Paul Cox

Paul

Per Diem varies according to the location you're in...It's also broken up by M&IE (Meals and Incidentals) and Lodging.  This website from GSA should be able to give you what the amount is for both by location. The rates shown are daily rates...

https://www.gsa.gov/travel/pla...

Paul

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Branson.

Purchase price: $298,000
Cash invested: $35,000
Sale price: $298,000

Contributors:
Kelly Worley

4 bedroom 4 bath golf villa in Branson. 4 spacious bedrooms each with their own full size luxury bathroom.

This was actually an off market deal brought to me by my realtor Kevin Kueck who is part of Kelly Worley's team in Branson.

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

We are totally focused on the STR arena right now and have a goal to reach 10 properties within the next 5 years. Branson has always been on our radar as a true Vacation Destination and so when I saw a response by Kelly Worley on the STR Forum, I reached out and connected and began the partnership with her and her team. We close today (10/29/20) and will leave it initially in the Management Program until the end of the year and then take over Self Management. It is doing between 50-60K a year.

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

Off market deal brought to me by my realtor in Branson

How did you finance this deal?

Vacation Home / 2nd Home loan...10% down on a 10/1 ARM amortized over 30 years at 3.5%...This gives us 10 years to figure out what we'll do with it next.

How did you add value to the deal?

Just taking possession, but looking to add our flair to the property and brighten it up a bit on the inside. Even though it's a stand alone villa, its still considered a Condo for the area so all the outside work is taken care of by the Association

What was the outcome?

TBD

Lessons learned? Challenges?

TBD

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

Kelly Worley and her team are outstanding and look forward to working with them into the future.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Branson.

Purchase price: $298,000
Cash invested: $35,000
Sale price: $298,000

Contributors:
Kelly Worley

(VRBO Listing Description) This luxurious 4 bedroom 4 bath golf villa offers the utmost in Branson Rentals. You'll appreciate the fully equipped kitchen, the outdoor deck with grill, 4 spacious bedrooms each with their own full size luxury bathroom. There is plenty of room to gather and to dine all together, whether in the comfortable living area, the outdoor covered deck, the dining room or the breakfast bar, the open floor plan makes staying in touch easy. When you want peace and quiet, each private bedroom and bath combo makes that a breeze as well.

This was actually an off market deal brought to me by my realtor Kevin Kueck who is part of Kelly Worley's team in Branson.

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

We are totally focused on the STR arena right now and have a goal to reach 10 properties within the next 5 years. Branson has always been on our radar as a true Vacation Destination and so when I saw a response by Kelly Worley on the STR Forum, I reached out and connected and began the partnership with her and her team. We close today (10/29/20) and will leave it initially in the Management Program until the end of the year and then take over Self Management. It is doing between 50-60K a year.

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

Off market deal brought to me by my realtor in Branson

How did you finance this deal?

Vacation Home / 2nd Home loan...10% down on a 10/1 ARM amortized over 30 years at 3.5%...This gives us 10 years to figure out what we'll do with it next.

How did you add value to the deal?

Just taking possession, but looking to add our flair to the property and brighten it up a bit on the inside. Even though it's a stand alone villa, its still considered a Condo for the area so all the outside work is taken care of by the Association

What was the outcome?

TBD

Lessons learned? Challenges?

TBD

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

Kelly Worley and her team are outstanding and look forward to working with them into the future.

Flex Seal???  We were looking at getting a new hot tub for a new place we were looking at and Hot Tubs Etc told me it would probably be 4-6 months. Valley Pool & Spas gave me a much shorter timeline, but their Hot Tubs are more high end as well. Of course that was last month. Maybe Costco?

My wife is a Tree fanatic and so we've built up to about 8 or 9 trees in my basement that she will normally put up in and around our house. Well, two of those will be heading down to our cabin and then she's ordered two others to be placed strategically in and around the cabin. We'll also put some lights up and we'll see what kind of reaction we get. I don't know, but I feel there's something a bit magical about being in a cabin decorated for Christmas in the Smokies, especially if we get some snow! We're probably overdoing it I know, but hey that's how we roll :) We'll probably hold off on the Trump ornaments though :)

@Chris Bluem

One of the best pieces of advice I received after @Luke Carl and his enemy method of setting your prices was to set those prices high or at least equal to your competition regardless of the number of reviews you currently have. This works better the farther out you price. If you start to get closer to your dates and haven't booked yet, you can always lower your prices or offer a discount for booking. Luke told me once here in the forums, that most AirBnBs book within 30 days of the projected stay, so don't worry if you don't see any bookings 2-3 months out. Also, one of the other things I've adopted is to keep my prices at the market rate. Those who lower their prices just to get heads in beds will book, but then those places will be filled and all that will be left are places like yours with your rates in tact and if its anything like the smokies, you will book too with more money in the pocket. Like @Paul Sandhu said, don't overthink and just get in the game and adjust as you need to. We've been doing this for just about a year now and love the STR arena. Best of luck and stay well

Paul

@Mike Shaw Can you post a link to the home so we can see what you're talking about?  Most of us here on this forum are self managers so I can't speak for Evolve. I follow a couple of other forums for our place in the smokies and I know from those posts there are more displeased with them than are happy with their service. That is subjective I know, but its just more data to weigh. Good Luck. We're in the process of purchasing a Golf Villa in Branson now and can't wait to get it on the market.

Paul

Same as everyone else above...High Occupancy...The rest of my year is pretty much full except for a week here or there and at higher rates than I was charging pre Covid. Have an accepted offer now on another STR with existing bookings already in place. Git Er Done!!! and congrats to the rest of you as well

@Sherry Shea...Thanks for the feedback and great review...How was the rest of your visit and did you find your cabin?

We used Smokey's Furniture in Pigeon Forge. We closed on a Tuesday by noon. Went to Smokey's about 2 and spent the next 2-3 hours walking the store and spending the 15K furniture allowance negotiated with the sellers of our cabin. They had the furniture delivered to our cabin and set up by Wednesday evening. Nothing but a great experience in working with them.

Paul