All Forum Posts by: Dafina Smith

I have a home that we rent on AirBnb.  I've had the gamut of experiences from good to bad to life alter bad.  Some stuff feel free to reach out to me via a direct message. 

These are my lessons:

We rent our home furnished to a lot of movie productions and corporate rentals.  Location is key for Atlanta.  Intown homes near the Beltline and Marta and Piedmont Park or other attractions are going to yield higher nightly rates and better overall rental rates. 

I don't exclusively rent my home on AirBnB but what I like about it that in between corporate rentals or movie production rentals we don't have a 0% occupancy rate and we keep people in our home which keeps away other issues that come with owning a vacant home.

The name of the game in this is to keep your neighbors happy. So be very judicious about who you rent to and how large the parties are. 

I don't allow for Instant Book.  I only allow guests who have atleast 2 other positive host reviews and I don't allow parties.  This has kept our neighbors happy after we had a few people who were having wild parties, threatening our neighbors, running illegal operations (yes!!) on our property.

So I would say if you use it be very organized and mindful of who you allow in the home.  I would also look to diversify your income and I would never ever want to solely rely on AirBnB income. I'd always rather have a longer term tenant. 

I hope this helps.

I'm trying to understand how the possibility of gentrification influences Cap Rates in Philly if that makes sense.  So I was curious of how much fluctuation to expect to see which is why I picked areas that range

Hi, 

I'm just getting started in the multifamily real estate investing scene in Philly.  I was curious of what educated and experienced investors felt were baseline Cap Rates in Olney, University City, Francisville and Kensington.  If you  believe there is a range I'd love to hear your thoughts on what dictates or influences Cap Rates the most right now.  Thank you so much!

I'm looking to begin investing in Multifamily Units.  I have been in Atlanta, GA for the past 7 years. I owned a business there as well as rented and bought several homes in the Midtown Atlanta area.  I have an affinity of Atlanta and I know it well through the lens of a business person (I'm familiar with the surrounding markets from when I was looking to expand my business) 

But... we had to relocate a year and half ago for my husband's job in NYC.  His family has invested in Residential Income Property in Philly for two generations but not specifically large apartment complexes.  I've been a few times and it's easy for me to get down in about 1 1/2 hours from the city. 

So... as I begin to look into investing I want to buy big enough to justify a property management company.  I hope to buy 15-40 units for my first deal.  Yet I know that even with a property management company I need to be able to be there especially for my first deal.  Yet... I know the value of knowing your market. 

So my question to you all is based on this is it better to buy in the market that you are familiar but faraway from or is it better to be nearby but not as familiar for that first deal?  

Thanks!