All Forum Posts by: Dave Stokley

Quote from @Dave Stokley:

I wouldn't value a property based on its STR income because appraisers don't consider it. This severely limits your exit options since it won't appraise for a traditional buyer.

I believe this would be considered a commercial property to a lender tho, right? Its has 6 units with a history of STR income. Are you suggesting I go off of a LTR valuation for the offer? I'm afraid if I do that i will under value it and lose it to some one that values it differently. Thanks for your help. 

Quote from @Dave Stokley:

Quote from @Konstantin Ginzburg:

Quote from @Sarah Kensinger:

What does the STR look like, and are you marketing to a niche that you have chosen and "built" you STR for?

Here is the link to the STR:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6...

The main niche that we are aiming for is for families who want to visit New Orleans but stay in a quieter/safer neighborhood instead of the French Quarter. We chose our location further uptown in the Uptown/Garden District area so our main draw is the local restaurants, historic buildings, easy access to public transportation, and very safe area. We are also near in ground zero of the Mardi Gras celebrations so were able to do incredibly well during Mardi Gras season but are hoping to increase our occupancy the rest of the year. 

 Couple thoughts:

1. Your pictures are bad. Hire a professional photographer and have them shoot in the day when you can open the windows and get some natural light.

2. The layout is super awkward. Where are 8 people going to hang out together? A personal rule of thumb is that there needs to be enough room at the dinner table and seating in the living area for everyone that you accommodate. This isn't always possible, but sleeping 8 and seating 4 is unacceptable. Same for the outdoor area.

3. Titles are less important these days, but you've wasted 75% of yours. I don't need "4 br" in the title because if it matters I've already put that as a search filter. Don't care that it's "Victorian," don't know what "uptown" means, and obviously it's a "home."

 1) The pictures were brought up a few times so I will absolutely be looking into hiring a professional photographer to fix that in the near future. 

2) We have a city mandate that will go into effect on July 1st that will cap the maximum number of bedrooms allowed in an STR listing to 3 bedrooms and 6 people in total. So we are going to be converting one of the bedrooms into a common room in the near future that will hopefully create more of a common area. What do you think would be a good type of room to convert the bedroom into? TV room? Den? Sitting room? Other idea? We have a secondary table that we have for guests who need additional space for dinner. Its a foldable table that we keep in the closet but doesn't really fit the decor so we didn't stage it for photos. Do you think this temporary table setup is enough or would you suggest looking into getting a different table completely?

3) Any advice on what you would change the title too or what buzz words might make it stand out a bit more? 

Those are only 6 of the 25 right?

Here’s the full article: https://www.airdna.co/blog/bes...

22/25 east of the Mississippi!

I just recorded a podcast reviewing the three in Ohio. If you’re interested DM me and I’ll share the link when it’s live.

Quote from @John Underwood:

My low end rentals do not have window air-conditioning. That would turn me off.

Also you have 2 different color appliances. I would make these all stainless.

 Thanks for the advice. We were actually planning on installing ductless AC splits in the property in the near future and have gotten quotes from a contractor for those. They are on our list of property improvements in the intermediate future once we finish off some other priority renovations first. We have seen ductless units begin popping up here and there in the neighborhood so want to offer that as well to stand out from other listings. Window units are still by far the most common type in the city, at least in the areas were tourists are interested in going too. We have asked about central air but the buildings are too old and there is not space to accommodate installing ducts. 

The stainless steel appliance though is definitely something we can look into doing sooner rather than later. It didn't occur to me that this would be a noticeable issue. I appreciate that advice.