All Forum Posts by: Easton Hill

Last night I was talking with a friend about how to work with partners, clients, contractors, friends, etc.

The best way to get what you want in life, business, and real estate is to ask yourself:

"How can I solve a problem for the other party in an ethical, sustainable, and profitable way"

If you can answer this question with extreme clarity you'll find that doors open to you, partners appear, and negotiations become about details rather than about the project itself

If you can't you'll find that you do a lot of "one-time" transactions, burn a lot of bridges, and encounter resistance left and right! 

When a cleaner talks, I listen!

I recently had a cleaner give me feedback about how we could improve our turnover process!

Improving how we store “extra stuff” was a critical piece of feedback

$429 for the shed
$100 in supplies
$100 more on the way

This yard shed will have everything this 4-plex needs to ensure that no matter what happens during a guest’s stay

We are prepared!

Our Guest’s choose our furnished apartments because they can arrive with luggage and live their entire life without missing a beat!

If they arrive and we are out of coffee grounds, paper towels, and low on hand soap

They will miss a beat

By having a surplus of inventory we make sure that the next guest is never affected by what the previous guest did in the apartment!

TLDR;  "How does a smart, data-driven investor, measure market saturation?"

- - - - - 

Gone are the days of just buying any property, furnishing it with crappy furniture, listing it with iPhone photos, and making a killing! 

I think we all know that STR&VR listings have increased year-over-year in almost every market and by large amounts in others! (my own market of Phoenix has seen an unprecedented increase of 20-25%)

So naturally, you see operators, owners, and managers saying things like "The market is saturated" 

My sincere questions are:

How do you know a market is saturated?

How do you measure saturation? 

What date supports your assertions?

How do you even define the word "saturation?" 

In a saturated market, what should an operator expect from ADR, Occupancy, and Pacing? 

When I hear talk about saturation, it's always "feelings" based rather than data-centric. 

I'm earnestly seeking to be the best real estate investor I can be and I'm certain that making "feelings" based choices will lead to bad investments. 

So I ask - "How does a smart, data-driven investor, measure market saturation?" 

Last night, I got into the "flow" and got absorbed into a financial model that I was building in excel . . .

Three hours passed without me noticing . . .


One area that I enjoy in real estate is being able to create financial models

I'm admittedly not a pro, but being able to express a set of assumptions about the future

and then see how those assumptions affect cashflows can be enthralling

-----

When was the last time you found 'the flow'?

Were you modeling real estate or something else?

I'm in the process of searching for a new market myself! My primary search criteria is the "Price to Revenue" Ratio (House produces 100k and costs 400k = 25%)

I'm looking for areas where there are affordable properties that have above-average tourist demand. 

Lots of great options have been listed already! 

An additional one to consider is to get a cosigner. Find a higher net worth individual and pay them in some way to cosign your loan. Have them be a 10% equity partner or something. 

If you making 11k a month, just show your cosigner your bank statements, background check, and credit score and I'm sure they won't mind participating in a deal with you! 

Good luck!  

Probably a smart idea, but if a kid dies in your pool - no agreement is going to keep a litigious person from suing you. 

An additional solution might be to install a childproof lock on the back door (or whatever doors leads to the pool) so that only adults can open it. 

Long-term I would put up a fence and get an insurance policy! 

Good luck! 

TLDR: I'm considering the decision whether to build an STR or to acquire a pre-existing property and convert it into an STR. Any thoughts are helpful.

I'm considering two options for my first STR that I will own (I already do STR arbitrage and management so I'm not a total newbie)

(1) Buying a "buildable lot" then contracting with a builder to build an STR

(2) Acquiring a "Decent house" that needs light cosmetic work and then converting over to an STR

For context, I have limited experience in construction, so work will be done through GC/contractors either way. 

Building seems like an attractive option to me currently as I believe I will have "instant" equity with the potential to refinance out the initial capital,  but the total project will take much longer to complete. However, I also know that building carries risks and comes with its own headaches. 

Acquiring a house that needs light cosmetic work, seems less complex, but I don't anticipate having a lot of equity, to begin with since there will be little value added in the acquisition process. 

Any help is appreciated!

Travis Shelton

Is this a reoccurring meeting? 

@Shiloh Lundahl

Is there a plan to have additional meet ups?