All Forum Posts by: Eddie Gonnella

@Kiran Asknani, I own a handful of STRs in the Ellsworth area. Agree with Travis's comment, area is a lot tougher to find a deal than when I bought. Send me a DM as well if you want a realtor referral. I know a few that work around here and even ones that own STRs themselves. 

Hey Aaron, have you considered a commercial mortgage from a local bank like First National or Bangor Savings Bank? I'm happy to introduce you to folks there. Machias Savings Bank as well. Commercial mortgages are really DSCR loans. The "DSCR loan" world is really just a spin off of commercial banking. In my experience, the local banks are going to get you better rates and lower fees with their commercial loan products than the "DSCR lenders". There is a time and place for DSCR loans, depending on exactly what you are looking at. They usually come with fairly steep rates and high fees/points at closing. I'm happy to get together with you again about this newest spot you are touring and give you my 2 cents on how I would finance it. Some of the other lenders mentioned in this thread are more so private lenders / hard money lenders and while they may underwrite based on DSCR, I don't think it is the DSCR loan you are looking for. If you are looking for a hard money loan for a rehab project, let me know. I'll introduce you to the owner of MR Qualified Alternatives. I've done about 5 hard money loans with them.

Hey Joey, I used Jerome Gamache from ATR Law out of Portland for a very complex seller finance commercial transaction in 2023. I would highly recommend them. 

https://www.atrlaw.pro/attorneys/jerome-j-gamache

Quote from @Alyssa Dyer:

I swapped to PriceLabs a couple months ago. I was hesitant, I didn’t really want to spend money when airbnb has a free smart pricing option built in. Similar to you, I also used airbnb’s promos. 

I did the free trial on PriceLabs and revenue had a small uptick. I decided to sign up when the trial was over because they don’t require a long term contract. Revenue stayed high (and increasing) so I’ve continued to use it. It’s not a magic bullet and I didn’t make A TON more right away.

I log in every Sunday night for 5-10 minutes and adjust settings slightly to keep it dialed into the market. So it’s not a one and done. But I was constantly looking at airbnb pricing so that doesn’t bug me. 

You mentioned airbnb still running promos and it combining with PriceLabs. Totally true. I had that bite me on a couple long term stays where discounts were layered. Not a big deal and easy to correct. But you might considering adding some restrictions while you’re getting used to the changes. 

Let me know if you have any specific questions, I'm happy to help if I can!

Hi Alyssa, not sure if you still spend time here on BP but wanted to ask you a question. I've tried getting this answer from my PMS (Hospitable/OwnerRez) and Pricelabs, but can't really get it clearly answered. If you use Pricelabs, is there any way to still get Airbnb strikethrough discounts to show on your Airbnb listings? I use a lot of the custom promotions to get boosts during the low season, and I like how it makes the guests seem like they are getting a deal. (They are sometimes!). If I discount the price on Pricelab that is pushed to Airbnb, is there any way to get the strike through pricing and other associated promotion and discount benefits that come from Airbnb when making special promotions on Airbnb itself? These are spot discounts not necessarily rule based discounts for open nights, length of stay, etc. 

@Eric Fortin Hey Eric, I was going to refer you to @Nick Maynard but he beat me to it. Nick is a local STRPMC in the Portland area. I ultimately decided to continue managing my own property as I am about 3hrs north of Portland and have managed myself for two years, but I had some great discussions with Nick and he knew what he was talking about. He has also taken courses with some of the leading STR management training programs and was able to give me some tips from what he learned from there. If I ever go shopping again for a STRPMC, Nick will be one of the first people I reach out to. I agree with the discussions above, larger vs smaller companies are really a personal choice. I am sure not all Vacasa or Evolve local reps are bad. There are pros and cons to working with larger companies. I personally prefer smaller local companies that can give my properties a high level of attention. I'd say you should schedule a consult with a large company and a small. For the small one, I don't think you could find much better or more local than Nick who is born and raised in your area and already manages some of his own properties and others right in the Portland and southern Maine area. Hope this helps!

Quote from @Ann Covey:

Hi @Eddie Gonnella and @Dan Weber,

Nice to meet you both. I am hoping to hear from Bar Harbor Bank this afternoon with a definite yes or no. I have worked with Camden National for our PT business and currently getting months delays with TD Bank. I reached out to Bar Harbor to get things moving. I would love info on bankers who work well with investors and aren't shy in this market. Any info is great. I am new to the forum so I will try to DM if I can figure out how ; )

I would definitely recommend some of the more local community type banks - First National Bank, Machias Savings Bank and Bangor Savings Bank. Ben Sprague at First National Bank is my primary commercial lender. I would also recommend wherever you do your checking and deposits for the PT business, they should be most able to help you as they have your deposits and can clearly see your cash flow. Taking that to another bank could be a good way to boost a new relationship as well, though I know the pain of moving business checking accounts. It won’t let me share contact info in these forums otherwise I would! 

I’ve heard good things about some of the Bar Harbor banks as well, and Camden for certain loans. 

Quote from @Ann Covey:

Howdy Folks! 

I am excited to connect with like minded folks. I am a Dr. of Physical Therapy and own a few clinics in the Bangor, Maine region. I am interested in investing in multi units in my state as a start, we own a single family investment now as well as our business building. I am in the process of closing a deal on a 10 unit, but finding the financing process tricky compared to other years doing commercial deals. I am not new to commercial financing as pertaining to running my business, but have a lot to learn about what the banks are looking for the increase my multi unit acquisitions as well as what fixes add actual equity into a property. 

 Hi Anne, I’m in the Bangor area and invest in single family / small multi family. I’m mostly investing in short term rentals towards Acadia right now. I have done a lot of commercial bank financing for residential real estate. Most of which underwent large renovations. Would it be helpful to connect you with my banker? Which bank are you using right now? I’d be happy to chat sometime! 

Quote from @Sean Coffin:

Hello everyone,

Im looking for land in Maine to eventually build upwards of 10-20 tiny homes. Will be campground zoning. This is my first time doing something like this and was wondering if anyone has experience with a similar strategy?

Would love some tips on this approach thanks.

 Hey Sean, I’m in Maine doing something somewhat similar. I bought a campground with cabins on it that will be remodeled into “tiny homes”. Where in Maine are you searching? 

Quote from @Aaron Bard:

Quote from @Zachary Tracy:

Hey Aaron, Time is money and your time will become increasingly valuable. I wanted to give you a few things to consider to save your time:

1. Requiring a completed application prior to showing. This requires the applicant to put forth some effort prior to completing a showing. This will eliminate some leads who are not serious about renting the unit. 

2. Use an online application that preferably syncs with your management software. This eliminates data input, streamlines screening, aggregates applicants. This is a must for 2023 and beyond. 

3. Screen applicants prior to showings. This one is optional, and is a time expense vs cash expense consideration. For my team, it costs more for us to send one of our highly-paid property managers to a property than it does to complete criminal and credit screening (we get discounts based on volume). IF (and I mean if) we do an in-person showing, you better believe that applicant is already approved to sign the lease. 

4. Automated Showings - If you are ready to get real serious about conserving your time and labor expenses for your team, you need this. Tenant Turner is highly endorsed by BP, and that is what we use. This essentially gets you applications in the door with people who have seen and confirmed they want the unit without ever interacting wiht them. Win-Win-Win! Then you screen, and they sign!

5. E-Lease and Templates - Create your lease into a template that preferably syncs with your management software. When you approve an application, the data automatically fills the lease. You hit send, and they can sign it on their phone in less than 30 seconds. If you can't get that fancy, at least use DocuSign or similar to get digital signatures, and if you are in Maine, don't forget all the compliance docs: Radon, EFF, Lead, Bangor Tenant Rights (I see you live there). 

That should get you started. Learn prior to making mistakes. Don't learn how to screen after placing a tenant! If it is already too late, I can tell you how to efficiently conduct an eviction process in Maine.

Good luck!

 Thank you! This is amazing advice. Do you have any recommendations for specific and affordable softwares for a new landlord?

 Hey Aaron, what’s up man! I use Innago.com as my software. It worked really well! I also used to just use Zillow to list and do the screening/background/credit checks. It was easy because it is where I listed the units as well. I think Innago can do this as well and they may even be able to mass list to rental sites now too. It’s been a little bit since I advertised / screened myself as I’ve been outsourcing property management. Two units are managed by Zach actually! They are the ones right around the corner from your new place. I really recommend Innago though. It’s free and has been very capable for me. 

I echo what Zach said. Try to screen a bit before you waste time on a showing. I had a list of like 15 questions I made people fill out before scheduling a showing. Even better to just have them do an application. Zillow was nice because a lot of people were pre-screened. 

Bangor and Maine have some odd rules/laws that I didn’t even know about when I was listing apartments. Zach pointed some of them out and since you are in Bangor it would be worth your while to look into them a bit. I learned all of them from Zach - there was a bunch of stuff I was doing that is standard landlord advice but isn’t legal or allowed in Bangor. And be wary of BP advice unless it’s from locals (like Zach) - some places have their own laws around listings and screening. Bangor is one of those places! 

Quote from @Joey Shaw:

Hey guys,

I'm in Maine and having a tough time deciding where (and what) to start with. I'm a realtor so I can get into places (in Maine) pretty quickly. I've checked out single families, 2-6 units, out of state (mostly PA because it's the closest "landlord-friendly" state to me), and smaller commercial. I have been leaning towards SFR because I like the idea of the tenants paying for everything. I also lean that way because most of the multis in my price range in this state are built in the 1800s and I cringe at the thought of the upkeep on them. For out-of-state stuff, I have a hard time because I don't know which areas, contractors, and property managers are good and trustworthy.

Any suggestions of where to start would be very much appreciated. I've been stuck in limbo for years and I just need to take action. I'm hoping your feedback will help get me going in the right direction...

Thanks, in advance, for any guidance you can provide!

- Joey

What part of Maine? I’m in the Bangor area. Regardless of where, I’d recommend joining some local meet up groups to see what others are doing in your market. There are good meet up groups in Bangor and Portland area as well as other parts of the state. I’m in Bangor area if you want to connect!