All Forum Posts by: Elizabeth Harding

Always use keyless entry of some sort not a lock box because that always uses the same code. Make the code the last four digits of the guests phone number and delete it after checkout.

Pay attention to the details. We have every light switch marked with what it does and our light/ceiling fan pulls indicate which is the fan and which is the light.

Have multiple sets of all bedding, towels, bath mats, etc but do not leave all the extras in the unit. The more you leave, the more they use. That said, put out more than one towel per person.

Do something that makes the guests feel special. We make sure there are always fresh flowers on the table and a few muffins. If we know they are coming for an occasion like an anniversary, we leave a note or card. 

Buy an ozone machine! They are around $70-$100 on Amazon and they are unbelievable for getting smells out. From cigarette smoke that drifted inside to strong cologne to fragrant food smells, a couple hours and the place is ready again. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Rotterdam.

Purchase price: $69,000
Cash invested: $55,000

My husband and I have a couple of short term rentals, one in an in-law at our primary residence and one at our part-time out of state residence. This was our first attempt at BRRRR.

We bought a property that was a foreclosure that had been vacant for 4+ years. 3 bedroom, 1 bath about 1350 sq ft

We didn't get all the cash out but we are happy that we didn't completely bomb our first project!

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

We run a software business and we are looking to diversify by moving into real estate. It was attractive to us because of the reasonable entry price. We chose a long established middle class neighborhood in a good school district.

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

We found it on HUD Homestore and used an agent for negotiations.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash purchase and cash renovations

How did you add value to the deal?

We chose to do a really thorough renovation. We wanted everything to be new so that we could get a higher rent than other places in the area. We wanted to find tenants that would value the beauty of the house and be willing to pay more for a nicer home.

What was the outcome?

We bought it for $69,000 cash
Between renovation and other expenses we spent about $55,000 cash
We were able to do a cash out refi for $105,000 and we are renting it for $1650/mo
The ARV is around 155k but we took out what we could based on a healthy debt coverage ratio

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We ended up renting it in the summer and it was right after major landlord tenant law changes. I was scrambling to find a lawyer to help draw up a lease because they were all really busy. I should have started that process earlier.

We spent more time trying to find a good contractor and getting it renovated than we probably should have but it was a great learning experience.

We got set up with the Pro desk at Lowe's so we got the discounts on appliances and other materials.

I second "Shampoo and Booze", when we started a few years ago I took a lot of their advice and it has worked out well.

@John Leavelle

Thank you for the reply! Good point about the goals, ours is to build a portfolio. We would definitely want to get out what we put in or within a few thousand. I think we can do that sometimes at 60% or 65% and meet cash flow goals so it sounds like there is some flexibility, we just have to be conservative and smart about when to do it.

Hello! I have been using the BRRRR calculator to analyze some potential deals. I have watched the tutorial video and just got off the E&O webinar but a question has now arisen about cash flow. When putting in the loan amount for the refi, do you always put in 70% or do you sometimes only put in what would cover the amount of cash you already have into the property? Ideally a property would cashflow when you take out a refi at 70% ARV but what if it does cashflow but only if you take out 40-60% of ARV for example?

We are doing well in Upstate NY, near a tourist area. We don't see the week long beach bookings but we are booked all summer. In the winter we also stay booked and have had travel nurses for 3 months at a time in the off season.

I wouldn't buy a property that couldn't work as a long term rental until the issues with the laws settle down or buy in a place that is very STR friendly and has actual enacted protections for them. We own two and we are good to go but I definitely would have a plan B in place.

I was curious about Binghamton as well, and Utica. Not sure about appreciation but cash flow looks decent and always an area people are renting.

Good afternoon,

My husband and I are looking into real estate investments. Our goal is to buy and hold for our first investment. We currently own two homes, our main residence has an in-law apartment that we rent out on a short-term basis because we are in a tourist area. We also have a second home in another state that we rent out as a short-term rental in a college town that we have to travel to regularly. When we are there we stay in one of the units. 

We have been looking in our state specifically in Upstate NY in an area where there are skiing and hiking opportunities. We found this 5 unit and we are running the numbers based on long term rental, currently the tenants pay below market value. We may consider turning 1-2 units into short-term rental properties so that we have increased income from those but stable income from the others.

I'm just wondering if I am missing anything with the numbers. I read through the forum and took a lot of the advice given to others when I did my estimations. Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide!

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