All Forum Posts by: Erwin Sham

It doesn't cover any loss of income due to your rental being repaired. They will cover your damages only. So you are out all the income you could have made during that time.

1 Vote

Westchester County, New York

Proper is pricey but they are best in coverage. What other company offers business income loss and up to 15k for dealing with squatters?

0 Votes

Westchester County, New York

Quote from @James R.:

Hello Fellow BP'ers!

Who has listed their short term rentals on the HomeToGo Platform and if so, have you experienced good results?

I have plenty experience with HomeToGo. I would compare it to BDC. Except their customer service is only through email. Also they work Casamundo but their communication between each company is lacking. Highly recommend you have stripe with rental agreement where you collect identification, selfie, credit card info, and e-signature. You should be have experience vetting and screening.

1 Vote

Quote from @Garrett Brown:

Quote from @Todd Goedeke:

@Garrett Brown let’s hear your success story .why would a passive investor looking for a fixed rate of return of 15% Cash on Cash want a variable return via co-hosting?

To start, a passive investor would never consider co-hosting so I can’t even answer that question as people have mentioned these are businesses. My question wasn’t owning vs co-hosting vs arbitrage. I was asking for opinions for each side for people that have done them.
1) I doubt any STR in 2024 is going to be COMPLETELY passive and make a fixed 15% return.
If you know where that deal is, please let me know lol
2) I own 4 and co-host 3. The cash-on-cash return for my co-hosting ones are basically infinite because I put zero down in monetary value (sweat equity and experience are another thing) to make a profit. All my systems work together so my owning has higher returns the more I expand my co-hosting as I am vertically scaling.
I’ll always be a fan of buying when you can. Not everyone can put down 20% to start in the STR world and these are options to find an entry if someone desires.

I have done both. Started off doing arbitrage for STR. Then pivoted some units to MTR. Also picked up co-hosting units. I know a lot of arbitrage hosts who aren't continuing and actually dropping these arbitrage units. Co-hosting is lower cost and easier to scale once you have your systems in place. It doesn't take 1 year plus to make back your money. Now I would only consider arbitrage for coliving/rent by room or assisted living. STR arbitrage is getting more expensive as everyone is force to add more amenities. Imagine trying to ask an owner permission to add on hot tub or high cost item just so you can compete. A lot to factor if the numbers actually make sense to do it. Personally I rather just own than arbitrage at that point.

1 Vote

Quote from @Alex Keim:

One more question on this. My property usually returns in the top 2 or 3 properties when you search my area. Once I add VRBO then theoretically roughly half of my bookings are going to come from VRBO. Has anyone tried to observe the effect this has on your search results? I realize it's a pretty specific scenario but at the same time I image most people start on only AirBNB and then expand to VRBO once they have their listing stablized.

I have my units on several platforms. I'll tell you from my experience your ranking can slip at least on Airbnb but really doesn't really affect you. Have you looked on Pricelabs if you unit really in that rank. I can force my listing to show up higher rank by discounts. I price my units higher on Vrbo and BDC. Also seen this market slow down back since April. When I get BDC booking it is premium and I'm ok with sacrificing my rank/algorithm on Airbnb. End of day I know each platform and what prices I'll get a booking. This is the data you should figure out.

0 Votes

Quote from @Lucas Schlund:

Hello all! I have tried finding post regarding this question but couldn't really find what I'm looking for. I'm new to STR's and was wondering, from a big picture view : How do you run the numbers on a potential STR? Any help is appreciated as I'm trying to get a better grasp on evaluating short term rentals including the steps you go about to finding your target markets. Also any book recommendations on STR's are appreciated.

First thing I always ask people who ask me about doing STR is do you have a regular w2 and do you want to do another job?

You want run your numbers as LTR. Will it cash flow as LTR? What a lot people failed to do is underwrite as LTR. Then used Airdna numbers solely now with saturation and inflation. A lot of newer unexperienced hosts are underwater. Also laws change and hosts didn't have a backup plan or know how to pivot. Finding a STR isn't hard but evaluating your competitors will take time. You want to find properties that are missing amenities that you can add and then offer. Pricelabs can do that analysis for a small monthly fee or you use STR Insights. You also need to pick type a guest avatar and then design your place to attract those avatars. I would suggest looking into your local market first obviously you need to find out STR restrictions or permit needed. Out of state you will need boots on the ground so building a team is key.

0 Votes

Quote from @Devon Moore:

Hi Everyone,

I explored switching from Hospitable to Hostaway PMS for my short-term rental. I decided to stick with Hospitable after the first onboarding call. In the first call they disconnected my old PMS before setting up any of the messaging, notifications to cleaners, or locks before the end of the call. The next call was not scheduled for about a week, so I was out of these automations that whole time. The solution from Hostaway was to wait for the next onboarding call and they would add some extra time, which was not helpful for about a week.

If anyone decides to make a switch to Hostaway, just make sure they set up everything before disconnecting your Airbnb from your old PMS.

There isn't a lot of information about comparing PMS providers, so just wanted to let anyone who is considering switching know my experience.

Yes a lot people assume it is plug and play when it requires work to switch over. Usually you want to provide yourself enough time to onboard your new pms before completely dumping your old pms. Also you could do both Hospitable and Hostaway as there isn't a true all in one solution that fits everyone needs. I have Hospitable and Bookingautomation for instance yes I could probably do everything in there except automatic looks but I really like Hospitable app for my VA.

0 Votes

Quote from @Edwin Buitrago:

Hello BP community. I am launching my first STR and I was wandering what are the most common site for bookings besides Air b n b and what are their pros and cons.

On the other hand, I would like to hear some recommendations on sites to manage the different postings on different platforms, again I am a beginner with only one villa, so I would like to stay on the $20-$40 a month.

Airbnb and VRBO for beginners. You should have noise monitoring aka minut and exterior cameras. Once you gained experience vetting guests you could try BDC but your prices need to higher than your Airbnb prices and you be very careful as the platform has tons of scammers looking to prey on unsuspecting newer hosts. If you don't have stripe setup than opt for payment processing by BDC. I would recommend listing on Peerspace first. Also most platform won't charge you to list. There are some platforms where you will need a channel manager those costs vary by who end up choosing.

0 Votes

Jacksonville, Florida

Quote from @Brian Rivera:

Hi. My name is Brian. I am set to close on a 2 unit home in hackensack NJ at the end of this month. I also have owned a 4 unit in Guttenberg NJ since 2018. Starting 10/1 i will have a vacant unit in each home and I am considering trying airbnb in my guttenberg home and maybe a travel nurse housing in the Hackensack home (10 minutes from Hackensack Marridean Hospital). Anyone have experience doing short term rentals, especially in hudson and Bergen county? Any wisdom would be very much appreciated!

I would recommend checking out Furnished Finder Stats to see the demand and also calling the hospital to see if they actually use travel nurses. Travel nurses typically want 1/1 with washer/dryer and parking. You can research on Airbnb and Rabbu to see what numbers look like for short term. Obviously you will still need to research if you need permits and if it is allowed.

1 Vote

Jersey City, New Jersey

Quote from @Jennifer Feldstein:

Quote from @Ethan Cooke:

@Anibal Mijangos - Rental arbitrage is a great business wherever you can find below-market rental units and favorable STR regulations in strong Airbnb markets. It takes work but it can be lucrative. @Monica Mejia, @Christian Ehlers and @Eric Yu offer balanced perspectives here.

I have built a successful 30+ unit rental arbitrage business between San Francisco and San Jose over 5 years. I walked away from a successul 20-year career as an HR Director in Silicon Valley to do this full fime and I have nearly replaced my corporate income. I work hard but I spend twice as much time with my daughters every day. I can increase my income when I need to by renting another unit, or increase my free time by hiring out more of the on-site property set-up and maintenance work.

Here‘s what has made my business successful in addition to finding below-market rents in strong Airbnb markets: 1. Add value to the landlord and the unit. 1A. Find outdated units and add great rental value with paint, new light fixtures, smart locks, etc. 1B. Offer mom and pop landlords a headache-free tenancy including Free Maintenance for all minor repairs. In 5 years, I have secured leases with 30-40% of the landlords I have offered this to.

2. If you are in an expensive market like the Bay Area, target units in cheaper (but still safe) areas. Most out of town renters don’t know the difference between Palo Alto (Stanford/expensive!) and San Bruno (SFO Airport/reasonable rents). I have kept my rental costs and risk down and margins higher by doing this.
3. Bonus: Find homes that can be easily divided into 2 units (e.g. main house upstairs with separate downstairs area including bedroom, bathoom, wet bar and separate entrance). These places are gold mines!

Good luck!

Such a great breakdown, Thanks Ethan for sharing. We're in the SF Bay Area with a few rentals, then other parts of CA and out of state. We're just thinking about a rental arbitrage opportunity in the same building where we own a unit of our own. Not sure how to approach the owner who has it listed for a great LTR rental price. But we do have a track record of success in the area and a unit that is completely remodeled and modern. If the owner has a PM handling the renting any suggestions on approaching them with the opportunity for a 2-3 year lease?

Well if it is being PM that conversation is a bit different vs talking to the Owner. I will say this a lot of PM hate STR or don't understand it still. If the PM is open to STR the conversation is pretty easy. Ethan touched on the points you basically want to solve their problem and present yourself as a great solution. You want a minimum 2 year lease but shoot for 3 years with concessions. You want to be able make money if you need to pivot to MTR so keep that in mind.

0 Votes

Los Angeles County, California

All Forum Posts by: Erwin Sham

Erwin Sham has started 2 posts and replied 24 times.

Post: STR insurance - Proper alternatives?

Post: STR insurance - Proper alternatives?

Post: HomeToGo Property Listing Platform

Post: Co-hosting vs. Arbitrage

Post: Is it worthwhile to list on multiple platforms

Post: How To Run The Numbers On A Potential STR

Post: Hostaway PMS Software

Post: Short term rental management sites

Post: Considering short term rentals

Post: Is STR Arbitrage still a good opportunity?