All Forum Posts by: Matt Grubb

@Michael Ablan How long are you normally waiting to establish a rental record before refinancing? 

Thanks for the support everyone! @Ryana Munford Once I viewed the duplex I had a pretty good idea of what all I wanted done so I could get the max rents. My consultant helped give me a rough estimate on prices for all the work, but he also showed me everything that was mandatory for the home to go FHA. Having the consultant show what all is mandatory was worth paying the $130 for what's called a feasibility analysis. That report basically created my SOW, but I've tweaked it to bring the reno costs down.

@Matt Paradis This is my first deal. I'm really excited to keep things moving forward. We've hit some roadblocks along the way so far, but we're working through them. I just received the estimate from the contractor I'd like to use. It came in waaaay over my original budget, but I've re-analyzed the deal with the new rehab costs and it still makes since financially for me. I'm also going to remove some of the items, and take care of those myself so I can bring the costs down. 

@Ken LatchersThanks for the insight. I think Columbus is a great market, but I'd like to diversify geographically. If something happens down the road and regulation, or some natural disaster, etc happens and Columbus is hit hard, I don't want all my eggs in that one basket. It also matches my family's goals to have multiple properties around the country so we can go and enjoy those cities. 

On the note about property managers, is 30% a going rate for an experienced STR manager? What is everyone out there paying for a solid STR manager?

@Jake Miller Great info! Thanks for going into so much detail. As I scale my business, I think it could be a game changer for discovering promising markets. I'll stay in touch as my business grows, and I'm on board to partner on the costs so we can pull as much data as possible. My goal is to acquire 2 more duplexes within the next year and a half here in Columbus. From there, I'd like to diversify my STR portfolio and buy in a more vacation friendly location and purchase a single family.

@Benjamin Vail Thanks for sharing that info on the Columbus market!

@Jake Miller Partnering is a great idea, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the insight. I think it could be worth it once I scale my business, but I'm currently under contract on my first duplex so I'm just starting out. 

I agree that I should do manual research and use airdna as a supplemental info source. What are your thoughts on their market grade, regulation, "investability" metrics? They're currently locked on the free version. Did you use these metrics at all when you chose the new areas you're expanding to? I'm wondering how accurate they are, especially the regulation score. 

Thanks for the info @Jon Crosby! I appreciate your feedback.

I've been using the free version of Airdna to get a better idea of how specific markets perform with STR. Does anyone currently pay for the state or national information? Is it worth the $500/month?

Thanks for sharing @Clint Harris! I've been using Airdna to analyze markets, but currently only use the free version. The info is limited, but it gives me a rough number for daily rate & occupancy. 

Have you upgraded on Airdna? Do you use the state specific upgrade or the national? I feel like it's so pricey to have access to all the numbers. What is your opinion?

@Greg Dickerson I'm interested in sound front property. When I look at aerial views, it looks like there is almost a set back where homes are built. Is this true with the tides on the sound?

I like the idea of prefab or modular because there are some really cool structures/builders that bring something different to the table for Short Term Rentals. I'd like to do something different compared to the 5+ bedroom homes that have to be rented out by the week. If one of these builders could meet the code requirements, could this still be shot down?  

@Mallory Austin hmm that's a tough situation if you've already met with several and don't trust any of them. The HUD consultant I'm working with now has been great and helped with the contractors. I thought that would be a good starting point, but it looks like you've already done your due diligence. Hopefully someone from the West End area sees this. Sorry I couldn't help more