All Forum Posts by: Heather Brown

@Nick Robinson So true that many lessons learned with this deal. I am going to use that to help me to do better moving forward. Not going to let it stop me! I joined my local REIA and am doing some more education before my next deal. Thanks for your input. Lots of great points!

 @Chris Allen. This is great first hand perspective. Thanks for sharing this. Very helpful!

@Mel Volland.   Thanks for your input. It's helpful to hear the perspective of someone with all of your experience. It does make me feel a little better to hear that the market is at least partially to blame. I did pretty quickly drop the price down to $2400. It has been listed at that for weeks and still nothing. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but really starting to think this isn't the best use of what limited capital I have. May need to rethink my strategy with this property. Still think MTR is a great thing, but will know better what to look for in the future I think. Thanks again! 

@Jacob Sloop

Thanks for taking a look at my property. 

Yes initially had it planned as a STR/MTR hybrid; honestly mostly focused on MTR and fill in holes with STR if needed.

Thought the lake vibe would be a nice draw for that type of thing, and it's a nice neighborhood. Maybe you're right about the location. I was hoping with it being so centrally located it would work for a lot of different areas, but it is about 4-5 miles from nearest hospital.

LTR would be about 1750-1850 range and now that I've spent over 10K furnishing it, and also have the HELOC payment, the numbers don't really work for me.

Also not feeling good that all my cash is tied up in it. Ugh

Hi @Benjamin Aaker Thanks for your reply.

Yes the STR issue is definitely a factor, but more so I think it's because I feel as if the only way it will work is with MTR and now I can't seem to get it rented. All of my cash is tied up in a deal that is doing nothing but costing me money so far so I'm feeling the need to cut my losses before I lose more. I'm pretty sure I made a mistake. Sucks but all I can do now is try to deal with it the best way possible. Appreciate your response.

Hi @Theresa Harris Thanks for replying.

LTR would be 1750-1850.

Yes I spoke with every department at the city, some on more than one occasion, along with several emails with planning and zoning. It's a mess.

I think they have simply not enforced the rules, or even been aware of what is happening. They sounded clueless. But with the new State House Bill and airbnb automatically sending tax payments on the STR's behalf I don't think flying under the radar is an option any longer.

 @Scott E.

1. Have listed on:  Furnished Finder, Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Avail, Zumper, Padmapper, Apartments.com, Apartmentlist.com, and Realtor.com. I also listed on airbnb, temporary housing network, and ale solutions.

2. Initially MTR rate I set at $3000, then pretty quickly dropped it to $2800 (to fit within more people's search parameters); then I reduced it to $2400 a few weeks ago.

3. Best case scenario, I'd be in the hole less than $1000; more likely scenario I'd lose around 15-20K.

Thanks for replying. Interested in your thoughts.

Looking for input/opinions/constructive feedback.

Purchased a property 9/30 with intention of marketing as STR/MTR.

DD with no red flags and seemed like good area for this strategy d/t lots of healthcare and huge military presence.

1. The numbers:

Closing costs: 82K

Furnishing: 10K

Purchase: 292,500

HELOC on primary used for funds to close.

2. The problems:

a. Well, despite my research, it seems that STR is not permitted in the city, period.

There are a lot of STR's currently there, but I'm afraid there will be a crackdown because a state bill was passed on Oct 1 stating that abnb will send all occupancy taxes directly to the city.

So now the city will be receiving tax revenue on all of these properties that it didn't even know about. 

b. The numbers don't work for a LTR (if it was just the property I could make it work, but can't cover furnishings, heloc payment, etc. so would be a loss; not to mention the holding costs for the last 3 months)

c. So my only option it appears is MTR, which seemed fine at first. That's really what I was hoping for anyway, and to fill in holes with STR. But I have had the property listed since beginning of November and it is still not rented.

3. The solution:

Should I just unload the property, take the hit, and move on with the lesson learned?

Or should I hang on and keep trying to rent it because it is a terrible idea to sell a property after 3 months?

Thanks for any help.

@Dan D. Yes there are several str's in Chesapeake. I think they have been able to fly under the radar, but with the House Bill 518 that was passed Oct 1st. Now abnb is sending occupancy taxes directly to the city, so Chesapeake is likely receiving money from abnb for properties that they have no knowledge of. I'm not sure how that will play out. I'm trying to figure out what do now; hold on or sell. Tough call though. Good luck with your place! Should do great as ltr I would think.

@Jesse Alfonzo I am having similar problems. My place has been listed on FF for over a month and no leads yet. I've done lots of troubleshooting and no change in results. So unfortunately I don't have advice, but thought it might help to know that you're not the only one.