All Forum Posts by: Lindsay Tucker

Hi Eric,

What if you looked for a primary residence that doubled as an STR? An STR house hack? I currently have two STRs — one is out of state in Florida, but the other I run out of my primary residence out of a mother-in-law suite my partner and I rehabbed in our walk-out basement. Our guests have their own entrance and are totally separate from our living quarters, and we still enjoy more than 1,000 square feet of our own space. We also love meeting travelers and sharing unique experiences with them. It's really much more fun and fulfilling than my far-away Disney rental, and it allows us to almost cover our mortgage while we grow equity in a great place to live.

 That's great!

I've always had good luck with Furnished Finder (but in the Denver market). It wasn't any more work than finding a long-term tenant. You can also use Airbnb and other STR sites for mid-term stays, which may end up being less work in the long run that Furnished Finder. I stopped using Booking.com altogether because they had so much fraud.

It does sound like it could be an attractive STR. How's the STR competition and do you have a sense of what you would pull in with ST v LT? There's so much you can do with decor and your marketing to make your STR standout over the competition as long as it's priced right. My Denver LTR is much more "set and forget" than my STR, which I manage myself. But the income from the STR far surpasses that of the LTR, so it's a trade off. If you think the area you're in is well-suited for travelers, I would go ahead and get settled as an STR before regulations come sweeping in like V.G. said. Best of luck! Keep us posted!

Find an investor-friendly agent in your area — some RE pros specialize in foreclosure, so if after research you're confident that that's the way you want to go, I would find one who can work with you and help guide and represent you in your next transaction. 

Renting by room for 4 different tenants who don't know each other invites extra issues, headaches, in-fighting, and additional variables you won't likely have to face if you have one lease for all 4 rooms. *If* it's much more profitable to rent by room, maybe it's worth it. But managing 4 separate leases, needs, personalities, life circumstances, turnover rates, etc, will be a lot more work than renting out the whole house. 

Congrats on your first deal! Sounds like a great investment. I always furnish with a mix of high and low, as suggested by some other contributors. You can find some really high-quality, durable, timeless stuff at Goodwill and ReStore! Then you'll want to find some focal pieces that will shine in photos and draw renters to your place. Based on your market, you'll figure it out pretty quickly if mid-term is for you or not. I have a place in Denver that does great with mid-term on Furnished Finder, and one in Florida that hardly got any mid-term interest but crushes it on Airbnb. Best of luck!

Just curious what's motivating them to do mid-term rather than short? I have a property in Denver that does great with mid-term so I toyed with trying mid-term with a townhome I bought in Kissimmee—not too far from your clients' place. The interest in mid-term there was abysmal. Polar opposite of Denver. So I switched that property to STR and it's doing fantastic. I did start with lower prices to be competitive and get reviews at first. Now it's close to 100% occupancy. Maybe something for them to consider.