All Forum Posts by: Jean H.

Depending on how nice your STR is, have you considered a stock tank pool? I have one at my property in Miami. You get a 8' round stock tank from a farm store for around $800. You can get supplies to convert it into a pool from Amazon for around $200. There are people who use is as a pool during the hotter months and then heat it up to become a hot tub for the colder months. A lot of people paint the stock tank or create a deck around it to make it look really nice.

First, it's cheaper and easier to install than a pool or hot tub (can do it in a weekend). Two, because it's only 2 feet high, insurance companies consider it a kiddie pool so they don't charge you more premium as a result of it. However, it's definitely not for the higher end properties since, well, a stock tank is an animal trough. But Google "stock tank pool" and you can get lots of ideas on how to make it look really nice. 

With respect to your question about hot tubs in warmer destinations, we also have a hot tub at our Miami property (it has 8 Airbnbs that share a backyard with the hot tub and stock tank pool) and that hot tub is used winter or summer. In fact, we seriously considered putting in a second hot tub because guests were fighting over the hot tub, but ultimately we decided to go with the stock tank pool so we could advertise both a pool and a hot tub. So yes, a hot tub will still be used even when it's hot outside. 

I do agree with previous posters though, that the upkeep on a hot tub is intense. We service it weekly and usually have to drain and refill it 1-2x/month.

@Rob Bergeron BRRRRnBs are my business model, especially coupled with small multi families. I buy 2-4 units, rehab all the units, professionally design each unit as well as the shared communal spaces and rent out as short term or medium term rentals. I call them my “luxury motels” :)

@Summer Brandimarte DSCR loan? Since you say you're looking at a multifamily, seems like you could get a commercial DSCR. I'm not a lender, or mortgage broker but I believe DSCR loans are not based on your credit score, but on how much income/rent the property would make.

@Joe S. I respectfully disagree with the “let out the leash a little at a time” philosophy. I’m more the “learning by doing” philosophy.

My son is 18 and just graduated today and will be going off to college in the fall. Because he is interested in real estate, I told him that during freshman year (when he is required to live on-campus), he should be on the lookout for a SFHp-fourplex near his school. I would partner with him to buy the house. Since he would be living in it, we could use an FHA loan. I would provide the down payment. He would then be in charge of finding tenants/roommates, setting and collecting the rent, paying the mortgage, insurance, and bills. Once bills are paid, he gets whatever extra as his spending money. The better he is at landlording, the more spending money he gets. If he chooses to sleep on the couch all year in order to rent the last room, the more money he gets. If he chooses to take thr biggest room in the house and let rent slide, the less money he gets. He makes the decisions on how he wants to live and manage the property. I act as mentor and stop gap for when he has questions or issues. When he graduates school, we sell the house and split the profits.

He will get a crash course in how real estate and real estate financing works, how to be a tough but fair landlord, and also how to adult.

You could probably do the same with your son. Good luck!

@Bruce Woodruff maybe reply to her review saying “as is disclosed in the listing, our place is indeed not kid-friendly, as I would have reiterated to you if you have mentioned you were bringing kids in your “3 adults” booking.”

But it does seem like this is one of those negative reviews that are actually a net positive.

We have a guest write in their review that we disrupted their evening because our fully-disclosed and city-required noise monitor went off several times, leading to our PM calling them and then heading over to the property to remove all the excess people. Yeah, that was a party and we kicked them out. After the review complaining about the noise monitor, we didn’t get anybody looking to throw a party after that 😝

@Bailey A. I do medium term rentals to travel nurses, along with remote workers and just plain Airbnb.

If you are really focused on travel nurses, list the hospital(s) you are closest to in your listing title (e.g. “Quiet Bungalow 2 miles from Jackson Memorial Hospital!”). If not the title, or you don’t want to be that tightly focused, still have it in your listing, probably in “Nearby Attractions”: e.g. Jackson Memorial Hospital, 2 miles

Also, if you can swing it, be pet-friendly! Nurses love their doggies. Bonus points if you have a fenced in backyard for puppers to play in

Lastly, as mentioned by others, black-out curtains in the bedrooms are a must-have

So if you really want to reel in those nurses, name your listing “pet friendly bungalow (or whatever) with private, fenced-in backyard and blackout curtains in bedrooms 2 miles from the Mayo Clinic” or something like that

@Chuck Payette we do medium term rental 30-day min on Furbished Finders and then fill the gaps with Airbnb. So you only unblock the Airbnb (or VRBO) calendar for when you have gaps

@Pita Cula It sounds like a wifi issue, rather than a smart lock issue. Maybe add an extender between your router and the lock and program the lock to the extender and see if that helps.

@Tyler Rayman I do medium term rentals in my multifamily (8 units altogether) and rent often to traveling nurses.

I have a property manager, but i doubt they would have taken my property for just one. Maybe self manage when you have just one, and once you have proof of concept and want to convert all the units, then get a property manager?

I also want to say that if you’re marketing to traveling nurses, the key things they want are 1) black out curtains; 2) quiet, and 3) to bring their little doggies (so he pet-friendly.

Another tip is when using Furnished Finders (which is a $99 annual fee per listing) if you have a multifamily, just get one FF account per address, and then as each unit becomes vacant, just change the pictures and listing copy. Better yet, if all the units look exactly the same in terms of layout and furnishings, you won’t even have to change the pictures or listing copy. By doing that for a 4-plex, you’ve just saved yourself $298/year.

Move on to the next deal. If the HOA is against it, they can make your life miserable. Why do that to yourself.