All Forum Posts by: Jess Butikofer

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Pigeon Forge.

Purchase price: $183,400

Cash invested: $183,400

Vacation Rental Property that has been fixed up and has been converted from 1 rental unit into 2 separate units (1 bed, 1.5 bath, sleeps 5; and a studio apt that sleeps 6) to maximize income from $38k/yr to $45-50k/yr.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The growing demand/trend for Vacation Rentals

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Lots and Lots and Lots of nationwide research as it was my first one. I used an agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Self-Financed

How did you add value to the deal?

Converting the property from a single rental unit (2 bed, 2.5 bath) 1,900 sq ft cabin that sleeps 11 to Two separate units (1 bed 1.5 bath & studio apt) that sleeps 5 and 6 respectively.

What was the outcome?

In first 8 months I have matched with 2 separate units the amount of revenue that was previously 1 unit's previous 12 month income. I have 8 months under my belt so far and have endured as much or more "setbacks" as I've ever seen in all my years of land-lording (lots of appliance replacements, A/C fixes, idiot guests that demand refunds due to crumbs in the toaster [no joke], and even the dreaded HOA Special Assessment. I am looking forward to 2019 now that I know what to expect.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Vacation Rentals are high maintenance. Keep 20-30% of your annual income set aside for surprise replacements/repairs. Your Cleaners must are your "eyes and ears" and must be on the ball/have attention to detail or you will have angry guests/bad reviews. Wear/tear is much worse than long term rentals. Like anything in life- some guests are fantastic people and renew my faith in the STR system as well as humanity, some seem like they are from another planet and have insane expectations.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Avery Carl- She was great, very helpful with my market questions/concerns and is an STR investor in the Smoky Mountains herself

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Pigeon Forge.

Purchase price: $183,400
Cash invested: $183,400

Vacation Rental Property that has been fixed up and has been converted from 1 rental unit into 2 separate units (1 bed, 1.5 bath, sleeps 5; and a studio apt that sleeps 6) to maximize income from $38k/yr to $45-50k/yr. have 8 months under my belt so far and have endured as much or more "setbacks" as I've ever seen in all my years of land-lording (lots of appliance, A/C, idiot guests that demand refunds due to crumbs in the toaster [no joke], and the dreaded HOA Special Assessment. I am looking forward to 2019 and a full year of the vacation rental steam it brings! I am expecting/anticipating a 15-20% cap rate and am looking forward to the next property to BRRRR!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The growing demand/trend for Vacation Rentals

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Lots and Lots and Lots of nationwide research as it was my first one. I used an agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Self-Financed

How did you add value to the deal?

Converting the property from a single rental unit (2 bed, 2.5 bath) 1,900 sq ft cabin that sleeps 11 to 2 separate units (1 bed 1.5 bath & studio apt) that sleeps 5 and 6 respectively.

What was the outcome?

In first 8 months I have matched with 2 separate units the amount of revenue that was previously 1 unit's previous 12 month income

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Vacation Rentals are high maintenance. Your Cleaners must are your "eyes and ears" and must be on the ball/have attention to detail or you will have angry guests/bad reviews. Wear/tear is much worse than long term rentals. Most Americans expect your home to be the Hilton. Like anything in life- some guests are fantastic people and renew my faith in the STR system as well as humanity, some seem like they are from another planet and have insane expectations.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Avery Carl- She was great, very helpful with my market questions/concerns and is an STR investor in the Smoky Mountains herself

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment in Lindon.

Purchase price: $375,000
Cash invested: $18,000

Converted our Basement into a Fully Functional Apartment- My only regret was that I didn't do it sooner! If the layout is good so that you don't hear or see each other (good privacy) and you get the right tenants: (low key/low maintenance-people you'd hang out with as friends) newly married that work or go to school all day and just sleep there it's a breeze! The point is have others pay your Mortgage!

Awesome- Thanks @Steve Frye

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment in Lindon.

Purchase price: $375,000

Cash invested: $18,000

Converted our Basement into a Fully Functional Apartment- My only regret was that I didn't do it sooner! If the layout is good so that you don't hear or see each other (good privacy) and you get the right tenants: (low key/low maintenance-people you'd hang out with as friends) newly married that work or go to school all day and just sleep there make it a breeze! The point is think creatively and find ways to have others pay your Mortgage!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Finding a way to have someone else pay my mortgage

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I checked city zoning laws and talked to lots of construction/handymen to discover how to get creative yet stay within codes.

How did you finance this deal?

Self- Financed

How did you add value to the deal?

Added Kitchen, Bedroom, Laundry and designed it to be unique and an attractive value to tenants while competing against apartment amenities. Would it add value to the home? (YES! Both in income and property value).

What was the outcome?

How soon would the remodel/conversion pay itself back? (answer 18 months). Can rent it out easy for $1,000+/mo thanks to the strong rental demand of local economy. I would highly recommend others looking at rental options as close as on your own property if possible.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I did nearly all remodeling myself. I learned quite a bit- especially when it comes to what you can/cant do with your breaker box and local codes.

Thanks Luka; I ended up buying one in the Pigeon Forge area last year after running into brick walls in residential areas of Nashville. Restrictions are intimidating to say the least. Now I am only looking in urban/downtown Nashville that that has STR/commercial zoning approval only. They are pricey- 1-2 bed condos are $250-350k and 3bed Townhomes are typically around $450-550k. I have been thinking of investing in Memphis for awhile now, and I would have to imagine it would be much a more affordable market than Nashville

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $314,000
Cash invested: $314,000
Sale price: $338,000

Fix and Flip I did with some partners in a Home Residence in the Corona CA area. We turned a profit, however, the market had cooled down significantly from the prior year as the market crash of was well into recovery. Lesson Learned- Don't count on the market to continue to go up (or down) when estimating profits. Calculate on current market data, anything on that can be the "cherry on top".

Investment Info:

Single-family residence hard money loan investment in Las Vegas.

Purchase price: $345,000
Cash invested: $345,000

Hard Money loan with a partner to fund a fix and flip residential home in Las Vegas NV. Total cost was $345,000 and we received 12% interest of total loan upon closing.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Idaho Falls.

Purchase price: $74,000

Cash invested: $700

Great Buy and Hold; Strategy was and is to depreciate asset whilst building equity. I originally bought this property to offset taxes during college years while earning a six figure income

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Idaho Falls.

Purchase price: $75,000
Cash invested: $3,750
Sale price: $128,550,000

Long Term Buy and Hold; the unit was a great depreciation asset for me during my college years to offset a six figure income.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Time was on my side