All Forum Posts by: Jesse Turner

@Luke Carl and @John Carbone, when you say "licensed", is that as an agent? That would look different state to state, right?

What should you ask a co-host/property manager when they offer to list, market, maintain, and turnover guests for 20% of gross revenue?

 I agree. There are insurance companies that specialize in homes that are rented. The policies are also distinct for long-term versus short-term rental properties.

It is worth checking with your original insurer to see what kind of policy would be needed overall (both units). Make sure you are comparing apples to apples when you get quotes from other insurers, too. Ask them if they will insure just one unit, the interior only, or the structure itself.

 And they can't be on the no-fly list! haha

STRInsights is slightly superior to Airdna when comparing markets on a national or regional level. So far, Airdna is still the best at providing property-level comps and projections.

 Joshua Tree has certainly appreciated to the point of market equilibrium. Some of the nearby towns (Like Twentynine Palms) may still have opportunities for positive cashflow.

However, the revenue growth for both areas is pretty stagnant, so if you're counting on scraping by the first couple of years to then cashflow later, I'd recommend looking somewhere else. Particularly if you're attempting to BRRR your STR (not advisable in that market).

 If you get a license to Airdna, you can see the comps. I have access and get to see the comps so I can recommend to my clients (owners of STRs) what they should be able to charge and what target occupancy should be for their area.

Airdna can be slightly inflated, but it's accurate if you intend on having a top-performing STR for your area.

Investment Info:

Townhouse fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $264,000
Cash invested: $10,000
Sale price: $405,000

Townhome built in 2007 on the edge of city development. That area boomed and saw tremendous residential and commercial growth. When we bought our second property we turned this into a rental (your very first!) to see how we’d do as landlords and attempt to hold until the market peaked.

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

Watching my brother lean heavily into real estate, I wanted to make some money outside of my day job. This was our first home that we owned.

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

As first time buyers we went with a local agent and found this option after a long parade of townhomes across both salt lake and Utah counties.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

We rented it out, then used that deposit to add some cosmetic improvements to the interior.

What was the outcome?

We rented at a break even rate for 1 year and then sold for a profit of $100,000+

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Being a landlord is not fun. We assumed a family with good income would treat our property well, but they let their kids destroy our basement carpet, got a pet without asking (which chewed baseboards), and broke off window curtain rods, etc. It was hard to handle the personal confrontation, so I look forward to outsourcing property management tasks when we can work it in to a cash flowing property.

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

Shayna Stanton helped us sell despite having only two offers right before this area switched to a buyers market.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $460,000
Cash invested: $15,000

Our second investment! Cash flow is projected once we move out, but this was our second home and may become part residential, part Air BnB someday.

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

It’s how we got started with low cash. Renters in basement covering half our mortgage was our foot in the door.

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

Pre market connection through our agent after our backup offer in the same neighborhood didn’t work out.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan

How did you add value to the deal?

We’ll make the home more energy efficient by updating the windows in the future.

What was the outcome?

Still holding. Basement makes $1,250/month and upstairs could make $1,600/month when we move out.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Save up with purpose so you can move when you need more space.

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

Shayna Stanton really knows this area!