All Forum Posts by: Joel Oh

I think arbitrage is a great way to do STR with the high interest rates / inflated housing prices we are experiencing now. Just don't forget that this is a cashflow business more than an investment. You will lose one of the best benefits of the real estate industry, appreciation.

Have you heard something called depreciation..? The same thing you claim on your tax return for your properties. Yes, just like you claim depreciation on the use of your property, any company including an insurance company claim depreciation when they pay for your damage. You don't get 100% simply because you replaced the item. I don't disagree that Airbnb claims can be difficult but this is all very common in the industry. 

For your payout, I don't know the full story but Airbnb doesn't cover extra fees including cleaning fees. I mean, you don't need to clean the property or pay local taxes since there is no use so I think this is pretty fair. However, this system can hurt hosts who hide the true cost in the cleaning fees. 

Maybe deal with an actual insurance company then maybe you will change your perspective toward Airbnb haha.. Good luck

Thank you Byron! That is quite interesting. I see a lot of amenities you recommended as amenities that increase the quality of stay which leads to a higher guest satisfaction but doesn't really affect my return. (Of course, there is a factor that higher rating will increase my booking but that is not just coming from adding one or two amenities) Besides item 5 and 6, I am not sure how much other items will attract more guests to my business. How do you calculate the ROI of your amenities to say these are the best amenities for ROI? I am very interested to see experienced host's perspective.

Hey Bryon! What do you think is the best amenities for Airbnb in ROI value?

Being wealthy is not just being rich.

A person who has a lot of money but no time is not wealthy.

A person who has a lot of money but no privacy is not wealthy.

A person who has a lot of money but no relationship is not wealthy.

A person who has a lot of money but no ambition is not wealthy.

Being rich is easy, being wealthy is very challenging.

And yes being wealthy is very worthy because to become wealthy, you need to master your life.

Money is just a small part of your life.

The reality is, most of illegal immigrants 

1. can't purchase a house due to not reporting tax and not having social security number.

2. can't rent A or B rental properties due to the same reason above.

Thier impacts on rental properties or housing market is very small unlike many people believe. They are mostly cramped in a small apartment or renting from slumlords. The issue is they don't pay taxes because they don't have to which makes them not able to participate in the US financial system. Most of people send money back to their countries anyway to support their families so their spending power is very limited. I never seen an illegal immigrant own a house. 

You can't say no or ask questions about service animals. They are above the law lol.. Don't say anything about you don't allow service animals on your listing. Airbnb will shut your listing down faster than an airplane. Just put a no pet and pray you don't get service animals to your listing. Most service animal owners will not book a place that doesn't allow pets.

What paint sheens have you used? Flat paint looks great but shows every fingerprint and dirt. The minimum sheen I would use for any rental is satin (Very rarely eggshell).

Does your rate include cleaning fees? The current rate is extremely low. I can't imagine how much money you are losing every month. (Why not just rent as furnished long term at this point?) As Patrick said, please remove all your faces from the picture. I understand it makes you and your wife happy but you guys are not models. Either hire a professional model or remove faces. I also have no clue what your description is saying on your listing. Easy writing is the best writing. Your listing is screaming too much personality. Tone it down and make it professional and inviting. Good luck! 

Your business must make money day 1.

It is so much more difficult to fix the model that is not making money than starting a new business that makes money day 1. 

What you are trying to do is a patchwork. You are not even scooping your initial investment so your cash on cash return is negative. It is an urgent situation and you have to fundamentally change everything. You made that revenue with your new listing boost. Year 2 will not have that blessing. 

Ah yeah, they allow couch surfing style stays since that has been a thing there forever. I used it when I was a teenager haha. Honestly, why would anyone do that when the median house price of NYC is almost 1 million. (Manhattan condo starts at 2M) I can guarantee 95% properties are running illegally. 

I just can't stand of regulations those are not possible to be monitored and just being there because of lobbyists. According to NYC, STR is hurting housing affordability just like normal people can buy a house or condo near the Time Square and Madison Garden.