All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

I may be in the minority among STR owners but I disagree, at least when it comes to my own strategy. I've found markets that have a good-to-great appreciation runway that also cash flow. My plan to scale up to around 10ish properties, let them grow a bit, sell off the slower cash flow properties and roll that equity into the 3-5 winners. I certainly would not the first to succeed from this strategy.

Lots of business owners buy the property that they operate in, and many failed businesses have come out on top because they sold the building on the backend. Also makes it easier to sell the business (and with greater value) because they have something to leverage in a buyout. 

My family has a place on the sand in Lake Huron. We measure the beach from a fixed point (driftwood stump) every year. Over the 3+ decades we've owned it the length of beach has changed wildly in both direction by 20-30+ feet. 

People use single data points of sea level change as a marker, while ignoring the multitude of geological and other human impacts (erosion, wetland destruction, coastal development etc) that have an impact on land level. In some areas the sea level has decreased. Mean sea level averaged across the entire world is around 2 mm/year, or 6-8 inches/100 years. 

I don't disagree that climate change is happening on some level, however the impacts are largely speculative and debatable. 

Pools generally don't raise property values but in general they do significantly increase STR revenue.

At a glance, a pool would serve more guests, especially in hot temperatures like the markets you mentioned. That said I would dig deeper and look at properties with each amenity- see how well each books out and their ADR. If there are tons of homes with pools and wide open calendars yet the few places with PB courts are booked out, there's your answer. 

Depends on guest avatar as well. PB Court will serve older generations, while a pool is better for families. 

In terms of maintenance cost and liability the PB Court is a no brainer. Biggest risk is the complaints from neighbors about the noise, although I've heard that there are new paddles that dampen the noise quite a bit? 

@AJ Wong I'm wondering if we do have more hot days inland, does that translate to warmer days on the coast as well in Oregon? The California coast gets foggier when it is hot inland, aka "June Gloom" that tends to persist well into August. Plus the Pacific Ocean is pretty cold, so it can only get so warm if the wind is coming off of the ocean. 

The only exception is when we have "Santa Ana" winds from the East in the fall, which are absolutely glorious days on the coast, but summer tends to be one of the worst weather seasons. South facing beaches fair best overall. 

Thanks @Jeff Chisum , can you expand on this? Does that mean it has to be available for my own personal use for half of the first year? Or for anyone to use? This is the rule where I worry someone could run a foul.  

@Chi Zhang I take it that you are trying to use the depreciation and expenses as a loss to offset W2 income? 

If yes I think you are doing everything right so far. The requirements are not difficult to hit "On Paper". You should be well over 100 hours for the year and more than your cleaners if you are responding to all of the inquiries, changing doors codes, ordering supplies etc. Try to have a few cleaners and fire the slower ones. Turno is a good app for cleaners because it logs their start/stop time for you, therefore you have 3rd party record keeping for that. 

Where it gets murky is how much the IRS will scrutinize your time longs and those of your vendors. Keep logging yours and their time meticulously and hope for the best. Nathan Meeker is an accountant here on BP who specializes in this. He can tell you what time does or does not count, so best to over record now and edit it down later. 

Disclaimer: This is not tax preparation or legal advice. 

@Jeff Chisum is there a limit to the number of days per year that it can be rented out? 

@Bonnie Low does the Kwikset Halo require a separate WIFI bridge? 

Also curious to hear what you prefer over the Schlage Encode. I have 2 properties with August deadbolts and they are usually great, but if the WIFI bridge goes out it is a huge process to reset it and requires someone onsite with customer service to get it going again. 

Tell them to grab some bottled water and peanut butter on the way!