All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

What you have to remember about Awning and other estimate sites is that they are pulling averages based on a specific criteria, whereas they cannot differentiate the decor, neighborhood, distance to various attractions etc. Sometimes it only has a handful of properties to comp from. Therefore all it takes is an incredibly successful property or a complete dump that has a hot tub to move the numbers in one direction or the other. Which is why it helps to look at the surrounding properties that it pulls the comps from to see what you are comparing. 

If the most successful properties in your area have a hot tub, and similar quality homes without one are less booked, then you probably should too. 

Not sure how cold is gets at night but lots of investors here in various report improved winter bookings when they have a hot tub. 

@Bryce Jamison I have no idea. Although I do have a friend who went through the whole process with his dog and there is actual official documentation he carries around. I'm not sure who the governing is for that. I would never ask the disability of the guest but I don't see what the problem would be for asking for documentation for the dog itself. 

As for the "Vests", there are dozens of them on Amazon for <$30. It's a sham. 

Isn't there some kind of documentation for actual dog if it is a true service animal? If yes I would ask for that. 

I subscribe for my market. More so as a sanity check to see how I stack up against my competition and as a data point in underwriting. 

One thing I liked before the redesign was that they gave numbers based on the average, upper 25% and top 10%. Would be curious to know why they longer display it that way, because I did find it helpful to see where I fit in the distribution. 

 I don't want to blow it out publicly but you are welcome to ask via PM

Quote from @Mindy Nicol:

What are everyone's thoughts are on this graph that Airdna posted plus the article here: https://www.airdna.co/best-places-to-invest-in-vacation-rent...

Should investors really be focusing in on these markets?  Or take it with a grain of salt? I'm just curious on your thoughts.

I'm not sure about the specific markets mentioned in the article, but I think there is huge potential in a lot of markets that aren't on the typical STR investor radar. I've got 11 months/year of 70%+ occupancy in a town similar to what's on that list. People travel for all kinds of reasons outside of pure vacationing.

That's how I got started. The only caveat I would add is that you should be able to make the payment out of your day job salary, ideally with a bit of principal on top of that. 

 I always wonder how/why people find ancient threads and decide to reply to them . . .

What others have said- could work in the right niche, although you have to consider the opportunity cost. You would probably get more bang for your $10K with a hot tub and a used pool table. In general I would lean towards amenities that more people can enjoy simultaneously. 

On top of all that, I wouldn't want to sit around rewinding video to try and Perry Mason who the Hamburglar was, and then have to mediate petty disputes between strangers from afar. I avoid checking the cameras at all unless there is a specific security or guest concern that warrants it. I almost exclusively use the smart lock logs if I need to confirm occupancy/vacancy.