All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

 Found a good cleaner here. Look for someone who is background checked and has good reviews. Also very helpful for gauging the fair market price because you get cleaners bidding for the work. 

As far as finding good handyman this can be tougher. You may have to kiss some frogs before you find someone you are happy with. I would ask around with any contacts you have in that area. 

I would agree with some of these markets if you are choosing a market with favorable regulations and you buy in at the right price (which is going to be true anywhere). We keep reading here about how bad the saturation, occupancy and ADRs are this year is in some top markets. The nice thing with these markets is that you have more exit strategies and potential for appreciation because they are not fully dependent on tourism. Many have universities, large companies, hospitals and all the other amenities of a mid-sized city so people travel and live there for a variety of reasons, so you could sell or change strategies to stay afloat. Although I would make sure that you buy something within quick distance to said attractions in an area with some character and not in some boring subdivision 10-15+ minutes away where the closest sit down restaurant is an Applebees. 

That said I'm not saying that vacation destinations aren't bad, however I would look more to lesser known regional markets that are an easy drive from population centers. 

What's even more insidious is that they sell these taxes to the public as if each dollar for dollar raised will go into the program it claims, and every time these taxes get funneled into the general fund. Twice this has happened with gas taxes that were supposed to go into road infrastructure. No different than how lotteries "fund" schools. 

Santa Rosa beach is in Florida near Destin. The Santa Rosa you linked above is in northern California. Nice town within a quick drive to a lot of amazing places but yeah, not STR friendly.

No risk in being on both AirBnb and VRBO. Helps to be versatile and have a back up plan if you have issues with one or the other. You can also experiment with different pricing and cancellation strategies. 

 Agree with all of this. Define your goals first and find markets that fit those goals.  

Also, forget about international. You won't be able to finance anything, at least not with the kind of terms and low down payment we have here. Not to mention the legal aspects, security concerns, trusting and managing people from another culture etc

@Richard Elvin that absolutely is helpful and a good way to look at it. You only know who you are attracting, but it's tougher to know who is being turned away. At some point I will probably send a pack n play, booster seat, and some other baby items out there whether I make this change or not, which I most likely will, it's more of a matter of when. 

Even getting more pairs of couples or non-partner travelers would be a win. 

Thanks @Michael Baum yes I keep a close eye on nearby comps but given the transitional nature of the area there is a lot of variability and noise between them so it's hard to see a clear pattern. Some are on streets a few blocks over where flips and new construction are on otherwise rough looking streets, and this is reflected in some of their reviews (including the comp I mentioned), whereas 1-2 blocks in the other direction and you are in fully gentrified hipster land.  I'm in between in the DMZ lol. 

Part of me is wondering if the other place having more reviews and superhost status is helping them stay occupied more so maybe they are simply 3-6 months ahead of me progress wise. That said, with all other things being equal I agree with your last sentence and it would obviously be a better experience for more guests. 

Will see how my occupancy pans out through summer, but June is at 60% overall and has been booked solid through the 19th so things are looking good! 

Thanks @John Carbone but I don't think that my place fits the avatar of what you mentioned above where I would agree that 1 bathroom is less of an issue. I get mostly millennial and gen-x'ers, often traveling in pairs of couples, and very few kids. Plus I am not in a true "vacation" destination, and there's no room for an arcade anyway. I seem to get a lot of business travelers and people coming for concerts or weekend partying. I could see whoever is in the other bedroom (which is actually larger and has a fireplace; 40s construction lol) not being excited about trekking through the living room, kitchen and laundry room every time they need the bathroom. I am very clear about this in the listing and provide bathrobes, but this could be turning some potential guests away. 

My thinking is that the 2nd bathroom would make it appealing to pairs of singles/couples who would each have their own master suite. Would also allow for a stronger MTR pivot or low-season strategy with the medical facilities (1 mile to a trauma level 2, 2.5 to a level 1), universities, and corporate headquarters in the area. Whether it would result in a noticeable revenue and occupancy is the mystery. 

Do your first year with what you have already. Break ground on the pool in January 2024. That way there is less for the IRS to challenge you on and you hopefully qualify for 80% depreciation against your W2 income. 

If you do the shopping and set up yourself you can easily log 30-50 hours. I use a tracker on my phone and try to batch my self management duties as much as possible. Between setting door codes, guest communication, reviews, and paying vendors it is not hard to average 15-20 minutes per day (~2 hours week * 50 weeks = 100 hours).