All Forum Posts by: Joseph Bafia

@Chris McKenna There is a fantastic sub forum on Short Term Rentals that will help answer almost any question you have. I'll suggest checking that out and "follow" the forum for updates. I have a couple STRs and I self-manage. They are 4 hours away from my home. Like you, my first one started as a vacation home and did so well that its a full time STR and we bought another as well. I don't know much about which PM company is better. We looked at a local PM and when we heard 30%, we wondered how people make money. Then I read all the STR forum posts and quickly learned that self-managing is the way to go (in my opinion). Once you've got a system down, it doesn't matter if you are 3 hours or 30 hours away.

Best of luck and enjoy the forums!

@Edwin Lopez Reynoso Good luck to you!  Get that Househack done!

@Beata Domagala We bought ours from MLS, so we don't have any wholesaler connections at this time, but I have seen some mentioned on this thread as well as other threads mentioning this area.

Edwin-

I live in Raleigh NC, but have a duplex that I'm rehabbing right now in High Point, NC which is just outside of Greensboro. Market is very mixed, and some prices and entry is very low. As example, the duplex we purchased was $30k. Rehab will be roughly $30k and ARV close to $75k with a rent of $425 /door.

as a side note, my son moved from NC to Los Angeles last year and loves it out there.

@Joe S. I  self manage my STRs and they do very well.  Furnishing them was part of my "rehab" budget when I bought them.  As many have said, location & regulations are the key items to look at , but if done right, they do very well.  A recommendation would be to browse the Short Term Rental forums on BP and you'll see all sorts of successful plans and methods.

We self manage our STRs in western NC.  We do 95%+ through VRBO, so although Airbnb seems to be the term many use for vacation rentals, our success is has been on VRBO platform.  Early on challenge was making sure we charged the right rates, got the right housekeeper and found a good handy person.  Pain points now are nearly non-existent as we've implemented systems to take care of everything.  I learned most of the tips and systems from BP forums especially from the Short Term Rental forum (if you haven't found that one yet...all your questions are answered just reading through those)

No Property manager as we keep 100% of profits and don't want to pay the high PM fees. 

Be happy to help answer any other questions.

@Josh R.

Looking forward to my first event!

We supply our cleaning supplies (kept in a locked owner's closet).  Housekeeper gives me updates as to what she is low on and I have items saved in Amazon for reordering and shipping to her.  Works great...so far. 

You could try and equate your extra portion based on what a property manager would charge you in your market.

In our area, PMs can charge 20-40% , so maybe your profit split with co-investor could be 70/30, or even 80/20 if you are overseeing rehab.

I believe self-managing is the best option (and truly does not equate to a 20-40% take), but if you need it for profit splitting purposes, that's one method to use.

I'd say you need to know your market and what will draw people to booking it.  Both our mountain places follow a rustic theme, but I see several modern looking homes on VRBO / AIrbnb in our community.  Although the homes are nice, I personally feel that ours gets attention because those seeking a remote mountain getaway what that whole theme.  A suburban home built into mountainside may not capture as many as one that has live edge wood, rustic stone bathroom tile, a wood burning stove etc.  Do you see a cool niche for that 50s theme place in your area?  Is it maybe one of a kind enough to draw in people because its unique?  I don't know those answers.  I too like the henderson set best simply for its neutrality and think it goes better with your floor.  I'm definitely not an interior designer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn. :)