All Forum Posts by: Julie McCoy

@Yan W. Bear Proof Trash Bins dot com.  That is what you want, and what the overwhelming majority of cabins in the area have.

What @Justin Anderson said. Especially if the 4BR w/pool has, as you say, a "nice" view vs. the "great" view of the 5BR chalet. 4BR w/pool all day long. (I also suspect the chalet is significantly older than the pool cabin, which will add to your Capex in the long run)

I second this.  Even the luxury vacation rental properties I sell in the Smokies have LVP in them - guests beat things up too much for hardwood to make any sense (the older properties that do have hardwood generally have awful-looking floors after several years of hard use).  Nobody's going to complain your floors were LVP instead of hardwood. 

Originally posted by @Leon Lee:

Luke, here is what I am talking about. Maybe a cork floor? it's super ugly. 

Thank you for the heads up! I will do more research and browse old posts on the forum!! 

That's a parquet floor!  It'll probably cost just as much to refinish that as to rip it all out and put in some luxury vinyl plank - so if you're going to do that level of rehab anyway, just replace it.  Staining it isn't going to get rid of that ugly pattern anyway.

Second everything @Luke Carl says - make sure that your ROI is going to increase BEFORE you spend all that $ on granite etc. How much of a difference in your nightly rate/annual revenue is it going to make to have a rehabbed kitchen vs. maybe just changing the hardware? Etc. It's all a numbers game. Look at your competition and see what the new/rehabbed units are renting for vs. something more like how this one currently is. Is the difference worth the expense? Maybe, maybe not - that's what you'll want to figure out. (but yes, higher prices will help as a layer of protection against crappy guests!)

I plan to do a cost seg study on one of my STRs this year, but I am a real estate professional.  I cannot comment on how the depreciation might be able to be applied towards your taxes, however - as others have said, consult your CPA!  :) 

 Mine are all vacation rentals in the Tennessee Smokies; I have five, going on seven.  However, we're a year-round market here and I imagine a lake house in Wisconsin is a lot more seasonal!

@Hamish Simcock that looks beautiful and congratulations on a very successful flip!  I don't know what area it's in so have no idea of what kind of revenue it might generate, but you clearly added a lot of value.  

Like @Collin Hays if I cashed out now I'd make a killing BUT - just as he said, I do not have a comparable investment to put the money into. The best course of action for me is to keep my killer ROI and cash flow in place while my loans get paid down and my equity continues to increase.

@Kenny Terbrock It will depend on the regulations in your state/local jurisdiction.  Do some research at the local level to find out who can/can't manage STRs in your market (that you don't own).  In Tennessee there are very specific rules about it - even though I'm a licensed real estate agent, there's a variety of other regulations I would need to conform to, which is why I only manage my own properties.  :) 

@John Trollinger I've got five in the area and the first three brought me financial independence.  @Erik Stenbakken and @Justin Anderson raise very valid points re: analyzing income numbers - and I'm going to add that past income should have a very small impact (if any) on your decision on whether to offer on a particular cabin.  Just about anything can perform well if it's handled and marketed correctly, even if it's five miles up a terrible gravel road or has an ugly neighbor etc. 

Yes, you want to be able to figure out roughly how much cash flow you'll get off of a property.  But this is not a number anybody can give to you - it's something you've got to figure out yourself.  Nobody else can say what your mortgage is going to be, what cable package you're going to pay for, what extras (or not) you intend to provide, or if you go with the cheap thermostat so guests can abuse your HVAC or pay $200 for a smart one where you can set temperature limits.  

So, learn to do your own analysis with basic expense info (PITI and utilities mostly, with some set aside for maintenance/capex; if you're including cleaning fees and taxes in your gross number, make sure you account for those expenses as well). Justin Anderson's calculator is great! Though you'll get more flexibility with a spreadsheet where you can tweak data inputs.

Hey @Andy Beal welcome!  It's a complicated and rather subjective question, you've gotten some good advice here.  Self-management is definitely the highest profit margin, it does take some time but I've got to say my personal experience has been it takes less than an hour a week to manage my four vacation rentals.  There's definitely a learning curve and a much larger time investment in the beginning as you set up systems and get to know your property and market, but set up good systems and a good boots on the ground team and it can hum along in the background for the most part.  Lots to learn on this forum!