All Forum Posts by: Karen Chenaille

I use Wheelhouse and Beyond pricing and Air DNA. All are great. I have 9 listings in three markets. I don’t have time to change prices several times a day. That takes a lot of research and doesn’t fit the passive income model. Totally worth the 1% not to mention the stats they provide on local trends and the competition. Air DNA is not a pricing tool. It’s a market evaluation tool that only has Air Bnb data in it so it’s a little skewed. 

Bottom line: use automated pricing tools to maintain your listings. Use Aur DNA to evaluate before you buy. 

Good luck

thanks so much for the trail tip on the two firms. That is more in line with what I feel is appropriate for a cost Seg study of low complexity. 

Hi Folks!

Thanks for the guidance. It was initially my CPA that suggested I consider the DIY approach. I will definitely be contacting a pro to see if I would be better served by a professional analysis. 

Thanks so much for sharing your collective wisdom on this topic...

Karen

Thanks a million for sending me that guideline! Another reason I am looking to DIY this is for the learning experience as well. Knowledge is power. This seems like a fairly easy exercise in comparison to a large multi-unit property with land and lots of improvements. I have studio, 1, and 2 bedroom condos.

Greetings BP'ers...

As part of a 1031 exchange, I have purchased a handful of short term rental properties in the last few mos.  I have about 1 week left on my initial 45 day period to put properties under contract to avoid the tax implications from my sale of the commercial real estate.  There is a real  likelihood that I won't find another property that I feel is worth buying in the next week or so.

I am planning to perform a cost segregation study on the STR's I have purchased to take advantage of the bonus depreciation rules currently in effect to offset the tax consequences of leaving some $$ on the table coming out of my 1031 exchange. I could hire a firm to do this, but they run at around $5K on the low end. I don't think the complexity of what I need to analyze really requires that level of horse-power. I am looking to perform this myself.

Has anyone out there ever taken the DIY approach? Do you have any examples and spreadsheets you could share?

Thanks in advance!

Karen

Stay away from Orbirental. I have 5 listings. All are on air BnB and HA. After “integrating” with them I lost two weeks of Air BnB revenue because of a calendar sync that Orbirental blamed on Air BnB. Their tech support was THE WORST! they don’t answer the phone. They don’t read emails closely enough to understand the problem. Their HA integration is a Beta. That means you only are eligible after waiting out the trial period and they get to charge you the monthly fee. I paid the fee early because I desperately wanted the HA integration (it supposedly allows you to sync prices between Air BnB and HA). After paying it was going to be another 3 weeks before it was up and running. Their QB integration is laughable. If you already have a chart of accounts it will blow it to smitherens and it will put duplicate entries in for sales. Their lead manager is confusing. No idea what the purpose was. Understand I was very committed to making it work because I am looking to scale to 4 more properties this year. After losing 2K in bookings I had to disconnect it. Once I disconnected it, air BnB worked. Stay away.

@jon 

@Jon Crosby it's the least we can do to repay you for all the awesome free stuff and advice you have shared with the STR community on BP.

You should check out the Choose FI webpage. They lay out a program to earn thousands of dollars in free travel. Also google the ‘Chase Gauntlet’. 

I use QB online. If you want to isolate performance down to each rental, you can set them up as separate entities and track income and expenses for each. There is a pretty big QB learning curve and their tech support really suck (1 hour plus hold times) but I think it was worth it for ease of tax prep and vendor payment

Hello! My daughter is a sergeant in the Army. She and her family (son + 2 cats) are getting stationed at Ft Hood mid August. Looking for recommendations and advice on best area for her to settle down in and on some solid rental communities. She does not want to live on base. Thanks in advance! Karen