All Forum Posts by: Konstantin Ginzburg

@Ricardo Llanos

As others have said within this forum, the region you selected is very saturated which means that you are competing with many other listings that are either offering a better product or are already established in the region. It is still possible to make a nice profit within a saturated market but you have to be willing to proactively compete for bookings. I am in a similar situation in New Orleans where saturation is lowering the bookings of many owners within my network. I have been able to maintain bookings with various strategies such as decorating, making the living area appear lively or memorable, hiring a professional photographer, frequently changing the listing to keep it up to date, and consistently thinking of other amenities I could add. A good strategy would be to look at other listings within your area and take a look at what the listing that are consistently booked are doing? Do they have a theme? Do they have amenities listed that you can add? Are there attractions right near your airbnb that you can highlight? I hope this advice helps and best of luck with getting increased bookings. 

@Christina J Smith

I am not personally familiar with the Ohio market but I've heard positive things about both Cleveland and Columbus. Ohio still have a relatively low housing price average compared with many other regions of the country so being in Ohio can provide you with a lower cost of entry into the real estate investor space. While there are market that will make it easier for you to acquire a cash flowing property, every market does have potential deals to find if you are patient and vigilante. So I would suggest focusing more on finding good deals within the market you choose. If you are new to investing, than investing in the area you live may be a good entry point since it will be easier for you to handle repairs and other requirements if you are in the area. 

@Cinnamon Johnson

It will depend on what your lease states and how you handled rent collection at the beginning of the lease. If you accepted pro-rated rent for the first month of move in since the lease began in the middle of a month, then you would pro-rate the last month as well. If you set up a lease so that the rent is due on the 17th of each month and took a full months rent at the beginning which essentially covered the period between 10/17/2022 and 11/16/2022; then you should collect a full months rent for the end of the lease as well. You may not want to shut off utilities but rather switch the utilities to your name once the tent moves out; at least if you don't have a new tenant lined up for an immediate move in. Completely shutting off utilities for a prolonged period of time can damage the property since it will not be climate controlled for that period which can lead to moisture damage, mold, and other costly repairs if it goes on long enough. Certain utilities such as gas can also have a fee to turn them back on after a certain period of time; so transferring utilities to your name and leaving them on low setting is likely a better plan. Having a family member that you trust pick up the keys is the easiest way to get your keys back. Long-term investors should have a "boots on the ground team" to handle key transfers, property tours, inspections, ect. A family member can fill this role for something simple such as getting the keys but it would be ideal to have a professional manager as well since you are operating long distance. 

Different city's have different zoning requirements so this is a question that is best answered by someone familiar with your specific market. Generally though, you could look up the zoning of each plot of land on a website ran by the city. This online option may not be available in smaller towns but most major metropolitan areas should be able to provide something similar. You will be able to find the zoning for your land/house on that website as well as a description of what is permitted in each zone. This should include whether the house is zoned for single housing, multi-family housing, or ADU's. Contacting a member of city zoning to verify this information would be a good option if you are concerned. This information can also be verified with city zoning and planning during the due diligence period.

 It depends. There is a National Real Estate Investors Association with each city having a branch of that national group. Each branch typically has dues but they are not too substantial. Usually around the same cost as a streaming service like Netflix. There are likely groups that are free as well but you would need to look around for those in your specific area. Most often it is a group of like minded people sharing information with the dues being used to benefit the group and pay for things such as renting a forum to speak at or bringing in national speakers that can teach additional material to the group. Each group is different however. 

@Peter Vekselman

I think the success rate has a lot to do with the time frame you are measuring against and the strategy you are using. For example, fix and slippers are greatly affected by shifting interest rates and are often targeting short term profits per project so success rate is likely lower due to this short time window. On the opposite side, a buy and hold strategy is more likely to have a higher success rate since the target time window is much larger and due to appreciation, real estate and rent prices have historically gone up consistently. If you buy a property, and hold it for ten years while keeping it consistently rented, the success rate of that project is likely to be high. Most likely, if you are in a financial position to acquire investment properties; you likely are already enjoying an above average lifestyle; so the additional cash flow from real estate investing is likely just going to add onto that. I believe that both time frame and financial education is the key to achieve success in real estate. The more of both you have, the higher the success rate. 

@Willie Herring

I think that for the majority of the population; David Ramsey is a great framework to build off of. Limiting your expenses and avoiding debt is a great strategy for financial stability and comfort for a large segment of the population. Because of this, I am a big fan of Ramsey and the work he does to help others. While using debt can be a great way to build wealth, using debt without the proper education can lead to substantial difficulties. Debt is a great tool to use but like any other tool, you need to learn to use it before you can use it properly without hurting yourself. Once you have the education and training to use leverage to build profitable assets; then you have the financial education to not need Ramsey's advice. But teaching people to use debt without ensuring they have that base financial education would lead to a lot of damage. Think of Ramsey as a life jacket. If you don't know how to swim, its better to have one before you jump into the pool but once you learn how to swim; the life jacket can be discarded since you are aware of the dangers of swimming at that point and how to mitigate those hazards. 

@Willie Creear III

Congrats on the success. I'm in a similar position. I currently own 10 units across 4 buildings and hoping to continue to grow my portfolio. I am currently 2 years into this venture and I use social media to share my progress and offer advice as well. I don't post daily like I am sure I should but working my way up towards creating more content, more frequently. I would be happy to connect and collaborate anytime you are interested. 

@Ryan Welsh

If you are looking for a connection within your market; this forum is a good source. However, I would try to connect with and join a local Real Estate Investor Association in your area. There should be one in most metropolitan areas so there is likely a branch either directly in your area or at least nearby. This is an group for real estate investors that will give you access to a variety of information and connections that could be useful. There are often general contractors in those associations that can help you with rehab cost estimates and there are also wholesalers who may have deals for you that meet your criteria and are likely at a lower cost compared with Zillow or other MLS sites.

@Erica Lee

Welcome to BiggerPockets. It's amazing that you are interested and willing to start at a young age. You are completely right, that time is more valuable than money and by starting at 22; you are giving yourself so much time to achieve your goals. This is a great place to have all your questions answered. I do think it's awesome that you have a strategy in mind and want to pursue; I would be very cautious if you want to try airBNB arbitrage as your business plan now. Due to a drop in travel demand and a saturation of many markets; airBNB arbitrage has become extremely competitive and many people who are entering this market are now losing money; both from being unable to recoup their upfront expenses such as furnishing the unit as well as losing out monthly since their airBNB revenue is not consistently higher than the lease. If you want to try out this business, than I would recommend having a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors so that you are drawing more bookings towards you. If your goal is too enter into real estate, there are better alternatives than arbitrage. House-hacking is a great strategy at the moment for those entering the market. It allows for a lower priced entry point since a house hack would qualify you for primary residence financing which often comes with better rates and lower down payment requirements. You could purchase multi-unit such as a duplex, live in one and attempt to turn the other side into an airBNB. You will still run into the current problems of market saturation; but you would be able to hedge your bets since you would still be gaining equity on the property even if you are not able to fully cover your mortgage payment each month.