All Forum Posts by: Shawn McCormick

 I agree that in our market in Orlando, bigger homes will typically do better and that is just a numbers game, there are far less of 5+ bedroom homes than 2,3,4 ( you are competing against hotels, condotels, condos, townhomes and small single family). If you can get in one of the 'top 10' communities close to Disney, you can/will make money. However, you are basically running a small business and how you take care of the property, respond to guests, level of theming, cleanliness and rates will all have an impact on how well you do. Most are owned by out of state or out of country investors that may not have the time, experience or level of concern needed to be successful. 

As @Jay Breitlow mentioned, he runs a great, full service PM and is only 15% with no contracts. At minimum hire a PM to point out deficiencies in your home, get reviews logged quickly and stabalize a nightly rate strategy that will let you take advantage of peak weeks/months. Our 'season' is all year long, but we do have highs and lows, so looking at nightly rates for $69 a night like you mentioned could be in a community that is not well ammenitized, not close to Disney, not themed or simply during a period of time that was a historically slow week/month. You have to look at these (in Orlando) by the quarter, not by a small snapshot of time while you were doing your research...look at calendars for a whole quarter and average it out. STR are never 'always full' so if you and your family want to use it, you should plan your time there during periods that are slower and take advantage of the guests coming during peak times.

What is your strategy, have a place that you can come to and have it pay for itself the rest of the year, or a place to park some money for awhile or to full out cash flow? If you are looking for great cash flow, you will have to pay upfront. 

Hope this helps.

@Michael Baum I have had many clients purchase and run successful STR here in Orlando. I have a few great PM contacts that I work with and can help run pro formas on properties along with what I can obtain. Most PM's in the short term space are not licensed agents, you will find many LTR property managers will try to help sell client's homes. You will want to interview several PM's to see what they offer, some are more full service than others, some will nickel and dime you, but all will help get you the exposure you need and get you up and running.

Homes here come fully furnished (99%) and most will/can transfer the existing reservations. Some PM companies will try to force you to use them as PM to get the future bookings. That can often lead to a negative experience but should be considered if the bookings provide good revenue for you to get your algorithm and reviews a jump start.

Hope this helps, good luck!

@James R. Copeland I haven't built anything here, but I can attest to the market rents being strong. Obviously there would be considerations such as location, size of units, finishes etc, but lets just say they are 2/2 units and in descent areas. You should get $1800+ for each, so that is $5,400 right there and that would be plenty to cover and cash flow each month. 

I will say that Orange County (most of Orlando) is experiencing long delays in permits, so you will need other housing while its being built. And to be honest, I don't know if a VA loan covers construction to perm loans. You may have to finance it another way and then refi into your VA. I have some great local lenders that could help if you want to talk to them.

Good luck with your goal!

@Bruno L. I will echo the sentiments of those who posted before me. I have helped a few clients analyze some of these and the numbers never work. Unless you plan to get a lot of use out of it and really just want it to pay for itself, it will likely not be an investment, but a write off. Most in Orlando that I know of, allow guests access to amenities if you self manage and you will have to charge them a 'daily resort fee', and to me, that is nickel and diming your guests...no matter how many times you tell them that its' extra, you'll get a bad review saying "we couldn't use the pool unless we paid $XX and that will look bad on you. 

There are several other resort communities with 'regular' condos and have great amenties that I would suggest before going down this road.

Best of luck to you!

@Scott Loud If you plan to invest in your current, local market..I would join your local REIA and start networking, find others that are doing the niche that you are most interested in and take some classes & attend meet ups. There are a lot of shiny objects, some sound easy, some are best when the market is trending in one direction or the other, some are too much of a niche to pursue full time.

It sounds like you want to buy and hold, so find agents, property managers, wholesalers that can help educate you on the areas that make sense, and evaluate properties, maybe start making offers and get over the fears you may have right away. You may also want to meet some lenders or hard money people or build a network of private money lenders that can help you scale. 

Lots more advice will be coming, but hope this helps. Good luck. I'm in Orlando if you ever have questions about your old stomping grounds!

@Christopher McCarthy in todays climate, you would easily have yourself booked up. Depending on your niche, you could be easily stay busy with whatever it is. We have so much new construction and many builder are doing spec homes, so they want the upgrades builders don't offer, semi custom home buyers want high quality upgrades, most flippers can't keep crews busy enough (right now) due to low inventory, but margins are slimmer, builders need construction managers who typically handle 10-12 homes in a community at a time, small investors need site built homes and on and on.

We have been very underserved for many years, so get licensed and hit the ground running!

Best of luck! 

Hi @Monty Bell I think a good place to start would be attending some local meet ups to see who has experience doing what you are looking for and has the time to meet with you. Check meetup dot.com or CFRI.net to look for some events convenient to you. If you bought two years ago, you may have a good amount of equity built up already and could use that to help purchase your next property. There are several locals that have on line seminars, coaching etc too.

Best of luck to you.

@Steven Gore There are a dozen of the top resort communities that I can suggest that are specifically built for STR. Your price range isn't ideal, but with inventory creeping back up, you should be able to find some motivated sellers. I have a list of communities that are the best performers in respect to location to Disney, popularity, density, community amenities etc.

There are plenty of threads on BP that talk about this very subject and have great info. I'm happy to share what I know, just let me know. 

Best of Luck!

@Lorena Bermudez The Metrowest area is full of condos and there are always quite a few to choose from, the prices there have shot up in step with the rest of the market over the last year and most aren't worth it. The average rents for that area on the 2/2 that you are looking at should be right about $1800 and if both places have renters and they have an actual lease in place (not month to month) then you will have to take over the existing lease until it ends. So calculating returns should be easy, both of those units have HOA's around $250-280 and since you are a PRO member here, use the rental tool calculator to help figure out the rest.

Hope this helps

Hi @Aayush Shah, congrats on taking the first steps. Orlando is a great market and very active investor community. One of the great places to meet and network with other investors is joining/attending local meet up groups, including CFRI. They actually are having the monthly general meeting tonight in Orlando, short notice, but worth it if you can come. Reach out if you ever want to chat about the area or need some advice from a local. 

Best of luck!