All Forum Posts by: Marshall Leipprandt

@Graham Storey I really like avail.co. I've used it for almost two years now and have found it extremely useful. With avail.co, you can screen tenants by running credit checks and eviction reports, draft leases specific to your state, collect security deposits and rents, and communicate with your tenant(s) about maintenance and property upkeep. It is super user friendly too which I've found very useful in managing my LTR.

@Regnor VonDedenroth About a year ago, I was still Active Duty military and had gotten my RE license. I hung it with the brokerage that I planned on working with in the future and shortly after, my wife and I found a property that we planned to use as a future investment. I was still in the process of learning the ropes, but had the general idea of how to complete a transaction, so I asked one of the experienced realtors in my brokerage if they would act as the co-agent (for a fair share of the buyer's side commission) to help QA all of my documents and assist in those little nuances that arise during escrow. It worked well and I learned a lot in the whole process.

I agree that you definitely want an experienced realtor on your side. Maybe consider bringing one on as a co-agent if they are willing to and if you legitimately think that you have the time it takes to dedicate to drafting and completing the forms/contracts, working the transaction through escrow, coordinating inspections, etc. Just don't ask another good realtor to act as a co-agent for a split of the commission and make them do all of the work. Just an option!

@Anna Gordon I believe that at some point, you do have to just go for it. If real estate is what you'd like to pursue, you will have to pull the trigger sometime. However, I would not advise just going for it unless you feel that you are in the financial position to do so. For example, will you have enough left at the end of the month after incurring the cost of this new PITI (Principal, Interest, Taxes, & Insurance) payment along with all of the management fees and expenses that go into managing a STR? What about if the property didn't get any bookings for a couple months? Could you weather that storm?

It's all about balancing risk. STRs have a much higher upside but also the corresponding risk to go with it. I think that if you can negotiate a decent deal in the current market, have the sellers pay for some or all of your closing costs/fees, and maybe even negotiate some repairs that will be found in inspection, you will be on a solid path. 

In the meantime, start analyzing deals to get practice and to get the feel of what a good deal requires in your market. Even though you haven'y made any offers yet, you should start your preparation now. Here are some other things to consider: Will you be self-managing or hiring a property manager? Do local laws allow you to do stays under 30 days? Are you in an HOA that prohibits STRs or regulates them closely? How will you furnish the rental and will you be doing all of that yourself?

I don't necessarily think you should be doing anything differently, but here is what I would suggest:

1) Educate yourself, practice analyzing deals, learn your market, understand your goals and your personal financial situation / risk profile.

2) Get a pre-approval with a lender that you trust using a loan product that fits your goals. Have them walk you through estimated fees/expenses to be expected at closing so that you can work this into your analysis

3) Hire an STR experienced Realtor, tell them your goals and needs, and have them help you look in the markets that you've identified and look for deals that fit your goals and parameters.

4) Make offers at price points that fit your goals (CoC ROI, etc.).

5) Find a property that checks all of your boxes and pull the trigger.

@Trevor Marvin Congrats on graduation and getting involved in the real estate community! I've got a few questions before I can give a proper response:

1) Do you plan to stay in LA for a while?

2) What are your goals with RE investing? Do you plan to work in RE valuations or continuing in the corporate track for the long-term?

3) Why invest out of state? Because of the cash-flow or just because it is what you can afford right now?

I'm 29, but was in your shoes not too long ago. I've got several properties under my belt now and recently transitioned from my career in Finance in the Air Force to a full-time real estate investor and agent in SoCal and the FL Panhandle. Shoot me a DM or email if you'd like, I'd be happy to talk about my journey and experience and provide some advice if you think your path may take you a similar route as mine.

@Anna Gordon Are you already working with a lender? If so, ask them if they can provide you an estimate of closings fees/costs. It is definitely relative for you to know if you've been analyzing a deal based on its CoC ROI and you find out you have $10K more in closing costs than you were anticipating. Could change whether you continue to pursue the deal or not.

@Heath Watson Hey Heath, I always have a general inspection as well as termite/WDO. Depending on the setup of the home (city sewer or septic), I may make some exceptions to what I do from the outset. I just dropped $850 total for a general inspection and a WDO on a house in FL and ended up backing out during my inspection period. Glad I did and the $850 is a small price of due diligence to pay to avoid getting in over my head on a project. 

Typically, my strategy is to get the general inspection done ASAP to determine if I need to bring out other specialists in areas like Electrical, HVAC, Mold, etc. You definitely want to ID those big ticket items ASAP to give yourself time to either decide if it's worth continuing in the purchase or to negotiate repairs/credits. It's all easier said than done, and of course, each individual inspection costs $ and is an appointment that will have to be coordinated with the listing agent and sellers so it is never quite as easy as some gurus make it sound.

Are you under contract on a property or still on the search?

@Alex David Depending on where you're at in LBC, it may vary greatly as others have mentioned. I personally like PriceLabs when looking at proposed STR rental rates. Also, have you done the old school style search of looking at similar listings in your area and adjusting based on amenities/location/value? This can help you price and see how they forecast their own pricing in the future. It's a tried and true, yet more time consuming method. Good luck!

@Chris Morris Hey Chris, I own and manage several Airbnbs in FL but have stayed in a lot of Airbnbs as a guest as well and I love your proposed house-hack model, I think it's fantastic. I am currently staying in an STR (for ~40 days) in West LA so there is 100% a market for it. Here are some pointers I would give in relation to your question:

-Private entrance and bathroom are huge. If you have someone staying 31+ days, they are going to want a private entrance to come and go as they please without feeling like they're disturbing others and of course, a private bathroom is ideal because most people want their privacy and to keep their own areas clean. Having a shared bathroom leaves the chance for having to share with someone who is messy and doesn't respect those around them.

-Kitchens give your guests the chance to prepare food and keep food on-site. If someone is staying less than 7 days, there is a chance they may eat out more often, but someone staying 31+ days will likely want to cook as well as keep food/drinks in their rental area.

-On-site laundry is also a huge bonus. It doesn't have to be in-unit, but if you can arrange a dedicated space on the property to provide a safe and clean laundry setup, your guests will greatly appreciate it. As a guest myself, I have at times filtered my search on Airbnb/VRBO for properties that have laundry on-site. Frankly, someone visiting from out of town will likely not feel comfortable having to go to a laundromat in an area that they're not super familiar with.

Overall, you want to do things that will help you stand out above the other listings around you. You can always run a search with all of the things you're thinking of adding to your spaces to get ideas of what other successful hosts are offering and look at listings that are not offering those same things to learn how to beat them out. 

I'm an active investor and Realtor in both SoCal and the FL Panhandle and love to talk RE! Would be happy to connect over DM or email if you'd like. Good luck with everything! 

@Account Closed Hey Jordan, I think that there are certainly some opportunities in the Panhandle. I am a realtor in the area and also own and self-manage 2 STR homes in Miramar Beach. I really like the FL panhandle as a whole and think that it will continue to grow steadily over the years.

I like your strategy of building up some capital and using it for a low money down, owner occupied loan product. In my opinion, this is overall one of the best ways to get started. You can definitely get into a small home or a decent condo at that $300K-$400K price point. The biggest issue with your budget will be some of the things that you really can't control like the cost of homeowner insurance / flood insurance across FL in general, possible HOA fees in a condo building, PMI (if applicable), etc.

I am planning to do an owner-occupied investment here in the next few years as well so I think that it is a strategy worth pursuing for sure.

Feel free to email or DM me if you have questions about any areas or want any other insights. Good luck!

@Ray S. Hey Ray, my wife and I own and manage multiple STR homes in Miramar Beach in a nice community across the road from Old 98 (5 minute walk to the beach). I've really liked Miramar Beach so far as it's *slightly* less congested than Destin but is still close to all of the amenities that you could want down in NW FL.

There are several homes for sale in our community and I would probably be trying to buy another but am waiting for our recently acquired properties to stabilize. I am also waiting for the prices to come down some because there have been many overpriced listings in the last year or so in this area. Now that rates have gone up so high, I think many of these sellers will either pull their properties off the market or try to get a reasonable price. Bottomline though is that serious sellers will likely consider negotiating much more at this point.

Looks like you're from FL so you know the things that are guaranteed in any FL vacation rental property: seasonal demand, high homeowner/flood insurance rates, possible high cleaning company turnover in your first 1-2 years, etc. Some of this can be mitigated by connecting to the folks who can point you in the right direction when you get deeper in the weeds on your research after you've chosen a market.

Feel free to DM or email me if you would like a little more info on Miramar Beach. I can give some insight into the community that our homes are in as well as the surrounding market. Best of luck!