All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I started vacation rentals when I bought at the top of the market and had to relocate but couldn't sell. Vacation rental route was the only way I could turn my situation into one that covered the bills. This was long before AirBnB was around. 

10 years later, it's still going.  I've wanted to get more, but...

AirBnb has been a blessing and a curse. More people are staying in vacation rentals, which ups my bookings and my rents. Yay! However, because of the popularity of AirBnB, many cities have or will put rules in place that make running a vacation rental difficult. In my neck of the woods, some cities say absolutely no rentals less than 30 days. Some cities say no vacation rentals at all! And many HOAs here enforce limits on rentals as well. This hurts you because most people don't take 30+ day vacations. And while you might buy in a place and be running a gold mine, it's scary to know that at any time you could be shut down because of a change in CC&Rs or city ordinances.

So, when and if I purchase another place for vacation rental use, I'm going to want it to cash flow as a long term rental, just in case I can't operate it as a vacation rental anymore. I'm sure it's different for every area, but here, it's a sad reality that needs to be considered. Therefore, I would not buy based on vacation rental numbers. 

That said, if you can find places that would do ok as a long term rental and you furnish them and rent them as a vacation rental, I think you could do very well. Worst case scenario, you end up having to switch over to long term rental. But it could be a great way to keep buying rentals since they give off so much cash. That's what I'd like to do and keep it going for as long as I can. Then hold if/when the vacation rental party is over. 

-M 

I always associated "flips" with a formulaic, fast turnaround of a fixer into something better/more marketable and contemporary. And "rehabs" are more restoration work (rehab = rehabilitation).  Both would, I would assume, be for profit (unless some non profit was restoring a historically significant home/building). Flipping sounds faster than rehabbing to me. 

I also associate flipping and rehabbing with fixing up the property. If nothing is done to the property but a profit is made, then I consider that wholesaling or ___ (something other than flipping). 

Just my take on the two terms. 

One thing I do repeatedly is to mix ceramic tile that mimics marble with real marble. It really makes the whole thing look all marble if done right and saves a ton of money. Here I used ceramic on the walls, real marble mosiac pattern on top and on the floor, and real marble cap pieces/trim. It didn't cost much at all and buyers loved it. I'd use all real marble in a pricier home, of course, but in mid range or lower this works well. 

I am also a fan of salvaged material and Craigslist. I've gotten so many amazing pieces at fantastic prices that really add a high end/polished look that I never could have otherwise afforded. 

For those of you with duplexes/triplexes/fourplexes and those always sad back stairs that are in bad shape and would be a lot of work to replace/refinish (this also applies to creepy basement stairs)  I like to paint a runner on them. It's easy and looks nice and clean. Add a fun color for a bit of an pop to turn the drab back staircase into something crisp.

So many more. Just a few I keep returning to. 😃

-M 

I don't mind the brick, either, and agree that a good power washing would go a long way. 

The chimney and brick might look overwhelming due to lack of landscaping around the front of the home. Trimming the overgrown shrub to the left of the door and adding a matching one on the right side will give the house symmetry and cover up the lower part of the brick chimney to the right of the front door. Then I'd continue with some smaller greenery on either side of the larger shrubs. It will give the home a finished look and will add a lot off urn appeal for not too much money. 

The windows would look lovely with windowboxes filled with colorful flowers, and dark small urns filled with similar flowers would look lovely at the end of the steps on the ledges on either side (though wrought iron railing might be more code and user friendly). 

I can't tell if there is a walkway at the bottom of the steps or if it's just a worn path, but grey pavers done in a herringbone pattern would look pretty of you are painting the house grey. 

I know it's overused advice, but painting the front door a bold color on a house that style adds a lot of charm as well. Many go with a red, but with all of the red brick going on you could do something else like a glossy black or whatever color compliments your grey and makes it pop. 

Hope that is of some help. Good luck -  it's a cute house! 

-Mary 

I would love to see the spreadsheet as well. Thanks so much! 

-Mary

Yes. I have a property manager and still cash flow nicely. I prefer vacation rentals to regular long term rentals because I get way more in rents, I don't have to deal with the day to day landlording responsibilities (the cash flow from my non vacation rental properties doesn't warrant the cost of a property manager) and, they are just more fun for me because I get to furnish them and do interior design work, which I really enjoy. I'd like to buy more! 

Obviously location plays a huge factor in whether your vacation rental will do well or not. Places that can be year round rentals are ideal. I recently sold a duplex I had in Minnesota. It got around $1750/mo in rent from each unit. The new owner lives in one unit and rents out the other as a vacation rental. He is booked solid through September and asks $1000/week! Good for him! I just wonder if he'll still be booked up when it's the dead of winter there...

One thing that's happening now is that many cities are cracking down on vacation rentals by not allowing short term leases or simply not allowing vacation rentals at all. So that adds to the risk if you buy a place and can only cash flow if you use it as a vacation rental.

-M 

Just tossing this out there...

If the area is very desireable and not surrounded by rentals, could you "flip" the triplex into a single family, subdivide into three lots and either sell the land or build two more single families on it? And if you did, would the going rate for single family homes in the area make it worth your while? 

I don't know if you are only wanting multifamily, but if the area is good, I'd be considering that. Multi families sell based on possible income, and if in a desireable area, will sell for less than a single family (if duplex or even triplex). I'm considering buying duplexes in very desireable neighborhoods and converting them to single families because the market is doing well and the duplexes sell for less than half of what the single families sell for. 

-Mary 

Hi,

I personally avoid any sort of hard money lending. But I'm probably more risk averse than the average investor. 

Since the foreclosure crisis, lending restrictions have really made things slow going. In my experience, things rarely close on time and during the loan process, things get crazy, complicated, and weird surprises pop up that cause delay. I say this because when I hear "immediately refinance" I think of how nothing seems to be immediate anymore when it comes to getting loan docs in order! My last purchase didn't close 3 times. Not due to anything wrong with our finances, just because the mortgage company was overwhelmed and way behind. 

I hear it's that way generally, but I can't say for sure. Curious as to what other investors have to say on this.

Once I got zero down on a flip because I bought a foreclosed triplex from a bank (it cash flows nicely and everything) but I told them I'd only take it off their hands if they agreed to lend me 200k with zero down for a flip home. They said ok and it went very well. It was a small, local bank and so they were willing to do such things. 

Good luck!

Mary

Do any of you go to these sales? Basically, before a home is torn down, they let you come in and salvage materials like fireplace surrounds, light fixtures, cabinetry - whatever you'd like to buy. 

I know most salvage stores get their products from doing these very things. The only problem is that they then mark things way up, and I'd prefer to just go right to the source and save the money. I found out about one by chance last weekend and wow! It was fun and pretty cool. The house was not a glorious historic landmark, I should add! It was about 10 years old. But I was able to get a lot of nice things that I can use in my properties. 

Does anyone know how to be in the know on these sales and when they are coming up so I can be prepared? Is there some website or mailing list for people who will come and take things on a regular basis? I looked all around the Internet but couldn't find any such thing.

Thanks in advance!

Mary