All Forum Posts by: Mike McKeown

Hi Michael, Thanks for this! Your comment is exactly what's got me going 50/50 on condo vs SFR! :)

I guess it comes down to my longer term plan, which right now includes building equity and adding properties. This has me thinking that we go with a home as a first option, on the assumption the deal makes sense. This will force me and my partner to learn as much as we need to about running the business. From there, we assess whether it makes sense to continue purchasing SFR or if the next purchase should be a condo/townhome.

That all goes out the window though if I can find a screamin' deal in ANY domicile! :)

Hi Jonathan, for me I see the grounds, pool/hot tub, building maintenance as being much more involved in a SFR as opposed to a condo. Maybe there's not much there but no liability for constant pool maintenance alone seems to be a significant issue...maybe it's not and I'm over-thinking it but I know in the areas we're looking that we'll definitely need a pool to compete.

I appreciate the info and knowledge.  I'll definitely look at yourporter and pricelabs once we get a bit further along.

Hi Melissa,

Thanks for your input! This is exactly why I posed this question, I keep finding instances where condos could prove to be an attractive first step into the STR world. My biggest concern is being able to compete effectively against others in a condo complex. It seems like in the areas I've been scoping out that there is decent acceptance of STRs in condo complexes, but it definitely will take some additional work w/the RE agent to make sure.

All of your points about managing and having the maintenance handled by someone else is SUPER attractive. I am so on the fence about which way to go because of it. I think we'll be forced to learn more (and quicker) if we take on a SFR, but the savings from no HOA (would not buy a home in an HOA from afar) could be easily offset because of the mistakes I KNOW we'll make by not being local.

 Hi Cris, thanks for the info.  I can see where the condo route would potentially be a trap of many, many restrictions.

In Regards to your question about going outside of Michigan, my original plan was just to purchase a vacation home somewhere warm that my family can enjoy. Then I happened to mention sharing a purchase with a friend, and he got me looking into this into a potential STR and we've been banging away at learning the ropes ever since.

My plan now is to purchase a property from MI and manage from here, somewhere south, and learn the ropes.  From there the plan will be to look at other potential locations and build up from there.  My wife and I are in our late-40s and looking to retire from corporate life in the next 5-8 years and I am looking for my next adventure!  

Hi everyone,

Just working through learning as much as I can on the STR markets and trying to gage what most people think about condos/townhomes vs single family homes as investments...I'm trying to weigh the benefits of each against the drawbacks, knowing that I will be investing in a market (most likely) out of state (living in MI, looking at FL, TX, Gulf Coast region).

My thought is that a single family home STR will be more work to manage from distance but will also force me to learn quickly on all aspects whereas a condo might be a bit easier to manage but cash flow will be lower as most/all have fairly high HOA/dues. Plus, it seems like differentiating the property to have a decent occupancy rate would be harder in a condo.

Anyone else worked through this, and what would you recommend to a new investor?

Just wanted to quickly say THANKS to everyone for the insight!  I'm new to the game and even newer to this website and community.  I'm very grateful to have found you all and look forward to growing and learning.  My desire is to be able to also give back to this community once I get my bearings!

Peace!

I'm looking for a general rule-of-thumb for estimating the percentage of gross income used for paying for a management company to handle an STR. I realize this is likely very location specific, so I'd look at somewhere like Orlando, FL where the market is hyper-competitive as a "worst case" scenario.

As background, I am very new to the idea of STR properties as an investment option and am trying to wrap my head around how best to evaluate properties.

I tried searching for this topic but had mixed results on the site, not sure if there's any simple tips/tricks to it as i'm guessing this is only the 1,000,000th time this question has been asked...

Thanks!

Mike