All Forum Posts by: Matt J.

There's a place right next door that does well but they have a small driveway, are a 3 bedroom house, and are one house off of the busy street (our house is between theirs and the busy street). 

The city only allows 2 people per bedroom. So a max of 8 people in the building. There is no off street parking at all. There is some on street parking available on a side street that is usually fairly available. 

Hey everyone, 

I've got an up-down duplex (both units are 2-bedrooms) that is doing well enough as a long term rental in a town that is a vacation destination for people in the Twin Cities. We have another short term rental that's a single family house about 6 blocks down the road from the duplex, and it is doing really well since we've gone live in September. 

The pros for this place as an STR are it's close to all the attractions in town, close to the hospitals, has some lake views, is zoned in a way where operating as a short term rental is legal and simple in a town where it's really difficult to get licensed if you're not in the right zoning, I don't see a ton of 2-bedroom options on VRBO or AirBnB in this area, and of course the rates are much higher as a short term than a long term.

The cons are it needs close to $100k in renovations/furnishing to get it to a point where it would do well as a vacation rental, has no off-street parking or yard, and is on a loud road. 

Is it worth pursuing the short term rental to chase the higher returns? Or am I better off keeping this rolling as a long term rental and keeping my eyes open for another property that is in a little bit better location for our next short term rental? 

Thanks in advance!

Hey @Connor Koppang. We have one STR in Duluth right now and it's being managed by Heirloom Vacations. We went live in September and so far have been really happy with the results. Plus, we have a place we can stay when we go to Duluth, which is one of our favorite places to visit.

 My goodness I just noticed all of the typos in this post. Hopefully you were able to understand my post still! 

I haven’t been able to find a lot of information out there on how someone would go about getting started in their first affordable housing development. 

I own a few places in Duluth, MN, and the city has a program where they offer up lots they own for free as long as the buyer is committed to building affordable housing on it.  

I am wondering how someone would get started with this type of development and how to still turn a profit. 

 Do you have any resources you'd recommend for someone to get started? 

You should look into Proper for short term rental insurance. I've heard good things about them. I'm working with the city of Duluth on getting a place licensed as a short term rental but am not familiar with the county regulations. 

Have you run the numbers on AirDNA or compared to other places nearby yours to get a sense for what your average daily rate (ADR) and occupancy rates could be? 

As far as sales tax requirements go, there are services out there that can automate that for you. VRBO and AIrBNB both handle this piece a little differently. 

Property taxes could go up, but if your ADR is high enough, it shouldn't deter you or anything like that. 

@Keith Linne is an absolute wealth of knowledge, @Kelly Gatz! 

On the podcasts over the past couple of years, it seems like the hosts of the original BiggerPockets podcast focus more on raising funds to invest in big deals than what I think they started out as, which was the mom/pop investor looking to grow on their own. 

I'm definitely not saying there's anything wrong with syndications or raising money, but what I'm wondering is, are there any good podcasts to listen to for people with goals like mine? 

To own all of my own units without any partners or raising funds, probably not to the same scale but with a lot more control over what I have and not being beholden to any investors, employees, etc.