All Forum Posts by: Paul Sandhu

Not trying to sound mean, disrespectful or condescending; but if you don't know what kind of property rental to do, you probably shouldn't do either one.  There are probably better investments for your money.

How would you maintain a place in the mountains or a place by the ocean?  What will you do when the hot water tank/ washer/ dryer / central air/ cable / wifi/ garbage disposer/ refridgerator/ or the cloaking device cease to work?

I leave the door unlocked with the keys on the kitchen table.  If I am away, the door is locked with keys in the mailbox.  It's worked for me for the last 5 years with 22 furnished rentals. 

Disclaimer:  I live 3-6 minutes away from every rental.

@Jeffery Waicak I do this is Coffeyville KS. There is a 135,000 bpd refinery in a town of 10,000. My edge is that I do the drug screens for the refinery. All the contractors go through me before they get in the gate, that's when I pitch my STR. You, working in the refinery, have an edge over anyone else doing the same thing.

I do STR to refinery contractors (welders, pipefitters, boilermakers, electricians, etc) working short term jobs at a local refinery. 22 houses with 82 beds.

Find out who is staying at local hotels/motels on a weekly basis.  That is your target market.  Drive through the parking lots in the evening and look for company vehicles.  They will usually have the company name and logo painted on the door.  That's your first lead.  Send the company some info on what you have.  This method has worked for me.  AirBnB has not worked for me, or it gets me the wrong kind of renter (someone in town just for the weekend).

I have a bulk account with my local cable/isp.  It's $56 per month for ~120 channels plus 15.0 mBps internet.  Each living room has a medium sized HDTV that is connected to a streaming BluRay player.  With a streaming BluRay the renters play a disk or use THEIR OWN Netflix Hulu or Amazon Prime account to stream what they want to watch.  In each bedroom there is an old style television, they cost between $2 and $5 at estate auctions.

Some people don't watch tv.  Some people travel with their own HDTV or tablet.  Some people just play video games on TV.  Some people travel with their personal collection of XXX movies and adult toys and watch them with their spouse.  Don't knock yourself out trying to provide something top of the line that may not even be used.

I have phrase that I tell people:

People with a lot of money don't have a lot of time

People without a lot of money have a lot of time

The people with a lot of money hire people with a lot of time to do the work that they don't have time to do.

@Sonya Antrobus  My wife quit her 40 hour/week job so that she can help me run the rentals.  There is more money, and work hours can be adjusted to schedule.  As long as things get done at the rentals, that is our main priority.

Myself, I have a contracting job at a medical clinic.  Doing pre-employment drug screens.  That's how I get over half of my renters.  They are contractors working temporary jobs.  I have furnished short term rentals.  22 of them.

Hiring to get the work done will probably cost $30-$75 an hour. 

I have 22 properties.  The only things I call to have done is the plumber when it involves a sewer snake (roto-rooter), or if the plumber has to certify a gas system is free of leaks (I don't have a plumbers license), or if something electrical has to be done by a licensed electrician (I don't have a plumbers license).  Everything else I do.  Painting, carpentry, flooring, installing and repairing appliances, running gas/water/electric lines, roofing, etc I and my wife do myself.  If we hired this stuff out, that would be about $36,500 less in our pockets at the end of the year.

I've been paying $6 to $8.50 per square foot for the last 5 houses I've bought, they were bank repos.  I don't stage them.  I furnish them with the appliances and furniture that people will have when they rent it.  3 or 4 weeks of rent pays for all the appliances and furniture.  6 months of rent pays for the house.  It may take 7-12 months to get 6 months of rent.

Or you may get lucking and find a goose that lays a golden egg.  In my case, it was a superintendent, his foreman, and his main hand that rented a house from me.  The super transferred rent into our bank account like clockwork every Thursday, while he paid his work crew.  We didn't have to do anything.  Everything was fine for 6 months, until he took an unauthorized trip home in his company vehicle.  That was a no no.  The only reason he got caught was because he parked his company vehicle in some tall grass by a farm pond to go fishing.  The cat converter set the grass on fire.  The ensuing fire destroyed the F250.  He was fired.

2 days later a major component of the facility he worked for broke.  The component generates about $600/minute.  The facility owner insisted on having the superintendent back to fix it. So he was rehired immediately, but had no banking or transportation priviledges.

I feel like a cheapskate.  I have 22 furnished apartments and houses.  82 beds altogether.  95% of all my furniture and appliances come from estate auctions.  It costs me between $500 and $1500 to furnish a house.  The difference being on how big or small the house is, what appliances already come with the house, and if it will have 2 or more washers, dryers and fridges.

In this market a 3 piece bedroom set goes for $75-$250. A fridge, stove, washer or dryer goes for $75-$150 each, although I've bought some for as little $25.  Sofas and tables, $10-$50.  Old style televisions, $3-$5; I have about 50 of them.

The people that rent from me are refinery contractors.  People with a high school education that make $2000-$3000 a week when they are working.