All Forum Posts by: Quanda Allen

BP Community, I need your help. Over the years, I've been involved in a wide variety of real estate projects - a BRRR, 2 flips, a vacation rental and a major renovation. I have decided that in addition to building a portfolio of vacation rentals, I'd like a more consistent exposure to flips in my market, Washington, DC. I work full time so I'm unwilling/unable to flip full time and intown D.C. SF flips require a $700k-$1M. I don't have the means to do that alone. My question is how can I best identify local opportunities to make investments? I read that private placements don't allow a guaranteed rate of return so how do you know what the investment return will be? Is it possible to negotiate a percentage of the profit post sale? And I'd prefer not to use crowd funding websites to make the investment because I'd want to be involved. I'm invested in a "friends and family" flip right now that has been fun! I've been responsible for all finishes and the property has turned out great. Thanks in advance for your advice!

Hi! It really depends on your target market. If you are renting to a low, middle or high income tenant, you want to design in a way that attracts a solid renter. I suggest making your rental just a tad bit better in terms of design and finishes in your local market. It will make you more competitive on the long run. And, yes, a formula saves you time and money. When you do your next flip, you'll find it much easier if you kept a detailed spreadsheet of appliances, vendors, paint colors, etc so that you don't have to remember or start from scratch. If you're interested, I'm blogging about the process of building and designing a house. You're welcome to join me! The info is in my profile. Best of luck to you!!

Hi! I just completed a purchase (construction to perm) of a home in a mountain resort community in Wintergreen, VA. I'm not interested in long term rentals because I plan use the house once a month. One of the pieces of data that helped me make a decision was a AirDNA report from AirBNB. It actually provided rental occupancy analysis by zip code. I found it helpful. I didn't really consider long term rentals because the nightly rate is so much higher and will nearly double my earning opportunity. Our mountain resort is all season so a happy medium, if your area is the same, would be seasonal rentals. If you're interested, I'm blogging about my experience. The site is in my profile. Good luck!!!

You might consider a month to month lease vs a 12 month lease if you want to test the waters before committing financially. It will be more expensive on a monthly basis but could save you money in the long term if the strategy doesn't work.

Great question. Driving traffic during non peak times might require more work but you could enlist the help of your local chamber of commerce or tourism bureau to compile a list of off season events and attractions. You could then leverage this list and market to individuals who might attend. To increase bookings, you might consider bundling your rental with amenities like event tickets or special attraction access. Be your guests' concierge!

I have worked with Hillary Nash McAuley of Exit Realty. She's incredibly knowledgeable and is an investor herself.

Jeremy Aldridge I am building a 6B/4Ba vacation rental in Wintergreen, VA a (mostly) four season resort. To assist with understating the rental rates in the area, I purchased an AirBnB analytics report from their AirDNA division. It was $20. By zip code it shows all activity in your chosen area regarding nightly rates, vacancies, amenities, etc. Obviously, they can only aggregate data collected on their site and not VRBO and others but it's a solid start! Good luck.

AirBnB provides analytics, AirDNA, detailing specific rental markets. As a part of that report, they tell you whether or not collecting a security deposit in your market is standard practice. The website can collect it for you, but generally it is not advised as it can be a deterrent, especially if your competitors do not collect it. There was a BP podcast on vacation rentals that similarly stated that the owner chose not to collect security deposits because they are almost always returned. It's simply more work. Having insurance covers you in case of loss. In my rental market, the vast majority of "expert" owners do not collect security deposits.

Thanks! I'm enjoying the forum and blogs!

Thanks so much! I emailed the organizer.