All Forum Posts by: Richard Scott Dinnan

 Hi Shawn CFRI sounds exactly like the next step we need. Im defintely interested in joining and collaborting with other professionals. Sorry for the delayed response, been out on Military Orders. 

r,

Richard

 Hi Alice! I would love to hear more about your company and any potential tips ypu my have! I apologies for the delayed response I have been out on Army Orders for a bit. 

r,

Richard

Hi Everyone! 

Me and my spouse wanted to briefly introduce ourselves, our company, and share our ambitions with the BP community with hopes of learning more about how to achieve our short term and long term goals as well as build lasting connections that help and assist others in achieving theirs! 

A bit about me and my spouse, we are a military family (Army). I did five years Active and traveled all over the globe. Since then, I have been an Army Reserve Officer and command a seafaring logistics unit out of the port of Tampa with over 12 years of service.  In our private sector roles, we both work for Lockheed Martin. I am a Staff ESH Engineer and my Spouse is a Senior Sustainability Analyst for the Corp Team. The Environment, the Safety of people and the living things around us as well as the general health and welfare of all living things are extremely important to us.

We are passionate about real estate investment and Buy and Hold with a focus on providing affordable vacation rentals and long term living spaces for Veterans and individuals in situations of hardship. We believe that sustainable housing is a part of sustainability as a whole and restoring once great spaces back to their former glory for others to enjoy and live. 

We currently operate 6 doors. 2 Vacations STRs, 1 SFH LTR, and 3 Multifamily LTR doors. We are looking to expand and are interested in private lending and BRRR.

We are excited to continue our growth this year and looking forward to meeting like minded others in the Orlando, St Augustine, and Pigeon Forge, TN areas. 
 

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $450,000

Tri-plex in an upcoming area, 3min from downtown and walking distance to the Camping world stadium. Planning on some minor renovation and keeping as a buy and hold LTR for a tentative 5 year term.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $320,000
Cash invested: $80,000

This is a single family STR on Airbnb. It is next door to the other property allowing for easy turn over and maintenance logistics. This property is comparable in price and cash flow however it accommodates more guests staying at once.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Proven test case, Next door, similar investment scheme, ease of use/maintenance.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Was next to my other STR

How did you finance this deal?

Financing

How did you add value to the deal?

Made offer prior to the seller and realtor being ready. Pushed for a quick close.

What was the outcome?

Appraised for 20k higher than contracted price. Does just as well as the other STR

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Ensure that the juice is worth the squeeze. Although the property is comparable to the other STR the realized cash flow and appreciation on the other STR next door lended valuable info that allowed me to pursue a deal that would otherwise seem risky to a subjective buyer.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Scott Dustin

I wanted to start a discussion on Airbnb cancellation policies and see what works and what doesn’t work for everyone else.

Currently, I use it differently for each place based on seasonal occupancy but I am relatively new to STRs and wanted to see if there was a better way. 

As always, all feedback is appreciated!

In todays Society, a review can make or break your business. In the vacation STR realm, on a platform such as Airbnb it is no different and often even an inaccurate review can have this effect.

In my experience dealing with countless issues, whether big or small, “quickly” understanding the current guest, their needs, and their perception of your property is paramount. 

With vacation rentals I have come to understand that you are advertising a perception that must meet each individual guests reality in order to maintain a 5 star experience for each individual. Each guest has their own idea of what a five star experience should entail. So how do you deal with the outliers? 

Building an effective system to deal with specific common issues quickly without putting in my time and effort has been extremely beneficial to me. Understand things you are willing to compensate for and decide a fair amount for those things. Above all, keep track of each instance. This can help you with trending and give you a more accurate estimate of where and when and who your problems could be moving forward.

Last year just two of the properties (Smokey Mountain, TN/ St Augustine,FL) had over 120 guests who brought an average of 6 people with them. Thats over 700 individual people, each with their own thoughts and ideas on what your property SHOULD be. 

Bottom line… if you aren’t great with dealing with people this type of property might not be for you. 

Maximizing on rapid customer service and effective honest advertising will keep you on track for these cash flow cows. 

Looking to hear what others think on this topic.. all perspectives. Just wanted to start a conversation that could help some individuals on the fence about this or in the midst of it.

If you have a specific concern or comment feel free to message me directly! 

Thanks Tanh,

Your certainly right, trust the numbers. My problem is trusting the system and my inexperienced projections combined. I know my way around Vacation STRs enough but commercial property is new to me. I think this is what casts a shadow of doubt per se over the numbers. 
 

thank you! 

Hi Scott,

thanks for taking the time to provide some feedback. That is exactly the type of answer I was looking for without having to spell out each deal.

It’s definitely two different goals that are competing right now business growth vs real estate investment growth.

Once I get more solid numbers on the proposed commercial deal I think it will paint a picture where the office isn’t the best option. 

Thanks again!

Hi Everyone, I am conflicted on the current state of my real estate investing journey and wanted some external opinions on the matter. 

I currently have three properties. One primary in Orlando with good equity and two vacation STRs listed on my profile. My wife is expanding her Clinical Mental Health Counseling business and I am looking to purchase an office area in downtown Orlando. 

My conflict is this,

I am not sure if buying commercial will add or subtract value to my rental business or hinder my growth by slowing me down significantly with the financing and cash up front. 
There are a few properties I am interested in BRRRing now to build my portfolio strength but I’m apprehensive to jump into that before this big commercial property deal.

long story short. Should I wait to buy the commercial property until a have a larger real estate portfolio strength or will the commercial property add value on its own?