All Forum Posts by: Ross Kerne

 Just wanted to follow up and say thanks for the recommendation above. We already had a FB page setup for our condos, but joining the groups you shared above has resulted in dozens (I've lost count) of last minute direct/owner bookings where we referred them to the PM.

To echo what others have said, I also think that buying only for appreciation is gambling. You can make lots of money gambling and speculating, but you can also lose it all.

With that being said, by personal home in New Braunfels has gone up around $150K in 2 years. Cashflow is what I want, but the appreciation that is happening around here cannot be ignored.

I do not have concrete rental data for you, but I think it really depends on where your rentals are located. New Braunfels is not big, but I've seen a big difference between downtown vs the outskirts of town.

I have a condo in Orange Beach in Gulf Shores. We use a local PM and the minimum night stay you can book through them is 3 nights. Most places offer a discount for booking more than 6+ days. It takes more work, but if you offer shorter bookings, your net daily rate can be higher if you fill up your calendar. We do end up with some holes in the calendar, but we use a personally run FB page to advertise those days. If you refer folks to you PM, they take less commission. I'll let someone book for 1 night if the rate is right. The cost per night for the guest is higher because of booking and cleaning fees. It doesn't cost the owner any more money.

In short, you can make more money from shorter min bookings, but it can be more work. 

I'm new to the area and this REIA.

Short notice, but I'll try to attend. Can I suggested Krause's Cafe & Biergaten or Muck & Fuss in downtown New Braunfels for future outdoor meetings (if that is the continued theme).

@Chris Allen income really depends on the property and location. Your most accurate rental information would come from the listing agent or a local property manager.

 Chris I live in Downtown New Braunfels, and own STRs in other markets. STRs are only allowed in NB if it is zoned for Commercial, so when one of those properties becomes available, they move very very quick and are usually to expensive to cash flow (if that is your goal). The market is very stale around here right now. I thought tons of condos would be hitting the market with reduced vacationers, but its seems like everyone is holding on to their properties, or they are being sold off market. Lots of condos and houses around here are sold off market because everyone's neighbor knows someone that wants to buy a property around Downtown (me included).

I'm not saying that you cant find a STR in NB, but you need to commit and look hard if you are serious.

Are you saying that you are finding properties that meet the 1.5% rule in Gruene? I'm also in New Braunfels, so I'd be interested in hearing more about those.

The "1% rule" is more of a high level check than a statement of thou shall. You still need to run detailed numbers on the property to make sure it meets your cash flow goals. Some folks would love to find 1% properties in their neighborhood, but some won't buy a property unless it meets the 2% rule.

Wow! Were one of those units yours, or just in that building? That is a massive failure of the structure, so please share some details when you have it. I hope the assessments are not too bad for you. 

We have a unit at Tidewater in Orange Beach. I am still waiting to hear how our building/unit weathered the storm, but we should know this weekend since our property manager is survey all of their properties right now.

We had a 3B3B at Lighthouse in Gulf Shores that we just sold last month. We sold the week everyone went back to school, and a few weeks before Sally, which turned out to be great timing. I was not happy to sell our 3B3B, but we walked away with great equity, and I feel like we dodge a big bullet with this storm. I don't know if we'll have an assessment for Tidewater yet, but at least we don't have a second property down their to worry about being vacant right now.

If the power is not on soon, we going to bring a generator to run a AC window unit to try to keep the mold down.

I'm from Lafayette and own a couple duplexes near downtown. Search for Lafayette on this BP forum and the info on here should supply a good base to start researching additional topics that interest you. If you expand your search to Louisiana. there is more state specific information to educate yourself.

I wish someone would have given me this information when I was your age. Buy small multifamily or something with multiple buildings/rooms that will get your started on house hacking(look it up if you don't already know). This will save you money and can generate income. Goodluck!