All Forum Posts by: Ryan Leake

Buy an STR and hire out the management. Take the extra cash flow and focus on the next investment/scaling. DM if you want to chat more in depth

Hi @Michael Johnson - welcome back to the area! I'm happy to share my list of local vendors. Feel free to DM me and I'll send over the contacts

@Bob V. - my name is Ryan and I'm a local investor here in Austin. I also own a short-term rental management company that partners with other real estate investors and second home owners to 2-5x their returns while also taking the headaches out of operating STR's. Have plenty of cleaner connections and other helpful STR connections to share if wanted. Happy to connect and share thoughts on the business!

Thanks for this thread @Jordan Moorhead! My 2024 goals are below:

Mind

- Consistent 10:30pm-6:30am sleep schedule (No screens after 10pm)

- Meditate and journal 4x/week

- Read 4x/week 

Body

- 2x2x2/week: Cardio | Weightlifting | Flexibility/mobility

- Knock out the Murph Challenge once a month (start with mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, finish with mile run)

- Get a full panel blood and gut health test

Business

- Net income exceeds $10,000 per month, which comes from my short term rental management/cohosting business, Host Del Casa

- Host Del Casa helps 10+ good people/partners 2-5x returns with short term rentals 

- Purchase another investment property

Hey Maxim, my name is Ryan and I'm a local investor here in Austin. I also own a short-term rental management company that partners with other real estate investors and second home owners to 2-5x their returns while taking the headaches out of owning/operating STR's. If you're curious, DM me so I can share more about our process and how Host Del Casa can assist if needed

What is your goal for the investment? 

Have you ever considered looking into a short-term rental? They have the appeal for larger travel groups in Round Rock and could be an interesting way to maximize your cash flow there. If you're curious, I can share more about the process and how my company can assist if needed

Have you ever considered looking into a short-term rental? They have the appeal for larger travel groups and could be an interesting way to maximize your cash flow here. If you're curious, I can share more about our process and how Host Del Casa can assist if needed

Current status of residential Austin STR regulations:

STRs must continue to be licensed, as the City of Austin will continue to enforce STR regulations[7].

In 2016, the city stopped issuing new non-owner occupied STR licenses - known as Type 2 licenses - for short-term rentals in certain residential areas. The city said there are more than 2,000 authorized short-term rentals in the city. But online listings show there are thousands more out there — which seem to be unauthorized. 

In August 2023, the the United States District Court, Western District of Texas, Austin Division ruled that Type 2 licenses must be made available in the same parts of the city where Type 1 (aka owner-occupied) licenses are available. Additionally, the court found that individuals who owned their property prior to the approval of the 2016 ordinance are eligible for a Type 2 license.

STR licensing requirement in Austin:

Owners of STRs are required to obtain an operating license annually. This law applies to all properties, including rooms and guest houses, that are rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days[1][3]. The license application process can be completed online or by mailing the necessary documents to the Austin Code Department. When advertising your rental, you must include your license number and the occupancy limit for your property. Only 10 related adults or 6 unrelated adults are allowed at a time[6].

Required docs to operate an STR:

To obtain a short-term rental license, you will need to complete a short-term license application and pay a non-refundable fee of $643, inclusive of a $50 notification fee[6]. If the ownership and the short-term rental’s street address have changed, you should submit a new application[8]. The final document you will need is a Certificate of Occupancy or a Certified Inspection[11].

Texas or taxes:

The City of Austin's Hotel Occupancy Tax rate is 11 percent, comprised of a 9 percent occupancy tax and an additional 2 percent venue project tax. Every person required to collect the Hotel Occupancy Tax must file a Report of Hotel Occupancy Tax with the City of Austin Controller’s Office[5]. 

Also a side note, when looking at an STR investment in Austin, factor in the high annual property taxes that can get up around 2% of the appraised value of the house (ie house appraised at $500,000, pay $10k/year in property taxes)

Hope this helps. If you have more in-depth questions or anything else to add to this then feel free to DM me!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Miami.

Purchase price: $385,000
Cash invested: $50,000

Rent-by-the-room househack/BRRRR in South Austin

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

Found roommates that cover 90% of my expenses and was able to add value through cosmetic rehab

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

Found on MLS after $40k price cut and had seller pay for all closing costs, which included a two point rate buydown

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional, 30 yr fixed, 6.74%

How did you add value to the deal?

Re-painted interior and exterior of house, replaced carpets, updated fixtures, new garage door

What was the outcome?

Renting out three of the four rooms and living in one myself. Everyone is getting along and the house has remained clean so far

Lessons learned? Challenges?

- Have a contractor walk-through the house to get a better sense of rehab costs before negotiating terms with seller.
- Can get peace of mind and better sense of a property's near-term and future expenses from having all inspections done of front (make sure to test out plumbing and check for potential leaks during walk-through!)
- There will always be demand for affordable living situations, people look on FB marketplace, craigslist, roomster, and FB groups for options

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

Agent was crucial in finding right property and being patient through process.
Lender was also super communicative.
They worked really well together as a team, made my life much easier.

Hey @Emily Valenzuela, is this still an option? Curious to learn more as well