All Forum Posts by: Ryder Meehan

@Johnson H. Thanks, I really appreciate that.  I'm hoping to see you at a MeetUp soon either mine, yours or @J. Martin's!

Looking forward to seeing these out of state REI gurus: @Julia Latreille-Favre @Ben Phillips @Alice K. @natalie bueno @trevor campbell and many more!

My dream team members requested to join! @J. Martin @Stan K. @Johnson H.

Let's explore all the ways to succeed in real estate without the challenges of those pesky tenants and maintaining a residential property. I'm talking strip malls, office space, self-storage units, RV/Boat storage, land leases, special purpose properties and other commercial investments ** PLUS I'm excited to talk NOTES, thanks @Ben Phillips for turning me on to these. If you have experience in the area send me a direct message if you'd like to help with the presentation.

Agenda:

7-7:15PM Networking

7:15-7:45PM Presentation

7:45-8:00PM Group Questions

8-8:30PM Member intros

8:30-10PM Drinks & Networking at The Boardroom (1609 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94133)

@Monika Haebich it's not a fixed arrangement, the manager takes a commission on the gross monthly income from Airbnb.  I decided yesterday to go ahead and move forward with the Airbnb conversion, hopefully I'll be taking in a nice extra $600/month on the unit as forecasted!

I also have a rental house just finishing rehab out in the burbs I'm trying to get my great tenants to move into, ha- I could also put them up in my self-storage facility during transition.  So many ways to make money and delight customers in this business!

@Wes Brand definitely agree, fortunately I already have had this mortgage in place for 5 years.  

I was just talking to a friend about buying a property where the numbers only work if it's AirBnB.  My opinion is that it has to make sense with traditional rental income to make sense to purchase.  Converting to Airbnb is just a nice way to add cashflow but if it ever starts going south I can always go back to a traditional rental and still cashflow - just not as much.

Greg S. Thanks, I was really looking for feedback like that for reassurance! I feel confident with my numbers and really only struggle with the decision because I feel a little like a Scrooge for doing it. It is a business though!

Mike Hanneman I can't speak from personal experience on that yet but my Airbnb property manager showed me booking rates on his other units in the area and it didn't seem to slow down at all. Dallas isn't really a seasonal tourism destination, and if it was I don't know why anyone would go there in the summer when the heat will melt your face off! My guess and hope is that bookings will stay steady and most guests are business travelers or visiting a friend or family in Big D.

John Anderson hopefully all REI see dollar signs! Of course I'll refund the deposit if she leaves the unit on good condition as I expect she will

Michaela G. Thanks for the feedback. I had given that a thought or even asking above market rent like $1600, that is still quite a lot less than Airbnb though. Tough call

Let me first say that I'm 3 months into having converting 2 of my 7 apartment unit rentals in Dallas to AirBnB (with a manager in place running things) and so far, it's been 95% great!  We have had 27 nights booked the last 2 months and I went from $650/month to $1800/month gross rent.  I netted an extra $900 on just one unit.  

That said, the previous tenants in those units were easy to decide that I didn't want to renew their leases when they came up - i.e. often late on rent, got dogs when no pets were allowed, left trash around the property, etc.  They were inherited tenants I probably would have raised the rent to nudge them out regardless of the AirBnB conversion.

Now I have 2/1 in the hot Lower Greenville neighborhood of Dallas coming to the end of their lease.  This is a great tenant who always pays on time and is very friendly.  To be transparent, the tenant pays $1150 but the rent boom in Dallas would likely put her at $1400 when the lease renews in September.  If I convert it to AirBnB I estimate renting 25 nights/month at $100/night = $2500/month.  There are an extra $300 or so of added cost as well as furnishing for AirBnB but the numbers look a lot better.  $2200 is much better than $1400, so it seems like it should be a simple choice but I also see an increased risk with nightly rentals and knowing how hard it is to find a great tenant, I hate to let one go.

Has anyone else had to make this decision or have insight to share?  Based on the numbers of my business, I'm thinking to go AirBnB.