All Forum Posts by: Samantha Cash

Unless its changed since Ive looked last year Town of Catskill doesn't have restrictions. The village does.

I don't have STR experience but for design services. you can check out @Mackenzie Grate. Her website lists some ideas of services and price I believe!

@Mackenzie Grate

Congrats on the purchase! I just read the post about taxes and learned a bunch there. I know this is an if, but if you could get some bank money and would be looking to do some work yourself I've heard of a local bank that will allow that, without needing a contractors license. The bank I'm thinking of is south of Albany, money goes a lot further when without paying for labor (when it's possible). Also if you haven't been to Capital Region REIA, that would be the place to network!

Ask for an estoppel agreement as proof the tenants are paying. Talk to the tenants if you can. Eviction will take much longer than 1 month in NY from what I've heard. I have an emergency fund to account for at least 6 months of not getting rent, in my eyes that's just the cost of doing business in NY. Of course not everyone is so conservative but I don't want to have to borrow money to pay my mortgage if an eviction happens. Since sewer scope was mentioned I would recommend getting sewer line insurance regardless of the condition. I would highly recommend taking a class on landlord tenant law for NYS. There are also several Property managers in Rochester you may be interested in that I would guess have procedures for this. 

Searching for Catskill might help you find other threads that have more action. Sometimes I uses a google search and limit it to the BP site and I've found that's more effective than searching through the site. This thread talks about STRs in the Catskills and is pretty recent, though it's a bit further south. The good thing about Greene County is that I don't see it ever being too harsh on STR regulations. Basically the further east you go towards I-87 the less seasonality the rental will have, since folks might be renting to enjoy the small town rather then mountain activities. Eastern river towns also have a bit more job prospects and easier commutes so they are more likely to work as LTRs. Western mountain towns will be harder for LTRs, which is one less exit strategy. It will also be a bit harder to find folks to work and manage a property out there. Still, there are opportunities in both markets. I would double check that those units in Hunter aren't time share or HOAs that restrict STRs, since I think I've seen that up there in the low price range.

These numbers do sound conservative from what you list. Do you include capex and maintenance? And if sewer and water is private are you accounting for extra there? Those problems tend to be expensive if they happen. The biggest risk I see is the occupancy rate since I’m assuming it wouldn’t work as an LTR even at asking. Admittedly I haven’t looked into STRs that much, but if it was me, I would want to know how low occupancy could go and still cashflow or breakeven. I’m honestly a little surprised to hear that you put in an offer over asking and it wasn’t accepted. In Greene County at least I haven’t heard about things going for way over asking this season as much as the last two. Admittedly I’m not looking at things that are recently updated turnkey, so that could be the difference. Still, I think there’s truth in the saying “you make your money when you buy” and it sounds like maybe you made the right move by not trying to pay more than appraised value.

I'm going to DM you. I'm in a similar situation, just getting curious about something I happened across on the MLS. For clarification here, the campground I am looking at is tents sites and some glamping. Not an RV park, not a place that advertising seasonal stays. Curious to here what type of business you are looking at. To Luke's point, there are a lot a of different business models. Admittedly I haven't looked into if there is a classification for RV parks or campgrounds on the BP forums, just searched and found this.

 Just long term for now.

Maybe @Mackenzie Grate can help.

Residing seems like a better option that trying to stabilize it and running into issues. Keep in mind that contractors generally won't say no to work, but if they quote high and seem like they don't want to be doing a job that's an indicator to me that maybe I should have.