All Forum Posts by: Stephen Fydenkevez

@Levi Bennett

Its a great question Levi and one that I do not have a definite answer to at this point. One reason that I am leaning towards one area in particular is that it seems the ski area itself is looking to be a 12 month destination. They are trying to use the mountain in the off season for attractions like zip lining and mountain biking. That, along with some nice renovations to local golf courses could do a lot to help me fill some rooms in the non-ski months. 

I do not know a lot about real estate (as mentioned above) but I was in the outdoor recreation business at one point. While I am not practiced at picking out fortuitous real estate trends yet, I am able to track what attracts people to locations and hopefully that will help me get a foothold. 

The way I see it, as much as vacation properties struggle with seasonal business - local businesses do as well and are constantly trying to evolve to draw in revenue in off times. If I can track which regions are doing a better job of it than others, I may be on to something. 

This is all a theory at this point, but in my head it makes sense. I will be sure to post my findings when I have identified some trends in the area that help with off-season rentals, hopefully it will trigger some good conversation. 

Thank you for your time and thoughtful response to my post. 

@Blair Knowles

Thank you very much for the time you put into your response. To your many thoughts I have some answers and much more to think about and consider. 

First - we have not yet decided on the unit to start our journey with so the above questions and factors are great to be aware of. We will use that information to evaluate the ideal location to start with. 

As for what I had visioned - I would be managing the property myself from afar, while paying a local cleaning service to maintain the property. The type of cleaning service would depend on the property that is selected. What we are looking for in our first few properties - is to be in the same area (ideally same townhouse/condo complex) so the same cleaning company could be used. We will have a website that grows as our portfolio grows, and the advertising will be completely online via sites like VRBO. 

I know how busy this will be, which is why ideally once we have 3-4 properties, the maintenance of the website, advertising, and property management will become my full time job (my wife will continue to work to provide some steady income during the transition)

For your 4 questions - those are all excellent things to look out for and they are things I would not have thought to ask. I will make sure that all topics are covered and are part of our initial screening process for future investments.

Thank you again for the time and thought you put into our response. It is very much appreciated. 

@Kevin Izquierdo

I am in a very similar boat Kevin. I am looking to people who have been my life 'mentors' since I was a kid (they know very little about real estate) and they say it is a risk that I should not take. It feels like entering into this type of investment scares a lot of people because, as Danielle said above, people are afraid of what they do not understand.

I really like what Delles said, you can either do it - or sit back and watch others do it. I have not personally done it yet but everything I have looked into and prepared for is indicating that there is money to be made and a life to be had by pursuing this as far as you dare. Of course there is a risk, but there is a risk in anything worth doing.

I will be pulling the trigger soon on my first investment because this is something that I believe in. I know that I would live better the rest of my life knowing I went for it - even if I fail. I would rather go for it and fail, at least then I know I could go the rest of my life knowing I tried.

Best of luck in your pursuit, if it was easy - everyone would be doing it.

@Kelly B.

Thank you for the suggestions and the support. As the year progresses to ski season and I have some data to start working towards a decision, I will be starting a blog.

I am new to BP. I've been lurking for the last 24 hours and attempting to gather as much information on similar scenarios as I can, but I think its time I started my own thread. I have no real estate background and know very little about the terms/abbreviations, so this post will probably be filled with ignorance - but any thoughts, comments or advice would be very much welcome.

My wife and I currently have approximately 150k tied up in non-real estate investments, and we are looking to make the transition into real estate. While we do not have prior real estate experience, we do have these things going for us:

- We both have steady jobs that support us, we do not need an immediate 'home run'. We are willing and able to put the time in and play patiently as our portfolio grows and matures for long term gain.

- We understand that 150k is significantly larger than the average starting amount for a first time investor. Our target property is around 100k and we would put between 30-50% down. We will learn the ropes on a smaller unit where the risk is not as large.

- We know what we want. I am very familiar with the area we will be investing in, it is a ski area that I have been going to my whole life. While I have not always been looking at it from a real estate perspective, I know the region and how to cater my properties to what the consumer is looking for.

- We have time on our side. At 26 and 24, we do not have to worry about making a number before an imminent retirement.

Our Goal: To support ourselves as full time investors

In the area we are looking, there are many townhome complexes that are currently available for 90-140k. These units rent for roughly 220-400$ per night. Ski season in this area is busy from early December through mid March.

Year 1: 1 unit

Year 2: 3 units

Year 3: 5 units

Given that we have 150k available to us and that we are targeting smaller units, we are hoping that by renting out all 5 units we will be able to own all 5 outright by year 7. At that time we would look to repeat the process, acquiring 1-2 properties per year with the goal of 10 properties by year 10.

My question to you, educated and experienced patrons of BP, does this tentative plan seem in any way feasible, or is it some childish dream of real estate wannabes?

I understand that the work involved in owning 10 properties is significant. Part of this plan involves me leaving my job after we have the first 5 properties and I would manage them full time. I have some web design background and would be responsible for the marketing. After 10, my wife would be looking to leave her job as well as we continue to expand.

I understand that there will be additional costs in taxes, cleaning fees, and advertising - but is there anything else significant that I am missing?

We are looking to monitor the ski area this winter. There are units for sale in various townhome complexes and other units in those buildings for rent. We will be doing our homework over the next ski season to find what we believe is the best purchase, and then we will be looking to pull the trigger in the spring.  

We both really appreciate the time you have taken to read this, and any feedback you wish to give.

@Mark Nolan

Thank you for the welcome Mark. I have been browsing the site for the last few hours and checking out some of the forums.

@Account Closed

Right now the focus is the Mount Snow area in West Dover. I have found listings around the 90-120k mark in 5 different townhome complexes. There are also different units within those same complexes available for rent in the 250-400$ per night range. My plan is to monitor those rental listings during the fall and winter seasons, and see which units are more consistently booked. I also may stay a night at each rental complex and get a feel listing. At this time my goal is to make the purchase in the spring.

I do not have a lot of experience in how to go about doing this, but at 26 I do have time on my side. I do not want to rush into the investment, especially my first investment. As information and data become available I would be happy to run numbers by you and see what you think of the opportunities.

Hello everyone. My name is Steve fydenkevez, and my wife and I are looking to enter the world of real estate investment.  We were married recently, and when we add in our wedding gifts with what we have been saving on our own for years, we feel that we are finally ready to pull the trigger on our first property purchase.

We actually live about 90 minutes south of the ski area that we are looking to invest in, but it is an area that I am very familiar with as I have been going there my whole life. Our target purchase is a single unit in a townhome complex. These units run roughly 100k and rent for about 250$ per night, just to give a scope for our type of starter investment.

Between my wife and I, we have a grand total of 0 years in real estate investment experience, but we really believe in the area and real estate we will be investing in. I personally have dumped thousands of dollars in renting these units over the years and have seen townhomes filled on a weekly basis.

We are looking forward to communicating with many of you and learning from any and all of the experience you are willing to share with us.

Thank you for taking the time to read our intro, we look forward to speaking with you.