All Forum Posts by: Stephen Kehoe

@BOB CRANEY have you seen the city temporary rent support program? https://dhcd.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/dhcd/attachments/COVID-19%20Temporary%20Rent%20Support%20Landlord%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

I like to aim for the opposite. Smaller units can attract the older long term tenants on a fixed income that don't tear anything up. I imagine the inspection process with a 5 bed would be a pain.

However your reasoning seems thought out so I'm sure you could make it work.

I've seen a lot of examples @Tim Jacob's points regarding grass and filters and budget management. It's easy for the tenant to say they will change the filter and never do it which will hurt the owner in the long term. You can get a filter delivery service like SecondNature and when the filter shows up at the tenants door hope they install it. 

Here are the biggest red flags I see.

Why not wait to buy until the affect of Covid-19 on the STR market has subsided?

Make sure the town taxes Airbnb. A town that taxes it is unlikely to turn around and ban it on a whim.

If you are buying it purely as an investment it may be worth researching less seasonal markets further south. Checkout airdna.co for good data on where to buy.

@Maruf Ali 

The published section 8 rates for Baltimore are just the maximums. They will be adjusted down based on a comparable market analysis and other factors.
To guess your number you would need to do a market analysis like below. I used Zillow rental manager which goes high in my opinion. However with the section 8 bonus you may have heard of you may be able to achieve these rates. However the section 8 bonus in Baltimore is smaller for nicer properties. 

Any lessons learned from doing a bump up in the area?

• I want to add to what @Joe Norman said. The jurisdiction banning STR is a big risk. It is less of a risk if the jurisdiction taxes AirBnB because they don't want to give up on income.
• Since you are deciding where to buy purely on return, Airdna.co will be useful to you. It has a lot of data to base your decision on.
• In areas where STR's are very popular the property prices reflect that. You could look for opportunities to add value. An easy one is adding bedrooms to a house with a large sq. footage.

After saying all this I would not invest in STR's until the effect of Covid-19 is known.

Airbnb used to have a service where you could search for local co-hosts that could help with this kind of thing. That was too much liability so now they want you to suggest someone you know and provide an e-mail address to invite them to co-host. The co-host option will give the co-host access to your messages and upcoming booking so they can co-ordinate without you.

You could post an add on craigslist looking for help and that would achieve what the Airbnb co-host search used to do. Here is some more details.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1243/whats-a-cohost

Welcome Lamar, 

Yeah I think there will be some deals coming as soon as this temporary sellers market subsides. I spent a lot of time in the Jumeirah Beach area and miss it dearly.