All Forum Posts by: Jacob St. Martin

Hey Jared, 

Welcome to BP! I am a STR investor and realtor in central VA and serve that area. I'd love to connect some time and help you through any questions you might have about STRs or the area!

I would personally recommend going with the full central air system. In a house of that price range people will view the minisplits as cheap even if it is just as effective. Also for only 10k more I think that central air does do a better job

Hello Darnica, 

So sorry to hear that this has been your experience with agents in central VA. Honestly, it was mine too. I have been an investor for several years before more recently becoming an agent. Most agents are not good investor agents. As an investor myself I know what you are looking for for, and I understand the numbers & principals. For my investor clients, part of my buyer representation meeting is getting to know your buy box and specifically how you analyze deals, price out rehabs, etc. Then I search through the market to target deals that could work, pre-vet them by doing some quick underwriting before I send them to you, and send them your way.

An example from a recent investor client of mine: 1/4 signed buyer rep contract, 1/11 sent them a list of 9 pre-vetted potential deals, 1/18 we toured 6 of them, 1/21 I went and toured one where the tenant would not let us in on 1/18 and took detailed pictures and videos, 1/22 under contract on that property for 57% of list price, set to close on 2/14. 

If that sounds interesting to you I would love to talk and see if I can help find you your next investment property!

Quote from @Abby Biter:

Quote from @Jacob St. Martin:

Hello Abby, 

A few years ago anyone could slap a property on airbnb and make insane money. It has some pros and cons but the airbnb market is stabilizing like any other market. That means that there is now competition between hosts and you have to give people a reason to book your unit over another hosts. There are a few things that I noticed: 

1. You interior design definitely needs work. The units are very utilitarian, in the first listing there are only 2 art pieces in the living room, they are too small for the wall, and they look like they were ordered off of amazon which isn't necessarily bad but it also doesn't stand out. There are a lot of other design upgrades you could make too.

2. Your photography isn't the best. You don't have to update your photography often if you have killer photography, but you don't. 

3. Your listing description does not highlight any nearby attractions or points of interest. 

4. You aren't offering any unique amenities. If your unit doesn't stand out in other ways considering adding amenities like a hot tub, backyard mini golf course, making your airbnb dog friendly, etc. These things make your listing stand out. 

5. You have a 7 night minimum. I don't know if this is required in your locality but if it isn't get rid of it. The only times this makes sense is if you are in a really hot market, especially seasonal ones where you might have 100% occupancy for the summer months or something. If that is the case then it is fine for your peak months but you want to turn it off for off season. 

6. For your first listing i see openings until feb 1st and then nothing until july. Are you actually booked out that far? If so I feel like you should be doing fine on revenue. If not you need to fix that asap. 

7. If you aren't already using a dynamic pricing tool you should be. It will help you adjust your pricing to improve your vacancy rate. 

8. Run your own airbnb comps and see how your rates, pics, and amenities, compare to them. Find a way to stand out. 

Feel free to reach out if you would like to talk more in depth!

 This is awesome. I did not realize one of my units had the 7-night minimum but that currently is a requirement in my city, I do not always follow it. I will certainly work on updating the photos and adding more artwork. The first unit does have a booking through VRBO. Which sites do you recommend for pricing?  Unfortunately, my units do not have any amenities besides being close to downtown. 

 Use pricelabs, I also integrate with guesty for hosts which allows me to manage listings on airbnb vrbo and booking.com. Maybe you can also look into adding some fun amenities like a hot tub as well!

Hello Abby, 

A few years ago anyone could slap a property on airbnb and make insane money. It has some pros and cons but the airbnb market is stabilizing like any other market. That means that there is now competition between hosts and you have to give people a reason to book your unit over another hosts. There are a few things that I noticed: 

1. You interior design definitely needs work. The units are very utilitarian, in the first listing there are only 2 art pieces in the living room, they are too small for the wall, and they look like they were ordered off of amazon which isn't necessarily bad but it also doesn't stand out. There are a lot of other design upgrades you could make too.

2. Your photography isn't the best. You don't have to update your photography often if you have killer photography, but you don't. 

3. Your listing description does not highlight any nearby attractions or points of interest. 

4. You aren't offering any unique amenities. If your unit doesn't stand out in other ways considering adding amenities like a hot tub, backyard mini golf course, making your airbnb dog friendly, etc. These things make your listing stand out. 

5. You have a 7 night minimum. I don't know if this is required in your locality but if it isn't get rid of it. The only times this makes sense is if you are in a really hot market, especially seasonal ones where you might have 100% occupancy for the summer months or something. If that is the case then it is fine for your peak months but you want to turn it off for off season. 

6. For your first listing i see openings until feb 1st and then nothing until july. Are you actually booked out that far? If so I feel like you should be doing fine on revenue. If not you need to fix that asap. 

7. If you aren't already using a dynamic pricing tool you should be. It will help you adjust your pricing to improve your vacancy rate. 

8. Run your own airbnb comps and see how your rates, pics, and amenities, compare to them. Find a way to stand out. 

Feel free to reach out if you would like to talk more in depth!

Hello Mike, 

It is nearly impossible to answer this question without taking a deep dive on the numbers of each but often times in expensive markets like Seattle the cost of construction is so high that it doesn't make sense to tear it down unless you can build something way bigger/nicer. The 4-plex may be viable if zoning allows it but building another single family is probably not the move. For flipping I would also normally not recommend adding an ADU. They tend to cost more to construct then they add in value, they are generally more valuable for a property you are holding as a way to generate more income. Maybe your market is different but in my market appraisers will screw you over on the value of an ADU.

If you want to talk more in depth feel free to reach out and we can discuss more. 

I am an investor and newly an agent! The agents I have worked with have not really been a source of off market deals but that doesn't mean that it can't happen. However, an agent that has off market deals is likely flipping or wholesaling themselves so you may only get leftovers. 

As an agent I love to work with investors! Of course our big motivation is commission but you can get commission or a referral fee or something in an off market transaction if done properly. It would be possible in other ways like a lot of hot client leads but anything other than that will probably be specific to what that agent needs. As far as red flags, if you don't seem serious/ready that will turn some agents away. A lot of agents don't want to have to educate someone who is broke and has dreams of financial freedom through real estate just to find out you can't buy. Talk to lenders and have some options ready to go and have clear buying criteria.

One thing to take note of is that a lot of places that are established STR markets have regulations stating that you have to honor future bookings. I would check your state and local regulations.

When it comes to furniture/design it depends. Most people don't sell an STR that is making them a ton of money so odds are it could look better, although they could be selling it for other reasons. In a market like Joshua tree you will probably need to go above and beyond to stand out from other listings. I would only recommend purchasing items that fall into that vision.

Quote from @Erwin Groenendijk:

@Jacob St. Martin the property management argument isn't really an argument if you look at the bigger picture that most investors don't want to manage their properties anyways because they are spending most of the time on their main job. So you might be living in the US or in Europe, investment properties are bought to outsource and earn from the cashflow. If this isn't applying to your first investment property, it will apply to your second.  

Yeah for sure, I meant to say that buying in the U.S. you might be able to self manage if you want but international you probably don't have the option but I didn't express that super well. I will note though that lots of people manage multiple rentals without hiring a STR management company (myself included). At a certain point it becomes a lot of work but you can outsource a lot of the work by hiring VAs which is way cheaper than a management co (definitely not as hands off though)

Quote from @Mike Lambert:

@Federico Dallo

I'm an investor based in Canada, which is a market quite similar to that of the US. While I've owned property in the US and Canada, I decided a few years ago to focus on real estate outside of Canada and the US. So, as you can imagine, I completely disagree with the opinion that investing in the US is better. While I could write a whole dissertation as to way, I have no appetite to enter into a kind of discussion in which too often egos become prevalent over helping one another.

What I would do if I was in your position is to ask about investing in the US to somebody who actively invests there and ask about investing overseas to somebody who actively invests in Europe and the Caribbean and then draw your own conclusions. So feel free to DM me if you think I could help.

The other reason for me to reply to you is to debunk some untruths that are being circulated about international investing, as it could help all readers who bump into this thread.

It's not true that many European countries require you to be a citizen or a permanent resident to invest in real estate there and certainly not in the countries that you mentioned. I had never heard or read that one before so I'm not sure where it comes from. Actually, an ever growing number of Americans are investing in Europe and they're welcomed with open arms. Also, while you might have to put down 40%+ in some countries, it isn't typical and, again, it's not the case in some of the countries you mention. Don't take my word for it though. A 2-min Google or Chat GPT search will confirm.

Hope this helps.

 Not trying to argue or make it an ego thing but there are European countries that will not let you buy property as a non resident, Switzerland for example. I also have specifically looked into buying property as a non-resident foreigner in Spain and every source said that they would require a 40% down payment. 

I am definitely not an expert on international investing as a whole though so I agree that it is a great idea to get in touch with someone who has more experience with it!