All Forum Posts by: Susan Gillespie

@Patrick M. you can include all those expenses (closing costs, improvements and/or repairs, any fees, points, sales price, etc) when calculating internal rate of return (IRR).

Internal rate of return is a powerful metric because it can evaluate the return for all cash inflows/outflows over the life of your investment. A limitation of cap rate is that it looks at a year versus your entire holding period.

You wrote: In short, if I have to pay for the privilege of buying the property, shouldn't I include all costs of acquisition? --The answer is yes, absolutely. Your cash outlay impacts your investment's return.

How many units are you evaluating? I can help if you have questions on IRR.

@John K. I recently tried Structure.PM, which focuses on management and operations. It has some good features and no/low cost. There's more at this thread. 

http://beta.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/132...

@Duncan Taylor you make a good point: I never used the accounting features and have always been a little puzzled why someone would mix an accounting system with an operations system.

As for me, I'm puzzled how some use an accounting system as a management system.

I hadn't heard of Sage. Have you been happy with it? Does it provide any level of financial analysis versus accounting?

@Mikael S. You may have seen this stat, but it supports your point:

80% of travelers are comfortable with the idea of renting someone else´s vacation home on a trip so long as the property meets their personal standards for a vacation stay AND that someone is available to contact locally if needed. 

http://www.financial-news.co.uk/17567/2013/09/amer...

What is the "chic" part? Do you mean the newer development going on around Constituyentes?

@Zach A.Congrats on getting started at an early age. 

Some yellow and red flags:

"I have a verbal agreement from the bank..." Translation, you think you have a verbal agreement.

"My credit line balloons in July 2015..." That's just around the corner.

If you don't have one, I would use your cash flow to build a reserve fund to cover unforeseen expenses, pay down your "downpayments" or use for future investments.

Real estate can build wealth. People who are highly leveraged with no equity don't have wealth. You have a strong start, now I think you should focus on managing your risk.

Good luck.

Hi @Mikael S.   Playa is one of my favorite places.

Have you researched and defined your target renter? I've gone to Playa many times, and each time I go, there are more and more options of places to stay, from budget to luxury, privately owned to mega resort. There's huge competition. At the same time, there's strong demand and a growing audience of "sharing economy" renters.

Who specifically will you target, and what will set your property apart?

Marketing and management will be two big challenges beyond the build phase. Evaluation is one of our specialties if you have specific questions.

I hope to read more about your plans. Good luck!

@Whitney Moore that sounds like a sales vs educational event.

I've been a member of my local REIA for the last year. I go for networking and have made some good contacts. There's an annual fee of $179. Presentation topics vary, but if I don't learn something at the monthly meetings, I leave early. I get frustrated with heavy sales pitches, and unfortunately that's the format sometimes.

If you're looking for education, you could check out meetups in your area or other REIAs. They can be good opportunities to meet others and get an overview of different investing topics. Keep up your networking and you'll meet knowledgeable people.

You wrote: I thought a lot of these things were offered for free online but I could be wrong...

Many memberships, classes and tools aren't free, but the good ones have reasonable prices. Watch out for heavy upsell, like the meeting you went to. 

@Jeff J. response) and emergency issues. I would have a back-up plan for each situation. Sometimes it's not a true emergency, but it's good to have local connections who can help you evaluate and address the situation.

I know a property manager who offers ongoing maintenance with emergency service for a reasonable fee. That option also offers peace of mind. 

@Steve Dove - this is the challenge of marketing.

You have the summer to test your marketing or package concepts with your best audience = your existing customers. Would they come back for a golf trip or girls getaway? Or something else? You could leave a short survey at your cabins to test out your ideas.

You could also try word of mouth referrals, such as current guests who refer others would both receive $x off a future stay, or some other thank you gift.

For group rental ideas, like scrapbooking, you could try to tap into related stores or events. I would try to meet people from your targeted area and get their feedback. Social media posts with photos could help you spread the message too, like @Kris Taylor suggested. 

Good luck!

@Paul J. I've always had hybrid property management (multiple PMs) due to having in- and out-of-state rentals. I don't want to recreate what full service PMs provide, but I do monitor my portfolio.

I nearly always have my tablet with me, so expect cloud-based service. I'm trying to move to a paperless/anywhere office as much as possible.

Have you taken a look at Structure.PM? I just started testing it out (learned about it via BP), so don't have an in-depth review, but I like several things:

• integrated views of properties, key lease info and high level status
• can save and integrate vendors, make and track repair requests, email them, etc. 
• standard form letters built in; also code for craigslist
• easy to get started and is streamlined overall
  
• price is free or minimal ($9 per month) depending on users/units

I used to track some of this in Excel, but it doesn't work well with iPad.

I tried Quickbooks online, but it seemed like overkill. I already have an accountant.

My impression is that there's a market opportunity for an easy, online PM offering that focuses on the management aspect, and Structure fits the bill. I'm interested to hear if others have tried it.

@Steve Dove are you trying to increase bookings in your off season? If summer is booked solid, are you promoting shoulder season (May - Oct) and spring/winter months?

I would consider targeting a more specific audience (demographic) versus untargeted eyeballs. In my experience, I think the mom sales attract price sensitive shoppers, so if you offer good value or discounts, that could work.

Can you promote rentals based on regional events or activities that draw people in non-peak months? Like bird watching, spring tulips, fall leaves, wine tastings, etc.? I don't know what the events are in your area, but you could feature those. Before I had kids, I used to love shoulder season because it was less crowded. With kids, we have to consider school schedules.

You could also promote girls getaways or scrapbooking weekends if your rentals are big enough. I have friends who do that in winter months like Feb. and March when it's too cold to be outside and a quieter time of year.