All Forum Posts by: Tim Thornton

I feel like this thread needs some follow up photos. 

I use a variety of tools, but the best one for estimating your income is definitely the other comparable listings nearby on Airbnb and Vrbo. I like to look at their calendar to make sure it's not blocked most of the time or intentionally overpriced (I live here but I'll leave if you pay me enough). You can tell a full time investment property and get some good market research done at the same time. You'll have a better idea of what features and locations work well, and what kinds of photos grab you. If you scroll through the calendars you'll be able to see how their prices change throughout the season. Some change (the smart ones I think) and some stay the same all year round. Pick a few properties that are close to what you want to do and study them. If you devote a cup of coffee and 30 minutes to it once a week you'll learn a lot about when they book up and when they don't etc. Or even better, find out who's running it and buy them lunch or send them a gift card or something and ask for a 45 minute call if they aren't nearby. That will be a treasure trove.

Kyle, not James. My bad. Well, Kyle and James. Kyle James. :)

Hey Will, I operate a number of STRs in the Springs area. It depends quite a bit on the particular home (size of property, location, features), but in general I would say our market has folks who will manage for 20-30%. It's true (and people love to say it) that you can gross 3 or more times what you would have grossed from a long term rental on an STR, but when you consider that it's not just a property it's a hospitality business and add up all the expenses including maintenance, cleaning, management, insurance, utilities, etc. you're probably going to take home 50% of that. In some cases I'm seeing homeowners double what they would have made from long term rent as an NOI number, so a professionally managed strong STR can be a great cash flow situation for sure! But that's not every STR property by any stretch. Feel free to PM me if you want to get more specific.

Hi James, I know this is an old post but I operate short term rentals (Airbnb/vrbo) in the mountains west of Colorado Springs (and in Colorado Springs itself). So my area would include Cascade, Chipita Park, Green Mountain Falls, Woodland Park, Divide. There are still some amazing opportunities here despite the Springs' clamp down on STRs and the hot market. Hope your investing is going well!  

Most of the answers you seek are market specific. I operate a number of short term/vacation rentals in the Colorado Springs area, both my own and others and have run numbers on properties for lots of investors. Rather than try to answer your questions with numbers because answers will so dependent on your market, here are some costs that you should consider categorically that you might not be thinking of from your experience with long term rentals: 

- Insurance (that covers STR activity--not just any landlord policy)

- Utilities (including internet and possible streaming services at minimum)

- Hot tub maintenance if applicable

- Replenishables (paper towles, coffee, etc)

- Laundry service (maybe this is bundled with cleaning) 

- STR specific taxes in addition to property tax

- Trash/recycle

- Yard care, snow removal

- Licensing cost from your city if applicable

Hope that helps! Have fun; STRs can be a great experience and definitely can be a great way to turbo your cash flow even if you are buying in a hot market. Using the property for yourself is fun too! 

Hey Zachary, I operate short term, corporate, and long term rentals here in the Springs. I agree with the pros and cons above, and would add time to your list of considerations. If you have the time and attention to give to running an STR, it can be a great thing financially. Just remember you are trading your time for money. It might be a good trade depending on your situation. If you want it hands-off by bringing someone to manage it then your costs just went way up because you got your time back, and it has to be a much better property.

Make sure you keep your eye on what the El Paso County Assessor is doing in terms of how they want to tax STRs as commercial properties, and get your license with the City. Right now the restrictions aren't too bad but it's an important time to have your STR on the books (even if you think you might want to have one) in case they do caps or other limitations in the future.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned master leasing. Look into the course David Tilney offers once in a while. He’s the real deal. No guru stuff or mentor upsell. Just tons of great information. 

Become a student of your states landlord/tenant law and operate totally legally. The risks of doing something in a legal grey area outweighs the reward.

There is also a meeting tonight 6/14 at 6pm put on by the Organization of Westside Neighbors at the Westside Community Center in the Community Room. 

I'm told a petition has been put together for those who would like to advocate against the one-STR per legal lot limit (I believe @Robin Searle knows more). 

My thoughts: very optimistic. I think there's a strong future for STR in Colorado Springs and like @Jenn N. I feel the city is listening to owners (and short term/vacation rental managers like me) but those who want to protect the future of neighborly, well-run, and profitable STRs in Colorado Springs do have a short window of opportunity to speak into this document before it goes to city council so it's time to get to a meeting and share your perspective. 

Here's a paragraph I sent to the city planning office in regards to the one-STR limit:

"I also wish to reinforce a second concern which I heard someone else bring up to you after the meeting, which is that many owners and hosts (myself included) are operating two STR spaces on one lot. If this ordinance goes through with the prohibition of more than one STR per legal lot intact, hosts will be forced to cancel bookings that already exist in order to remain compliant (many hosts are booked 2-3 years in advance). As you can imagine, channels like Airbnb and VRBO take cancelations very seriously and penalize hosts across all their listings for cancelations. As a result there is a very real danger that hosts will be penalized, receive bad reviews on social media, and even lose their accounts on Airbnb/VRBO which could quite realistically cost them their businesses if no consideration is given to grandfathering in owners and hosts who are already operating more than one STR per lot, not to mention it seems fair to give owners and tenants a chance (as was mentioned) to recoup their significant investments (as one neighbor mentioned--her life savings) which they made under the existing laws." 

Heads up if you have a stake in the future of vacation rentals in Colorado Springs! Authorities are considering legislation limiting STRs. 

Positive voices will certainly be needed from responsible and honest owners and managers who are respectful of neighbors and desire to operate vacation rentals in a beneficial and ongoing way. 

Here's a post from a fellow host (I don't personally know her) with a link some helpful information.

If STRs are limited to 7 days that will hobble a lot of people who rely on this business for their well being, including owners, mangers, cleaners, handymen, and the local vendors that supply our amenities. 

IMPORTANT NEXT MEETING tomorrow WEDS PM (Facebook Event link in the linked post)

I will be there. Please join me. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Colora...