All Forum Posts by: Tiffany Cohen

Making it stand out will be all about the guest "experience. Go look under Airbnb "OMG" section and maybe you can get some cool ideas from people in locations other than Joshua Tree.  I know people love these novelty "experiences" and they are popular.  I'm based in LA so I know that people go to Joshua Tree for that hip factor (that made me sound old in which "hip" could have meant something else all together ha). So really try and see what other people are doing in other areas and what nobody is currently doing in Joshua Tree. Make it brand-able, great name and maybe theme it out a bit. Good luck!

Yep Furnished Finder will be your best bet.  I would suggest using your own short term rental or mid term rental agreement you send separate to everyone you rent to.  Don't let Air Cover from Airbnb make you think you are fully covered.  You have to protect yourself.  Require everyone to sign it within 48 hours of booking through you as part of your house rules. And make sure there's a line saying they have read the house rules and agree to them. Airbnb specifically usually sides with the renter. Also there is a Facebook group a woman runs where she specifically caters to pairing traveling nurses with properties.  You can list your property with them and they take a small commission if they make a match.  I can't find the name of it now but maybe if you do some general searching you can find them? Good luck! 

I think if you could get the numbers to work in creating an app it could be very helpful! Cost segregation makes sense for all projects but others are right - the barrier to entry for something like a $4,000 survey are what will prevent the small guys from benefitting from such a service. If you can find a way to make the process simple, easy and provide value it could really be helpful to investors of all sizes!

A lot of great suggestions on here. I'd definitely say you need to plan on additional expenses upfront such as: permitting fees, extra holding time if there are permitting issues, all the little things in the drawers and kitchen etc, hot tub, amenities such as toilet paper, spices, laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo and conditioner etc. - stuff you need to restock and have on hand. Also replacement costs of items like if towels get ruined etc put a buffer in your budget! Even put buffers in for minor repairs or other replacements. Software you pay a monthly subscription to for running the STR. Photography. Marketing expenditures. I could go on and on of course there are a lot!

I recently signed up with Minoan which I think is a great service! They have deals in place (like 10-40% off) with lots of places you might buy anything for your STR like mattresses, furniture, dishware, soaps etc etc so you get further bulk-type pricing. Companies like Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, West Elm, Bear, Public Goods, oxo, Fellow etc) It's been great! www.minoanexperience.com Great for when you are scaling your business as well.

Good luck!

Definitely wanting to know what specifically happened next.  Please tell!

Jennifer and I were just saying we hopefully or more London/UK people!  I am based in California but traveling to London a couple times a year. Wanting to work in that market when possible for my own investments as we are trying to live there and in Los Angeles both part time.  Barrier to entry as an American there is tough if you're not all cash.  But would love to be kept in the loop!

emailing you direct with the 2 people we discussed.  One works with very high end international clients and the other is more of a traditional mortgage broker in the area! Definitely would love to see more London/UK/International people on here as well!

Hi! Yes I’ve been down deep with a couple UK mortgage brokers there and a tax advisor. It is a challenging market prices are coming down a bit but the inventory is lacking. It’s been big in the news as of late. They also just raised the rate about a point I believe. Trying to break into the market as my family and I want to start spending more time there when we can. But funds are tied up in different projects so I’m trying to get creative with financing. Conventional borrowing as an expat will make it virtually impossible for us to buy something. Renting will also be throwing away large amounts of money annually so we’re trying to find creative and alternative solutions.

Agree I would go the self booking website and offer a discount code.  It's also nice to be able to track how often and how much revenue is accounted for with friends and/or family. I'm all about having the data to use so any way you can capture that I think might be helpful.  Even to track what times of year and how far out they are booking/reserving it.