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All Forum Posts by: Timothy Church

Timothy Church has started 26 posts and replied 245 times.

Post: Should I believe AirDNA?

Timothy Church
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Galveston, TX
  • Posts 255
  • Votes 219

Really with AirDNA like any software, the amount of data points it has to pull off is going to greatly affect how well it is able to estimate the proper numbers. I found it works well here in Galveston but we also have over 3.5k rentals on our 200 sq mile island. In markets where there are fewer data and comparable properties, it is going to be off. 

I reach out to investors I've sold to and compare the data and it seems to be within a small margin. I do find that I can beat the numbers fairly easily by running the property right. As mentioned above, this should just be one tool. Going through and checking the other properties on the market manually is a great practice every so often. 

Once you are up and running, pricing really should be based on how your property is performing. If everyone is at one price but not booking, matching their price doesn't help you. Check how you measure up every so often but price your property based on your occupancy. If you want to make more, find ways to add to your property to increase your ADR.

Post: Any Interest in a Galveston Island Real Estate meetup?

Timothy Church
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Galveston, TX
  • Posts 255
  • Votes 219

@rebecca Valdez

December 12 at DTO in Galveston. It will start at 6! Hope to see you there!

Post: Galveston Investment Properties

Timothy Church
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Galveston, TX
  • Posts 255
  • Votes 219

@Account Closed

Hey Ronnie, 
Just as a heads up, you can advertise on BiggerPockets but it needs to be done through the MarketPlace section. You'd need to sign up for a paid membership and post those two properties there. Hopefully, my client will get things finalized and take that one off your hands next month. 
Just letting you know before BiggerPockets shuts down your post.

Cheers!

Post: Any Interest in a Galveston Island Real Estate meetup?

Timothy Church
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Galveston, TX
  • Posts 255
  • Votes 219

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Going ahead and setting a meetup here on the island. If you are free, I'd love to sit down with everyone!

Post: Houston/Galveston Meet Ups?

Timothy Church
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Galveston, TX
  • Posts 255
  • Votes 219

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

I'm finally going to start up a meet up down in Galveston! If you are free, it would be great to meet others in person and discuss things!

Post: Galveston Island Investors Meetup

Timothy Church
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Galveston, TX
  • Posts 255
  • Votes 219

I've been wanting to get a meet up started down here on the island for quite some time and am finally biting the bullet. 

This meetup and hopefully, future ones will be just a casual meet up of like-minded people to discuss real estate, investing, strategies, and anything the conversation leads to. It is a come and go event so please don't feel that you have to be there exactly at 6 or stay till the end if you have other things to do. This is at a bar so there are drinks that can be purchased and they allow you to bring in food if you'd like to bring something or buy something from Gypsy Joynt next door. DTO is a craft cocktail bar that has some great drinks. If everyone seems to like it there, we can keep it as the location or discuss other spots.

Please note: This is not a place to sell services or properties. You are more than welcome to share what you do or property you are selling and people can inquire but please don't try to keep driving conversation into a sales pitch. I want to keep this as a discussion where people can ask questions and learn from each other.

I hope to see y'all there. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Location: DTO - 2701 Market St, Galveston, Tx 77550

Time: December 12 - 6:00 to 8-9ish

Post: Multifamily Vs Short Term Rentals-Which do You prefer??

Timothy Church
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Galveston, TX
  • Posts 255
  • Votes 219

Why think of them as two separate paths? You could easily find a nice multifamily property and simply run a couple units as Airbnb. If the performance greatly outweighs the long term rental performance you can onboard more of the units. If it doesn't or regulations change, simply convert over to a furnished long term without much hassle. 

I have two mixed use properties here in Galveston that have airbnbs running as one component of them. It gives a great mix and gives me a decent return above my long term. I even just got done using one of them for a one year lease for a UTMB doctor on rotation. 

In strong tourism markets, airbnb will always have some role. While there is more regulations coming into place in various spaces, there will start to be a push back on those. We are moving into a world of more renters and remote working. The ability to travel and while working full time will become more of a standard than an exception. 

It doesn't have to be an either/or! Do both as one and get a good feel for each. 

Post: Can Second Home be use as Rental Property (AirBNB, VRBO etc)?

Timothy Church
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Galveston, TX
  • Posts 255
  • Votes 219

The rates are always going to be different between anything that is for personal use and anything that is considered purely investment. With most of the mortgage brokers I know, there isn't a clause saying that you cannot rent out your second home as a vacation rental as long as you are still intending to use it personally. If you were to rent it out long term, that's where you cross the line. 

That being said, you have to make sure you always refer to it as a secondary or vacation home while going through underwriting. Their job is to make sure the bank is covered and takes a minimal risk. If they hear the word investment or rental, they will be pushing for things to be an investment loan to compensate. Just make sure there isn't a clause against partial rental and you will be good.

Post: Vacation Rental Management Software

Timothy Church
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Galveston, TX
  • Posts 255
  • Votes 219

I've started using SmartBnB for my management and PriceLabs for my pricing. Overall I like them though it has only been 3 months use so far. Both PriceLabs & SmartBnB allow for a lot of control which can take a bit of time to set up but once it is running you are just fine-tuning it. Just dedicate a solid weekend to diving in and really learning all the systems so you know how everything works.

Your Porter is next in line for me to try if SmartBnB doesn't work out for any reason. Both seem like great options!

Post: YouTube TV for Vacation Rentals

Timothy Church
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Galveston, TX
  • Posts 255
  • Votes 219

@Jeff Moore

I have all of mine set up with FireTVs and a single Hulu Live account. It says that there is a limit on the number of screens but somehow I haven't had an issue. Perhaps they are using their own Netflix more than the Hulu. Another thing I did was create a "teenager" for my Amazon Prime. I use that login on all the TVs. It gives them access to more music and movies but they can't order anything as I locked the teenager from the cards.

If you can make it work, do it! The difference between 6 separate accounts of $40-$50 for cable and one $55 account for all is a sizable difference. I do definitely recommend some form of smart TV so they can log into their services as well!