All Forum Posts by: Tom Sharkey

For those who have been following me for the past 2 years, you know I’ve transitioned from being a full-time Speech-Language Pathologist to a full-time real estate investor, business owner, and short term rental (Airbnb) operator. In that 2 year span I’ve grown from zero real estate experience to investing in 5 units, master leasing 2 units, and operating several STRs for investors. I still have many lessons to learn in this life and many more trials to overcome but I’d like to share some actionable steps that have taken me to where I’m currently at and will continually take me to the next level.

Real estate investing and growing a business is not about getting-rich-quick. Both require a ton of reading, mentoring, trial and error, and hard work. Real estate investing and business are very broad categories with many strategies but they start with one major event: a mindset shift.

Here’s a quick general guide to getting started on the mindset shift:

1. DESIRE! There is a difference between wanting and Desire. The difference is in the internal language behind the feeling of “want” vs “Desire.” When you want something, the internal language is usually “that would be cool to have this,” “I’d like to have this,” or “I would be happy if I had this.” When you Desire something the internal language is “I MUST have this so I’m going to absorb as much information about it and exhaust every avenue to attain it.” For example, I really want 6-pack abs but it’s currently not a Desire of mine. If I Desired 6-pack abs I would be taking actionable steps to getting them. A state of want is temporary. A state of Desire is a persistent pit in your stomach and a splinter in your mind. Know the difference and feed the Desire with imperfect action.

2. Invest in yourself! Purchase books and listen to podcasts on real estate or the business concept you’re interested in. Purchase an education program or a consultation session, attend seminars and conferences, and attend local meet ups. The point is to learn from other successful people's mistakes and successes. You’ll save yourself time which is the resource you’ll never get back.

3. Monitor your internal language. Listen to your thoughts. Analyze them. Are they self limiting? Victimizing? Justifying inaction by making excuses? Change it. This is an important step for shifting your mindset from employee-minded to business/investment minded. I highly recommend reading Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki. This book marks a huge shift in my life. It drastically helped me in my transition from employee way of thinking to business/investor way of thinking. Once you unlock this mindset, it’s very difficult to go back to the old way of thinking. The genie is out of the bottle and the cat is out of the bag.

4. Write your goals. Make them goals with your humanity in mind. It’s not about the money; it’s about getting your TIME back to focus on your impact with your family, community, and your dream. If you write a goal “I want $XXX,XXX in my bank account” or “$X,XXX/month of passive income” ask yourself “why?” Keep asking why until you get to the root reason. The root reason is almost always for love (family, community, impact on the world). Love is the most powerful resource in the world. Love is the energy that inspires and compels us. It fuels our Desire.

5. Take action, learn, adjust, and repeat! Everything doesn’t have to be aligned perfectly to take action. Make some mistakes and learn from them. Take on every opportunity with a win-or-learn attitude. Make the necessary adjustments to refine your craft. There is a balancing range between two extremes: Mindless action and analysis paralysis. Find your range without swaying into the extremes.

6. Be persistent! Don’t let the nay-sayer voice in your head or from anyone else convince you you can’t do it. Surround yourself with people who will empower you to accomplish YOUR goals. You are the average of 5 people you spend the most time with. I know it sounds like some rah-rah but you can accomplish anything you want. This is your life so live on your terms.

Commit to your path and your Desire. Live and die for what you’re passionate about. Martin Luther King Jr says it perfectly: “If you can't fly, then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

To come full circle, persistence is supported by your level of Desire which is supported by the books you read, the people you surround yourself with, your internal language, your goals, and a win-or-learn attitude. I hope these steps inspire someone who is seeking lasting change. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.

Live well and always be hungry!

@Paul Sandhu

Traveling nurses make fantastic guests for us.

Here are our common traveler types:

1. People on weekend trip / visiting family

2. Business / freelancers

3. People in between closing on a house / looking for apartments

4. Traveling nurses

5. People traveling through

Travel is not dead. We’re having great months!

@Micah Hensley

I'm using single family homes, apartments, and multifamily units. The regulations are pretty reasonable and easy to follow.

I do professional management of short term rentals (STR) in the Kansas City, MO market. I own and manage 5 of my own. Most of my portfolio is in Midtown/Westport/Plaza area. Obviously when COVID hit the scene in mid-March, business came to screeching halt. Ever since June there has been an amazing bounce back. June was back to good numbers. July and August were our best months ever.

While I understand COVID is still around, the strategy is still solid. It's just a good idea to be ready to pivot with a traveling nurse/clinician in the event that COVID or civil unrest ramps up.

There is excellent justification FOR pets and AGAINST pets in VRs and STRs. I'm not going to argue for whether someone should allow pets or not. There are too many individual factors that go into that (your market, your client, your margins, your insurance, and risk tolerance.) 

The primary point of my post is to encourage those that are FOR allowing pets to add an additional pet fee in hopes solidify the fee as an industry standard. I haven't had many individuals refuse to pay but I believe it to be important. Before COVID I wasn't going to consider allowing pets. Now that I've changed my mind it's brought me in significantly more bookings in my market and the additional pet fee is certainly helpful.

It breaks down to risk. The more risk an investor takes the more they should get paid for taking that risk when it's to accommodate for something in demand. 

@Luke Carl

Those are all reasonable points to not allow pets. We didn’t allow pets for the longest time because of a couple bad experiences with them. It makes me curious if your properties are better categorized as vacation rentals. The Kansas City, MO is much less vacation like and more short trip to see family, concert, conference. There may be a big difference in guest’s vigilance of their dogs behavior while on a skiing vacation versus a short trip visiting family / 1-2 day local event.

Either way, we’ve noticed a huge uptick in bookings in our market since being pet friendly. We will definitely not be pet friendly during the colder months as they track in mud more frequently when it get icy out.

Do you allow pets in your short term rentals? There is good justification whether yes or no. We find it works for us in the summer season but it depends on your risk tolerance as pets can significantly damage your property. Do you charge an additional pet fee? YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD!

We charge $10/night/pet. So if they have 2 dogs for 3 nights that’s a $60 pet fee. That price beats the hell out of boarding the dogs which can be over $100 for 1 dog. Here are the 3 reasons why you should charge a pet fee (aside from increased revenue).

1. Risk of property damage: Pets have the potential to dig a hole through your living room floor, use your door jambs or couch as a clawing pole, or use the remote control as a chew toy. Best case scenario, they cause more wear and tear on the property with each step they take, each pee dribble on the carpet, and the dirt they track in that accumulates to a stain. All furnishings have a lifespan but pets shorten it (think rugs, couches, hardwood floors, etc).

1. Sheets and towels: We know the pains of replacing linens especially since we use white linens. Pets introduce that pain to a whole new level. This is especially for dogs because they tend to jump on the bed with dirty feet. Think about the dirt they pick up after walking around the block, stepping in water, dirt, mud, poo, and the general filth on the sidewalks/street. Then they jump on your beautiful, clean, white sheets. That stain is going to settle because it won’t get treatment until after they check out. That translates to a higher turnover of linens.

1. Extra time for your cleaning team: It is in your best interest to let the cleaners know when a pet has stayed. That way they can be on the lookout for pet related damage and be more vigilant for pet clean up. This is increased stress on your cleaning crew. If you’re very pleased with your cleaners you want to keep them. I pay them extra for cleanings after pets. Compensate them for their extra efforts so you can retain them and maintain continuity.

This is what our STR company does in the Kansas City, MO market. It works for us. We'd love to hear your feedback. Let us know what works for you in the comments.

We hope everyone is enjoying the rebound in the Short Term Rental industry! Seize the opportunity while it’s here. Safe travels and happy hosting!

Hi Thomas,

I don't know of any hardbound books but I've found a few podcast shows to be very helpful. They cover smart pricing tools, listing SEO, the importance of photos, furnishing, management software, and many other strategies and tools.

- The Short Term Rental Profits Show by Jason Hartman: He hasn't consistently produced content lately but the episodes from last year are solid. I suggest listening to the very beginning episodes and move forward. His episodes do not have any fluff. I loved this podcast when I was starting out.

- Get Paid For Your Pad: A little bit more fluff but very good content. The host ran an Airbnb in Amsterdam until it got unfriendly with regulations. So he opened one in Cali, Colombia. He talks about US and international markets. Great stuff.

-Live Let Thrive: A lot of fluff in the episodes. One the host's (Steve) says a lot of stupid things and is very inexperienced but Myka is very successful. It's really a mixed bag. I usually listened to this show when I was out of content from other podcasts.

Hope this helps,

Tom

Hi!

I just sent out my first wave of direct mailing. I drive through a lot of neighborhoods while working so I created a "driving for dollars" list. My plan is to get a great deal and use BRRRR strategy. Financing is already figured out. Now that I got my marketing started, I need a GC and an investor savvy agent in the Kansas City area. I know rockstar GCs are hard to come by and many investors hold them close to their chest but could someone recommend me to one that is fair for me to start out? Also, a recommendation for an agent would be helpful too.

Any help is appreciated.

@Tarik Turner, we're getting a well-trusted and experienced GC to estimate rehab cost within next several days. I'm pretty sure it'll be over 100k. Good call on partnering. That may be the route he'll have to go... I'll update this thread as the opportunity develops