All Forum Posts by: Tim Spires

@Jennifer Slaughter the offering memorandum link you provided is a dead link.

@Shelby Pracht would appreciate the same information if you are DM'ing.

Beyond average revenue, what is your vacancy rate? Are there any restrictive covenants on the unit? What is the HOA if any?

I took a loan from my 401(k) - which is why I contribute the max - for the down payment on a construction loan from a local bank that was 75% LTV. When I closed on the property I repaid the loan and was able to borrow for another down payment later.

I'm looking to flip houses in the Middle Georgia area now, so I have spoken with 15+ mortgage brokers and banks in the past month. I focused on small local / regional groups. I've found that loan minimums are $50k for most lenders in the Middle Georgia area. Of the 15 brokers I spoke with, only one would loan in a way that supports the BRRRR strategy. And I had to talk to her three different times for ~30 minutes to figure out the answer because she initially said they couldn't support what I was looking for (lending laws and bank policies are complex).

My point is simply that you should expect to spend some time on the phone with the mortgage officers and keep making phone calls until you find what you need. I was looking for something specific, and I didn't stop making calls and asking questions until I found it.

@Michael Wind, For digital marketing, the web traffic you get from these sites, at least Airbnb in my experience, is far greater than you could achieve without significant ad spending. Google Adwords cost would be far too high for it to be feasible. 

I had 10 to 30 views per day on Airbnb resulting in ~$1900 in monthly revenue, to replicate this with Google Adwords, assuming an average of 18 views per day and an average cost-per-click of $1.50, would result in $27 per day in ad spend. That's $810 per month in marketing costs. I'm sure there are a lot of other online avenues you could use for marketing, but I'm not convinced there are any that will be effective enough to be worth the time or money. Most travel is booked online, so going offline doesn't make much sense either. 

@John Arendsen, I Airbnb'd my entire one bedroom condo in lower downtown Denver for about a year. It is my personal residence and I split my time between Denver and the High Rockies so it worked out well for the times I was gone or traveling. I never had an issue with a guest, and I had more than 50 individual stays.

I required verified customers - those who have uploaded a drivers license to Airbnb - and those with a thorough profile on Airbnb. Usually red flags stick out clearly on their profiles. In my experience, there were almost as many 40+ guests as millennials. 

I worked out a deal with a house cleaner for a "turndown service" rate where she would come in and do a light cleaning before every guest's stay. This cost $30 / cleaning rather than the usual $65 rate.

My payment on my condo is $1,850 and I charged $135 to $150 per night. With an average of 13 nights per month this covered my payment and then some.

My Airbnb experience was easy and profitable. I would highly recommend it!