All Forum Posts by: Tyler Kowalczik

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. Your posts gave me some ideas I didn't think about. Packwood and the Ponderosa Community look particularly interesting.

You all provided great criteria for choosing a location. I guess the trouble I'm having is figuring out how and when to apply that criteria in my process. There are a lot of areas to invest in and I can't look at them all, so I need a process for identifying potential areas for further evaluation. For example, I am thinking I could just pony up and buy a month's subscription to AirDNA for Washington, search for high revenue/occupancy areas, and then further refine that list by researching each location's STR regulations. Thoughts?

The thought also occurred to me that perhaps revenue/occupancy are not always the best indicators of a great investment. Buying in a hot STR market may not produce the greatest CoCROI because hot markets are typically more expensive to get into.

@Sean Bramble, you mentioned looking for less affluent areas. That implies looking for future opportunities as opposed to looking for hot markets. Would be interested to hear about how you would search for such areas.

Lastly, I'd be curious to know if any of you do STRs out of state. I'm not opposed to doing an STR out of state, but it does make me nervous considering this would be my first investment. However, if there are better, safer deals to be had elsewhere, then maybe it is worth considering.

Hello,

I'm new to real estate. I have been interested in investing for quite some time now and am trying to take steps to make that a reality. The strategy I'm most interested in is short term rentals. I live in Washington state and am looking for a good area for an STR. Places that immediately come to mind are Leavenworth, Port Townsend, and Port Angeles, etc., but I was wondering if anyone knows of some good areas to invest that are perhaps less obvious.

I'm not asking just because I don't want to put in the effort. I am trying to do my homework. I've read Avery Carl's book on short term rentals and have been researching vacation areas in Washington. I understand that you want to look for a place with year round tourism, growing tourism stats, favorable STR regulations, etc. I also know that Airdna is a great tool to search for markets; however, as someone new to real estate, evaluating and choosing between different markets is a lot to take in; I tend to get analysis paralysis when presented with loads of stats that I haven't quite yet learned how to analyze effectively.

I should also mention that my idea is to buy some land and build an A-frame cabin. The thought occurred to me that since my goal is to build a cabin, perhaps it less important which city/area I choose. I have seen some rentals on Airbnb that are killing it but don't seem to be in a prime Washington location. This has me wondering that perhaps it isn't always about the specific city you choose but more so the experience you build, market, and sell. Would appreciate to hear other's thoughts on the matter.

Thanks,

Tyler