All Forum Posts by: Victoria Pena

Thanks all! Really appreciate the suggestions 

@Ken Boone unfortunately it wasn't their (AirBnB's) fault, it was mine when I had synced IGMS I didn't realize it got rid of the calendar sync via VRBO and AirBnB directly. Which channel manger do you use? maybe it's more user friendly. Thanks for the help here (newbie if you can't tell)

Hi everyone!

I had some calendar sync issues between VRBO and AirBnB which unfortunately led to a double booking. Due to that I need to cancel one of the bookings and apologize to the guests. I know both platforms will penalize me for cancelling... I am hoping to get feedback on which penalty is less aggressive. AirBnB probably brings me slightly more bookings than VRBO for context but I'm not sure how much that should be taken into consideration.

Thank you!

Victoria 

Hi all!

I'm currently under contract on my first STR in the Ithaca/Cortland NY area.

If I'm not able to make it in person to furnish it myself, I'm hoping to talk to companies or individuals who have had experience furnishing and staging vacation rentals. Any recommendations greatly appreciated! 

Thanks,

Victoria

Hi Kasey,


The strategy that’s worked best for me is:

1. Start a spreadsheet of potential markets (list any and all that come to mind, my initial list was 17)

2. Quantitative research (occupancy rate, average monthly revenue, nightly prices for competition on AirBnB)

3. Qualitative research (regulatory landscape, talk to people there- agents/other hosts)  You’ll see some markets are instantly disqualified.

Tools / data sources- AirDNA and Mashvisor have been valuable to me but not needed 

Thanks, Gerald. I ended up reaching out to another lender and think I’ll be able to make it work with 15% down and pulling a bit more cash from other reserves. It’s not an ideal amount of $$ to front but we’re here taking risks aren’t we? :)

This way I can cover my rebab w the private investor $$.

I’ll definitely keep that name and those lender recommendations. Thanks again!

Hi everyone! I'm a newbie investor living on the west coast but starting with my first investment for STR/AirBnB in upstate. It's a market I know very well and have a growing network via my boyfriend's first property purchase this past year. Although I didn't plan to buy this quickly, I came across a potential deal that I think would be a great opportunity. I've done a lengthy amount of research on the market and feel confident on the AirBnB regulatory environment, tourism demand, etc.

Listed price- $229K, realtor thinks we can get it lower (on market for a while)
Projected cash on cash ROI- 57%
Current amount of my own cash saved: $42K

I'm trying to get pre-approved fairly quick so I can put in an offer this weekend (there's one more offer). Since the timing was earlier than I expected I now planned to use some private investor $$ to help cover the remaining down payment/closing csts. A lender I spoke to on the phone for pre-approval said I could be covered for 200K purchase price however, the full downpayment/cc would have to be my own money. If I wanted to get investor to contribute to down pmt it'd have to be sitting in my account for 2 months. the amount I have saved up right now is $42K I'm a little lost on where to go from here as it likely will not be enough for the property.

1. If I have more $ within my 401K / other investments, can I reference that as $$ I have (even though I may not use those funds) but then actually pay with private $$?

2. Is there a way to get a smaller down payment % so that I can front the full amount? 

3. Are there other creative ways around it? Talk to another lender?

4. Should I say no to the deal and wait until I have more funds?

One more thing to note is I plan to do a bit of rehab and to also have that either in a loan or via private $$, I'm assuming that doesn't have to be included in my upfront cash needed for purchase.

Thanks in advance for the guidance. I've spent all my time/research learning the STR market the financing side caught up with me real quick.

I read How to Invest in AirBnB Properties https://www.amazon.com/How-Inv...It's a good "where do I start book" with understanding why you should invest/how to get your business started/how to evaluate markets/etc. I will say it involves lengthier comp analysis than I think is needed and there are a lot of resources marked "free" that are really not. If you're overwhelmed on where to start, I would recommend reading the book while also searching specific questions/following STR convos/etc on BP Forums.

My goal is to buy my first investment property! It'll be a STR...

I’m in phase 1 of learn as much as possible, entering phase 2 of choosing a market

Awesome story, thanks for sharing! I'm saving for my first STR/investment property and taking in as much research as possible. My plan is to self-manage so that I can maximize profits, continue to invest in others and build as many passive income streams as possible. Reading success stories just further confirms I am headed in the right direction (or right direction for me).

Any advice for new home buyers in competitive markets? Especially for someone looking in the ~200k price range. All the ones I'm looking into (Joshua Tree, Gatlinburg, Lake Havasu etc.) are highly competitive, for obvious reasons.

Thanks!