All Forum Posts by: Wes Short

Hey @John Underwood, there are some settings in AirBnB that give out discounts based on weekly and monthly discounts and automatically apply them if they meet that criteria and if the home is booked instantly. If you go into your listing, go to pricing settings, then scroll down just a little you can see the "Length-of-stay discounts" page. It shows you what percent they are being discounted for those time periods. 

I think this is what you were asking might be wrong though.

@Julie McCoy Thanks for the response and the advice on making sure the home has a desirable element. The home I currently run has the same appeal as the third home you mentioned, private but close to town, I think that is a good mix. Also I never thought about creating listing for specific groups before (families, couples, or professionals), thanks for that.     

@Account Closed Wow, thank you so much for sharing that excel file. I've built a couple but they don't compare to that, will 100% be using it when doing analysis. 

Thank you again to all of you, this was a ton of information and it led to a lot more questions haha. 

To all the STR property managers out there or people who have had success in turning their home into an AirBnB, what kind of analysis did you do when making that leapt or what kind of analysis do you do on clients homes who are considering the transition? I'm guessing you looked at other listings/comparable homes that were already up in the market but what exactly did you look for and how did you justify the transition.

Also how did you estimate all of your costs before making that leapt? 

I currently have one AirBnB that is running successfully but it was not based on much analysis and I want to be more sure when considering a new market. 

Thanks in advance for all the help!

@Sam Amir @Tim Thornton @Tyler Work Hi guys I saw this post from a while ago and had a couple questions for you as I am also looking into starting a property management company myself. 

1. Do you guys completely reinvent the listings for your clients and ditch their original page? I was asking people from Evolve Management and it seemed like this was their main strategy and was wondering if it was the same for you guys. 

2. Have you developed your own cleaning business to go along with the management company or have you continued to hire outside cleaners each time a unit needs to be turned over? 

3. Do you always list the clients unit on multiple STR sites and which ones do you find the most success with between AirBnB, VRBO, HomeAway etc? Does this vary from location to location?

Right now I just manage my own AirBnB and have found it to be enjoyable if the right systems are automated but I would love to hear how you attack these decisions in each of your business'.

Also @Jenessa NeSmith, how has your journey been so far?? Would love to hear how the beginning stages have gone! 

This may be over simplified but the way I do driving for dollars is I keep zillow open as I'm driving and save all the homes that show signs of being vacant or run down. It saves them and shows you on the map the areas you have covered and gives you a lot of information right away. It would be a very simple way to teach a new D4D worker. You could always pay them based on a per lead basis and then an extra amount/percentage if one of their leads does end in a deal.

I would agree with Charles that if you are getting showings the rent could be to high for your area but you could also be advertising to lower income tenants who aren't looking for an up and coming area. I had this problem when I was advertising on local sites like Craigslist and not getting high quality tenants but once I listed it on zillow the possible tenants showed more interest and were more serious about renting.

Hi Bryan, I recently started doing an Airbnb in Bloomington, IN, very close to Indiana University and it has been surprisingly successful. Even in these summer months where school is out, I have been able to get the normal rent+$100 all while keeping the place in great condition. I also heard the Zeona podcast and took a lot of tips from her when starting the process. I would definitely recommend giving it a try. 

Thank you @Levi T. and @Joel Owens for the advice. I have tried to meet up with the associations but the ones in town only meet once a month and I was looking for more of a constant learning process. 

@Scott Steffek - At this point I am looking for a partner to work through a deal with. I understand the process of buying a property and some of the analysis that is needed when buying an investment/cash flow property but I really lack the capital and actual experience. I have already begun finding properties in my area by driving for dollars and sending out letters, and also by obtaining my real estate license in Indiana. My goal right now is to find a partner that is willing to flip a home with me in the South Bend area.

Hi,

My name is Wes Short, I'm from South Bend Indiana, and I was wondering what seasoned investors like to see when a newbie asks them for help and what are seasoned investors favorite ways that a newbie can bring value to a mentor. I understand that learning from a veteran in real estate can jumpstart my career and I want to be able to bring as much value to that veteran as possible so I am worth their time. I have some experience in driving for dollars and doing manual labor at rental properties, are these things mentors look for and what else could I provide a veteran investor?

I am a student at Indiana University and wanted to lower room and board costs by buying a duplex or fourplex and living in one unit. I wanted to now the best way to finance this, wether it be a FHA loan, because I would be living in one of the units which would let me have a low down payment, or is a private lender pretty necessary here? Also I would like to renovate the unit I would be staying in, so basically a live in flip with one unit of a duplex. Is this possible time wise with a students schedule? Thank you for all of the responses.