How do you get into the short term rental game? Learn how with your special guest, Kirt Forakis. Want to have a nightly rental, a coveted Airbnb, or a VRBO? Here’s how you get into one. Find out how to evaluate an Airbnb. Does it have the “Convenience Factor”? Will your city shut you down? Will your HOA take protection money to operate a nightly rental? And just what will you have to do to a place to get it ready for nightly rental?
0:58 – How Kirt got into nightly rentals — there’s better return on investment (ROI) than long-term landlording.
2:25 – There’s two types of nightly rentals…no three: 1) Room share; 2) Owner-occupied room share; 3) Stand alone nightly rental
3:10 – Mostly, getting started means talking to a lender. For traditional room share and owner-occupied room share, it’s a normal “owner-occupied” loan — they’re not income property loans (investment loans). If it’s a stand along investment property or a legal multi-unit property, the rules change.
4:25 – How to find the property. The biggest thing is the “Convenience Factor”. Treat it like a hotel. Be close to the freeway / attractions / etc. Be close to a grocery store — people want to use the kitchen! Restaurants are key as well.
5:40 – What about regulation? CC&Rs and HOA rules can KILL nightly rentals. Know before you buy! HOAs can also change their rules after you’ve spent all this cash to set up your short term rental. HOAs can be good as well – they’ll keep the neighborhood looking good. There are also HOA resorts for Airbnb.
8:01 – This is a business, treat it like one. Use a business plan. Be calculated in how you approach the deal. Assess your risk and reward.
8:45 – Comparing properties, i.e. crunching the numbers. Use Airbnb’s site. Break it down by square footage and rate – you’ll get a range of what short term rentals go for in the area. Work backward from the numbers, and build in some padding for unknowns.
9:40 – Start a little lower to make yourself attractive, and keep the property rented. Down time is lost revenue. You’re hunting reviews.
10:08 – Do a business plan. It will save your bacon.
10:40 – You need to be engaged and communicative. Customer service goes a long ways. Property managers can charge a lot more for nightly rentals.
11:30 – Making your house into a good short-term rental. Start with a remodel (you’d do this on a long-term rental as well). Make it durable. Furnish an decor is next. Amenities should be included. Think games, subscriptions, etc. Parking. Convenience = $$. Have an answer before they ask, and you’ll make dollars.
13:45 – Reviews are everything. We’ll talk more about this next week.
14:01 – What’d we learn?
*No long-term rentals were harmed in the filming of this real estate discussion.
Please contact us to tell us you love us, you want to hire us! Call or text:
We want to thank our guest, Kirt Forakis. He’s a local business owner and friend. Take a chance to visit him and his businesses:
Do some straight up research on Airbnbs. Stay at Kirt’s! https://abnb.me/dlcztRWMVhb
Or, get real affordable healthcare: FlatRateDoctors.com
Realtors with Hive Collective at Presidio Real Estate:
Tyler Cazier: 801-210-0230
Aric Wiszt: 801-228-7687
Lender with Elite Team at Security Home Mortgage:
NMLS: 178787
Jason Christiansen: 801-669-7271
NMLS: 240472
A Production with Security Home Mortgage’s Jason Christiansen, and Hive Collective at Presidio’s Tyler Cazier and “Mr. Suit” Aric Wiszt.