Short Term Rental Riches

There is quite a lot that goes into furnishing a property and I’m not just talking about the money. It takes some thought. A good design takes work and since it is such a crucial element to the success of your short-term rental you want to make sure you do it right. The first place I always recommend starting is with a floor plan. It will save you time and money and also be an additional resource your guests will love (more on that later in the episode). A floor plan will allow you to make sure you’re not putting a couch in a space that doesn’t fit (episode 113 we talk specifically about couches). You won’t accidentally squash a work desk in a corner that doesn’t fit. I can almost guarantee you that if you use a floor plan before you furnish your space you will end up changing your mind on how some of your furniture is laid out. There is a reason all of the pros use them after all! Luckily, today it’s easier than ever to have floor plans created for you so this week we’ll talk about a couple of those options as well as a couple of DIY options:  How can I create a floor plan myself A couple of DIY programs Where can I hire help to create my floorplan (virtually) How much do they cost?  Why your guests will thank you Check out Modsy here and Amazon Showroom here Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live event, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more! P.S. did you know that we just launched a mastermind group where we can talk directly? Find out more info here

As our team continues to grow (we work with 10 people full-time and close to 20 on a regular basis) it’s a lot to keep track of! So how do you stay organized and make the best, most efficient use of you and your team’s time? I’m always playing around with different programs and ideas but think I may have finally figured out a fail-proof system.  If you have people that you work with then this episode is for you. I’ll break down my 3-piece formula for managing lots of people with a busy schedule. The formula helps to make sure that no notes or ideas are overlooked, progress is always being made, people are being held accountable, and perhaps the best thing about it… it takes hardly any time! Tune in this week as we discuss three tools and how to use them to better manage the people you work with:  A shared regular review page Where to set it up and how to use it Automated forms Best questions to ask your team (automatically) Bringing a bit of personal life into the work environment Automatically tracking time and activity Which tool to use and why it’s awesome Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live event, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more! P.s. did you know that we just launched a mastermind group where we can talk directly? Find out more info here

I’m just getting back from my 3-week tour in the US and reflecting back on some of the simple mistakes I made. I have been loosely looking for property in San Antonio, TX for a couple of years. I think it’s a fantastic market but I found a property I liked in a city where I don't currently have a property and am not currently working with anyone a brand new market for me you could say. I emailed the broker I was referred to and didn't get much help; bad start. I met them there and I knew more than they did; bad second encounter (although it does have something to say for how much you can learn from thousands of miles away). The second I left the property I was kicking myself for having begun the “purchasing process” with the wrong agent. This week we’ll discuss the value of your agent/broker and a few tips for making sure you are with the right one My history as a broker /agent Finding a broker /agent Can you make a good relationship remotely? What's their experience? The value of a broker Long term goals - a lifelong relationship   Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live event, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

Are you getting what you paid for when it comes to purchasing a property? How do you actually know? After a recent (and quite hectic) visit to 7 cities in less than three weeks and meeting and viewing several properties I wanted to share some tips while they’re fresh in my mind. Inspections are super important especially if you are new to real estate - an unexpected sewer issue could cost you thousands of dollars for example!  In today’s super-competitive market good properties are being snatched up right after they hit the market BUT that doesn’t mean the property is as described. Properties can be misrepresented and so by doing your property inspections you can decrease your chances of getting into an investment that is different from what you expected. It’s a necessary step for all real estate investors at any level so this week we’ll discuss:  Ensuring you get what you're paying for Interactions with your property inspector An untapped source to your property’s history The different types of inspections Negotiating power Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live event, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

Since the invention of the air conditioner people have had the ability to live comfortably in hot areas. It wasn’t that long ago that the southern part of the USA, what's commonly referred to as “the sun belt” was more of a ghost town. Today it’s booming! In fact more retirees are choosing to live in areas in the sun belt than ever before. States like Arizona, Texas, Florida have all seen huge population growth over the past years.  Couple that with the fact that more people are working remotely than ever and I believe the “sun belt” offers lots of good investment options in the USA. It’s comprised of 22 metropolitan statistical areas (cities with over 1 million people each) so if you’re currently searching for your next potential property this might help you narrow things down. Lets discuss the move to warmer climates this week and I’ll also provide an easy go-to website for you this week to get some great annual city statistics :)This week let’s discuss: The sun belt Demographic trends City Population Growth Easy access to weather stats Weather’s effects on tourism Check out weatherspark.com. Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live event, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

I was at the gym the other day about to start running on the treadmill when all of a sudden my phone would not connect to my Bluetooth headphones. Disaster, right?  Well it gets worse... Not only did it not connect, it completely shut down and wouldn’t restart! I was forced to do a factory reset and wipe it clean out of nowhere. Which means all my data, contacts, passwords, notes, everything I keep on my phone (which is essentially everything these days) disappeared.Only it wasn’t truly that bad… I have backups of everything. And it got me thinking about the subject of “weak points.” Weak points, or breaking points, in our real estate businesses that could really devastate us if we are not prepared for them.  It’s important we’re always thinking about how stable our operation is as we grow our rental portfolios and real estate businesses. So this week we will dive into that with a little help from Nassim Nicholas Teleb and his fantastic book on the subject, called “Antifragile,” Weak spots in our STR business How to protect yourself Why weak spots can make your business better Impacts on stress  Highlights from AntifragileYou can check out Nassim’s book here on Amazon Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live event, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

Checking out a new city and want a brief overview? We’ve talked before about several places to go for short-term rental data but before we even get to that step we need to make sure the overall city or area where we are investing has good fundamentals. Should “crime” be one of those fundamentals? Is the city you are investing in “dangerous?” This week we’ll dive a little deeper into the subject of crime and your rentals but also talk about this a new tool to easily uncover things like population growth and employment. An easy tool to help us easily lots of general information about an area to make you more comfortable before pulling the trigger on a new property! In this week’s episode, let’s take a look at:  City overviews Real Estate Trends Demographics Crime Schools Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live events, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

Never have so few words packed such a punch. We’re talking about, on average, just 10 little short words. Ten little short words that comprise your short term rental listing’s title and ten little short words that could lead to a new reservation! If you have the title right, that is. People are normally looking at your main photo first but second to that they’ll notice your title. Is your property currently listed as “Two bedroom suite in ideal location!” While that doesn’t sound bad at first glance… it’s dropping the ball in all kinds of ways. You need to put some thought into your title and so this week (and after experimenting with all kinds of titles with my own properties) I want to give you my top tips for crafting the perfect listing title. We’ll discuss: Following character limits  Who is your audience?  Include listings best features Are you including redundant information? Catchy words Should you adjust your title?  Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live event, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

It’s a bit scary pulling the trigger on a new property purchase in an area you don’t know too well. Luckily we have quite a few options these days to get a great overview as to what the occupancy could be; a crucial metric in determining the success of our short-term rental. If no one stays there then obviously we’re not going to do well. So we have to get it right. We’ll talk this week about multiple tools that can all help us accomplish the same thing and by using them all we can make a confident prediction about a new market we may want to invest in.Stay tuned as we dive in to: 4.5 websites to find your occupancy data What metrics to look for The problem with “Top Airbnb City” reports Feeling comfortable with your occupancy forecast Here are the links: All The Rooms, Mashvisor, Airdna, PriceLabs Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live event, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

When most people new to the idea of investing in short-term rentals think of a potential investment they think about a Vacation Rental and NOT a normal property that might also be an excellent STR. If you’ve been tuning in to this show for while hopefully you’ve recognized that there are all types of STRs and they call can be successful investments. Some, however, come with more risk. I’ve tended to always recommend properties with good exit plans (that can be easily rented long term if regulations change or occupancy is low; not a normal characteristic of a LARGE vacation rental. With that said, I know lots of people want to go for the nice, chic, luxury vacation rentals! So this week we’ll break down a few principles you should follow to determine if your potential vacation rental investment is going to be too risky. Break even occupancy Net worth and investments Emergency funds Back up plans  Age   You can check out Nassim’s book here on Amazon Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live event, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!