123. Our Mistakes Making Property Offers & How to Avoid Them

We always try to be transparent about what is going on in our businesses in the hopes that doing so will serve you. We share our hopes, ideas, struggles, and more. And on that note, we’re going to share one of our most recent embarrassments because you can learn from it.

As we’ve worked together, we have evolved from wanting to focus on education (don’t worry, we’ll still be doing that!) and into growing our own short-term rental empire together. In fact, we just took the first step by making an offer on a property! This has been a long time in the making, and – honestly – we made it take a LOT longer than it needed to. That’s what we’re going to discuss.

When you have these big dreams, they often start out as a whisper. You say it almost hypothetically. “What if we did this? Wouldn’t it be crazy?” It feels uncomfortable to admit that it’s something we might actually want to do, or that we might even feel capable of doing it, but that’s always how it starts. Dream big, talk out loud, share it with people, and, eventually, you’ll land on that idea that you’re ready to get started on.

But one big pitfall is waiting too long for the perfect idea or execution to come along. The perfect situation is not going to come along. Don’t let that stop you from taking action. On the other hand, don’t jump into a property where the numbers don’t make sense at all.

Here are some of the criteria we used to finally decide, and what we’re going to use in the future to streamline these decisions:

• Purchase price
• Available downpayment
• Average daily rate (take your best guess)
• How many nights it will be available
• Your ideal occupancy rate
• Understanding your expenses

There is no foolproof way to avoid risk and make sure you’re making the right decision, but you can educate yourself and know that eventually you have to take that leap. But in truth, if you have to gamble, the best bet you can make is on yourself.

Resources:

• Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!
• #STRShareSunday: @hiplandia