Podcast appearances and mentions of alex builds

Today's Flash Back Friday episode is from #660 that originally aired on Oct. 23, 2023. Join us as Alex Jarbo, the visionary founder and CEO of Sargon Investments, takes us on a journey into the world of short-term rental resort development. With an MBA in real estate development, a distinguished history as a Marine, and a prominent presence in the real estate investing community, Alex shares his expertise in a special episode. Discover how he masterfully manages his current and upcoming luxury short-term vacation rentals, including an exciting treehouse project. Dive into the world of short-term rentals with Alex Jarbo on the YouTube channel "Alex Builds," and gain insights from the industry's best.   Quote:  “I hate it when I talk to someone and I'm like, “Oh what business are you in or what type of real estate they're in and they say, “I'm in AirBnBs.” That's the wrong answer. What I say is I'm in vacation rentals, short term rentals, or what I started saying in the last six months is, “I'm in hospitality.”  “Every single one of your guests is an influencer, because they have their own following.“   Highlights:  7:50: Post-COVID, what is the revenue like in short term rentals?  12:30: From an owner's perspective  19:40: Treehouse community project  24:00: Amenities people expect  27:30: How to navigate uncertainties   Connect with Alex: alexjarbo.com  Openatlas.investments  https://www.youtube.com/@AlexBuilds1    Recommended Resources: Accredited Investors, you're invited to Join the Cashflow Investor Club to learn how you can partner with Kevin Bupp on current and upcoming opportunities to create passive cash flow and build wealth. Join the Club! If you're a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months and you want to build passive income and wealth with a trusted partner, go to InvestWithKB.com for opportunities to invest in real estate projects alongside Kevin and his team.  Looking for the ultimate guide to passive investing? Grab a copy of my latest book, The Cash Flow Investor at KevinBupp.com.  Tap into a wealth of free information on Commercial Real Estate Investing by listening to past podcast episodes at KevinBupp.com/Podcast.

Why it was selected for “CBNation Architects”: In this episode, the guest is Alex Jarbo, founder and CEO of Sargon Investments, and a real estate professional with a focus on short-term rental developments. Key Points: Alex's Journey: Alex served in the Marine Corps for 4½ years and was part of the Marine Corps Honor Guard in Washington DC. He left the Marine Corps at 22 to pursue a career in real estate. He set up Sargon Investments and set a goal to develop 650 cabins in the next three years. Business Service: Alex's company provides rentals, investments, and real estate development. He also creates content about short-term development and management through his YouTube channel "Alex Builds". CEO Hack: Alex values time blocking as a productivity tool. Focusing on one task at a time has proven effective for him. CEO Nugget: Alex advises taking responsibility when things go wrong and crediting the team for the accomplishments. CEO Defined: According to Alex, being a CEO means demonstrating leadership and responsibility. It involves setting the vision, and being open to constructive criticism from the team. Check out our CEO Hack Buzz Newsletter–our premium newsletter with hacks and nuggets to level up your organization. Sign up HERE.  I AM CEO Handbook Volume 3 is HERE and it's FREE. Get your copy here: http://cbnation.co/iamceo3. Get the 100+ things that you can learn from 1600 business podcasts we recorded. Hear Gresh's story, learn the 16 business pillars from the podcast, find out about CBNation Architects and why you might be one and so much more. Did we mention it was FREE? Download it today!   Previous Episode: https://iamceo.co/2022/04/08/iam1334-ceo-develops-a-short-term-rental-properties/

Alex Jarbo is the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments. He is a regular contributor to some of the top real estate investing podcasts in the world. He is also the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds where he teaches how to properly build and manage short term rentals.   Sargon Investments is a short term rental resort development firm. We work to provide above average, double digit returns to our accredited investors.     What You Will Learn: Who is Alex Jarbo? Alex shares his first real estate investment. Has Alex thought about expanding to other areas? Alex shares some strategies he is using. What is a short terminal complex permit? Alex shares how he can be contacted. Additional Resources from Alex Jarbo: Website: https://openatlas.investments/ Phone: +1 (586) 306-1178 Email: alexjarbousmc@gmail.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alex.jarbo/ Attention Investors and Agents Are you looking to grow your business? Need to connect with aggressive like-minded people like yourself? We have all the right tools, knowledge, and coaching to positively effect your bottom line. Visit:http://globalinvestoragent.com/join-gia-team to see what we can offer and to schedule your FREE consultation! Our NEW book is out...order yours NOW!   Global Investor Agent: How Do You Thrive Not Just Survive in a Market Shift? Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/3SV0khX HEY! You should be in class this coming Monday (MNL). It's Free and packed with actions you should take now! Here's the link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sNMjT-5DTIakCFO2ronDCg

Join us as Alex Jarbo, the visionary founder and CEO of Sargon Investments, takes us on a journey into the world of short-term rental resort development. With an MBA in real estate development, a distinguished history as a Marine, and a prominent presence in the real estate investing community, Alex shares his expertise in a special episode. Discover how he masterfully manages his current and upcoming luxury short-term vacation rentals, including an exciting treehouse project. Dive into the world of short-term rentals with Alex Jarbo on the YouTube channel "Alex Builds," and gain insights from the industry's best.   Quote:  “I hate it when I talk to someone and I'm like, “Oh what business are you in or what type of real estate they're in and they say, “I'm in AirBnBs.” That's the wrong answer. What I say is I'm in vacation rentals, short term rentals, or what I started saying in the last six months is, “I'm in hospitality.”   “Every single one of your guests is an influencer, because they have their own following.“   Highlights:   7:50: In a post-COVID word, what is the revenue like in short term rentals?   12:30: From an owner's perspective, is there distress in the market where you can't meet payments and expectations?   19:40: Alex talks about his treehouse community project   24:00: What amenities do people expect in addition to the “experience?”   27:30: How to navigate uncertainties in the capital marketplace with new opportunities   Guest Websites: alexjarbo.com   Openatlas.investments   https://www.youtube.com/@AlexBuilds1   Recommended Resources: Accredited Investors, you're invited to Join the Cashflow Investor Club to learn how you can partner with Kevin Bupp on current and upcoming opportunities to create passive cash flow and build wealth. Join the Club! If you're a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months and you want to build passive income and wealth with a trusted partner, go to InvestWithKB.com for opportunities to invest in real estate projects alongside Kevin and his team.  Looking for the ultimate guide to passive investing? Grab a copy of my latest book, The Cash Flow Investor at KevinBupp.com.  Tap into a wealth of free information on Commercial Real Estate Investing by listening to past podcast episodes at KevinBupp.com/Podcast. Learn more about Kevin's investment company and opportunities for Lifetime Cashflow at sunrisecapitalinvestors.com.

Today's guest is Alex Jarbo.   Alex Jarbo is the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments. He is a regular contributor to some of the top real estate investing podcasts in the world. He is also the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds where he teaches how to properly build and manage short term rentals.   Show summary:  In this episode, Alex Jarbo, founder of Open Atlas Investments, shares his journey from the Marine Corps to building a $40 million real estate portfolio in vacation rentals. He discusses the importance of treating vacation rentals as a business, being present on multiple platforms, and building an email list of guests. Jarbo also talks about the changing preferences of short-term rental consumers, the influx of people into the vacation rental market during the COVID-19 pandemic, and his expansion plans. He credits his success to understanding the principles of scaling from multifamily real estate and applying them to vacation rentals.   -------------------------------------------------------------- Intro [00:00:00]   Starting in Real Estate [00:00:55]   Scaling the Vacation Rental Portfolio [00:03:06]   Investing in Bigger Short-Term Rental Deals [00:05:00]   Treating Vacation Rentals as a Business [00:10:10]   The Flood of New Market Entrants [00:11:00]   The Benefits and Challenges of Syndicating Short Term Rental Opportunities [00:13:20]   The shift in management [00:20:25]   Passion for negotiating deals [00:21:39]   Time to fire myself [00:23:08] -------------------------------------------------------------- Connect with Alex: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/ Web: https://openatlas.investments/   Connect with Sam: I love helping others place money outside of traditional investments that both diversify a strategy and provide solid predictable returns.     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HowtoscaleCRE/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samwilsonhowtoscalecre/ Email me → sam@brickeninvestmentgroup.com   SUBSCRIBE and LEAVE A RATING. Listen to How To Scale Commercial Real Estate Investing with Sam Wilson Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-scale-commercial-real-estate/id1539979234 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4m0NWYzSvznEIjRBFtCgEL?si=e10d8e039b99475f -------------------------------------------------------------- Want to read the full show notes of the episode? Check it out below: Alex Jarbo (00:00:00) - I think gone are the days of just taking any type of random property and just throwing it on one site like Airbnb and just being done with it. Like I said, you need to treat it like a business. You need to be on multiple platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com. You need to be building your own email list of guests.   Intro (00:00:15) - Welcome to the how to Scale Commercial real Estate show. Whether you are an active or passive investor, we'll teach you how to scale your real estate investing business into something big.   Sam Wilson (00:00:28) - Alex Jarboe is the founder of Open Atlas Investments. Alex is at the forefront of revolutionizing the vacation rental and hospitality industry with his focus on custom, unique micro resort developments. Alex, welcome to the show.   Alex Jarbo (00:00:42) - Oh, thanks for having me on, man. Absolutely.   Sam Wilson (00:00:44) - The pleasure's mine. Alex. There are three questions I ask every guest who comes on the show in 90s or less. Can you tell me where did you start? Where are you now? And how did you get there?   Alex Jarbo (00:00:52) - Uh, started out of the Marine Corps.   Alex Jarbo (00:00:55) - Directly. Moved here to Asheville, North Carolina and got my real estate license. Started looking for a property. Realized really quickly I couldn't purchase anything that was in my price range. So my very first real estate investment was a ground up development, 800 square foot A-frame that we own to this day, and that over the last seven years snowballed into close to a $40 million real estate portfolio. Either were acquiring, purchasing or managing over $40 million in vacation rentals just in this market alone.   Sam Wilson (00:01:24) - Wow. Yeah, in Asheville is a great a great market for that. I I'm guilty of actually looking. Was it Airbnb this morning? Maybe I was looking at short term rentals in Asheville. So maybe maybe I need to come to you first here when this calls over and see what you got. But no, seriously, that's that's impressive. What year did you get out of the Marine Corps and start investing in real estate?   Alex Jarbo (00:01:46) - Yeah, 2017 is when I moved here. Yeah. So relatively I mean, I've been in it for roughly six years now, six, seven years.   Alex Jarbo (00:01:54) - But I started reading up on real estate books like my last year in the Marine Corps. And just I originally turned to flipping. And then there was a, I joined like a flipping mentorship. And the gentleman that was a part of that flipping mentorship he had, like just briefly, I'd mentioned that back in 2016, like all of his like, long term wealth was tied into short term rentals. And that really, like perked my ears, got on a one on one call with him. He sort of taught me how to, like, invest like in a market, like how to choose a good vacation rental market. There was like 3 to 5 markets that we had decided on. And my fiance at the time, wife now was like, yeah, Asheville looks really cool. I'm like, screw it, let's go. Like, I was open to really moving anywhere. I'm originally from Detroit, Michigan, but we've been here ever since 2017.   Sam Wilson (00:02:40) - Yeah, and you picked one of the prettiest parts of the country, in my opinion, to live in.   Sam Wilson (00:02:44) - I've got obvious envy for where it is that you call home. But that's. Let's get back on track, though. I mean, that's that's impressive. 2017 till now, a $40 million portfolio, but not just a $40 million portfolio. I think it's one thing to say, oh, hey, we got a $40 million portfolio in multifamily. Again, not to be discounted by any stretch, but you can do that with one deal.   Alex Jarbo (00:03:05) - One deal.   Sam Wilson (00:03:06) - That's really tough to do. I would imagine in the short term, rental space would have been some of the keys that have really helped you scale that.   Alex Jarbo (00:03:15) - One of the biggest things is just understanding that and this, this most of the stuff I know about the larger vacation rental deals or just vacation rentals in general, talking to, talking to investors, everything I learned from multifamily books, it's like the like the way we the way we pitch our deals with preferred returns and equity splits between general partners and limited partners. All that stuff was taught through mentors or multifamily mentors or multifamily books.   Alex Jarbo (00:03:40) - So I realized really quickly the same thing with multifamily. Going from single family long term rentals to owning multifamily, is that scaling, doing larger deals, like I call them, micro resorts, anywhere between 7 to 20 units, 40 units. It's not. It's to go from one unit to ten. Unit is not ten times as hard. So I learned that really quickly with the development piece that in terms of my time, me looking at a property that we can build two cabins on, or me looking at a property that we can build 20 properties on, it was the same use of my time. Obviously it was more for my engineer and my GC, but for me to look at like just driving out to parcels, it was the same time. It was just the number was obviously way bigger. So that's where that came from. Was like I looked at my goals and I wanted to see where I wanted to get to, and I didn't want to just focus on Wednesday and Tuesday cabins here and there.   Alex Jarbo (00:04:36) - Granted, those still make I mean, all those properties that we've developed in the last six years have cash flow very well. But doing these larger deals, I mean, the numbers are just crazy compared to what what I was doing say, like just four years ago alone.   Sam Wilson (00:04:51) - Give me give me a case study on that. Like what? What sort of. What is a bigger deal in the short term rental space, and how do you identify that?   Alex Jarbo (00:05:00) - So the when the we developed six cabins which that doesn't sound like that much, but like we developed a six cabin one and then we purchased a seven cabin or it was a historic house with six cabins on it. The one that we're purchasing right now is a $20 million development, and that one is only 20 units. But these properties cash flow like crazy, like just the seven units alone have done close to seven figures in in revenue just in this year alone. So when I when I say like bigger deals, I would say anything over like 6 to 8 units to start that are in the same area.   Alex Jarbo (00:05:35) - So like you're purchasing and I've said this before, there's a lot of mom and pop owners on of bed and breakfast and some of these like larger cabin communities that like, existed prior to when Airbnb and Vrbo were a thing. And now those mom and pop owners are of retirement age, and they're looking to sell off some of these properties. And what I've realized, I've looked at a lot of these. I purchased a couple of them in just the last year and a half. A lot of these are undervalued, like significantly. And so that's what I would say to your original question is the like I would say anything over like 4 or 5 units that are in the same area would be a little bit of a bigger deal compared to just purchasing 1 or 2.   Sam Wilson (00:06:15) - Yeah. No. Absolutely, absolutely. And that's and there's scale is relative to what it is that you are working on. How do you. So please don't mind the cash flow. Yeah, absolutely. I mean that's insane cash flow.   Sam Wilson (00:06:29) - Insane cash flow. What do you feel like? I mean, you made you made a point there where you said that, you know, a lot of these these these styles of. Short term rentals have been around for a long time. This is not anything new, but absolutely, I would argue and maybe you can confirm or tell me, put more clarification on this, because I'm not in the short term rental space, but that investor preference has changed in what those short term rentals look like. Amenities mean all of those things kind of kind of give us some broader overview on that and how you guys are setting these things up for today's consumer.   Alex Jarbo (00:07:04) - So for the on the consumer part it's like market then property. So market investing in properties that tend to be a little bit less or investing in markets that tend to be a little bit less seasonal. So Asheville mountain markets that aren't necessarily ski resorts like cities, those tend to do really well because they're less seasonal. Nothing gets more picturesque than a cabin or a property on the side of a cliff in the winter, right in the mountains.   Alex Jarbo (00:07:30) - Right? So so that's market when it comes to properties. We're investing in unique properties or developing or purchasing unique properties where the property itself is an experience outside of the city that the guest is visiting. That's really important. And you're right about the guest expectation changing. It has definitely gone full circle, and we can talk about that in a second. About back in the day, you had to pick up a phone to book a vacation rental, and now it's like it's sort of hospitality. And vacation rentals are sort of moving towards like direct booking sites, which is almost practically full circle, where I look at Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, they're always going to be a part of my business, but I look at them as marketing arms to my business. It's where the eyeballs are at, but the eventual goal is to be able to take the guests off of those platforms after they stay with you. That's the key there, after they stay with you, not when they're trying to stay and put them into your own ecosystem through a direct booking site.   Alex Jarbo (00:08:23) - And that way you're treating all of this like a business, and not just when someone asked me like, it tears me apart when I go, hey, what do you do? Or how many properties do you have? And they're like, I'm an Airbnb. So you're like, no, you're not in Airbnbs, you're in vacation rentals. And if you want to take it a step further, you're in hospitality, right? So when when it comes to like guest like the guest expectation back in the day when you had to pick up that phone, you had to. A lot of times you have to bring in your own silverware, your own linens, like stuff like that is completely changed. And then just there's a higher level of expectation now, especially with the flooding of vacation rentals that has happened in the last like 4 or 5 years into the markets. I think people are looking for those more unique stays, those more, I call them Instagrammable properties where people would be proud to put them on the like on their social media, where your guest practically turns into your own little influencer because they're putting it on their social media and showing their their people.   Alex Jarbo (00:09:16) - And then that redirects you to your website or your Instagram account or whatever social media account you want to use, right?   Sam Wilson (00:09:22) - No, I love that, I love that, yeah. And I've heard that from other people who've come on the show saying, hey, look, you know, one of the strategies, obviously, is to get them off of the Airbnbs and back to your direct booking sites. I think that's really cool. Let's talk a little bit. You hit on flooding the vacay or you said flooding the vacation rental markets. What? I mean, we've seen that. And, you know, I actually saw something and I don't I don't look on social media actually very often maybe like once every 2 or 3 months. And I just happened to see a guy in the short term rental space buying a short term rental. He gave a quick, you know, paragraph about why the previous owner really stunk at being a vacation rental owner. So yeah, we see this flooding of them. But then what are people doing wrong and how does that present opportunity for people like yourself?   Alex Jarbo (00:10:06) - Yeah, it's exactly what I said about the like I'm an Airbnb.   Alex Jarbo (00:10:10) - So it's like I think gone are the days of like just taking any type of random property and just throwing it on one site like Airbnb and just being done with it. Like I said, you need to treat it like a business. You need to be on multiple platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com. You need to be building your own email list of guests. And one of the easiest ways to do that. And I've plugged this company ever since I've started like interviewing with about properties is a company called Staffie, and it's a Staffie sells these little discs that plug into the back of your router very cheap to purchase these. And then the subscription is incredibly cheap, but it creates a landing page for your internet. So like imagine when you go into Starbucks, you go into the airport, you have to put your email address in to get access to the internet. It's the same thing, except you have your own branding for your company. That way when a guest stays with us, we then capture their email, and then we do seasonal emails to them to get them to book.   Alex Jarbo (00:11:00) - Hey, you can save way more money where you don't have to pay these crazy service fees anymore, and you can book directly through us that way. Like I said, you're creating this, this massive wheel, this massive circle. And that's that's one thing that people, I think weren't ready for when they just saw someone on social media, or maybe they saw their friends doing real in vacation rentals, like really well in vacation rentals. And also during Covid 2020, 2021, tail end of 2022, vacation rentals saw record numbers because people were stuck here. Like people were like you could only travel domestically. So obviously occupancies were up that 95, 98, close to 100% people were charging up the craziness. I mean, I was I was part of it like my my occupancies were through the roof, but I was in vacation rentals prior to that knowing that that was not normal. So I think a lot of people that flooded the market the last like three years were just people who got into it during Covid, where interest rates were low.   Alex Jarbo (00:11:51) - If they purchased, interest rates were low. So it was really relatively easier to get a property. All of these vacation rental lenders sort of came out of nowhere as well in the last like three years, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but. That compares with like just everyone just putting their numbers out there and be like, this is how much I make. It was like, okay, cool, I can just get a property, throw it on Airbnb and be good to go. So I think that's where the flooding of the market came, was just people thinking that you could just be on one platform and be good to go.   Sam Wilson (00:12:20) - Right. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Love. And so everything you guys are doing there is in the broader Asheville area. Yeah, it's.   Alex Jarbo (00:12:28) - In Buncombe County. Yeah. After this larger deal that we're working on, I do. There are 2 or 3 other markets that I've identified in the country that I want to get into, because it's it's good and bad to have a massive concentration of like your properties in one area.   Alex Jarbo (00:12:45) - I just want to diversify into different markets after that. It's just fun to do it. I mean, these are these are cool vacation markets that are like some of the top markets in the country. So it's just it's cool to like come into a market and develop something unique that actually complements the city that you're getting into. I've always been a huge fan of that. Just whole strategy in general.   Sam Wilson (00:13:04) - Absolutely. Well, let's talk about this. I mean, you said you were taking you're taking the things you learned in the multifamily space and applying it to the short term rental space. And it sounded like you're syndicating short term rental opportunities. Talk to us about that.   Alex Jarbo (00:13:20) - Yeah, I mean, that that came from I mean, phenomenal mentors like Paul Moore from Wellings Capital is the first person that comes to mind. Just learning. The Vinnie Smiley was another one that like I've been on his podcast, I read his book. That's sort of what got me into multifamily or just understanding the the metrics around multifamily to apply for short term rentals.   Alex Jarbo (00:13:41) - But yeah, I originally got into that world just to learn and understand that, like just talking to my different mentors that like, I mean, even I mean, I don't know how it is now because I haven't really kept up with it. But during like the Covid era, even before then, like cap rates were severely compressed during during that time. So it was a pretty easy conversation to to have with a multifamily investor be like, hey, this is the preferred return. This is the general partner, limited partner split. This is the cash on cash. This is the equity multiple. It's like we practically just took the metrics that multifamily investors were used to, like, used to seeing and dealing with like in terms of a syndication and just apply that to these larger vacation rental deals.   Sam Wilson (00:14:24) - Did you do are you doing those as a one off syndication or did you launch a five?   Alex Jarbo (00:14:29) - Now it's a one off. I quickly learned it should have been a fund just just based off of the timeline that we had to close on this first deal.   Alex Jarbo (00:14:36) - So my next one will definitely be a fun. But yeah, this first one was just a single asset syndication. But yeah, that's a it's funny because I was just thinking about that this morning. I was like, I should have done a fund instead of a syndication.   Sam Wilson (00:14:48) - Yeah, well tell tell us why, I guess. Can you give us give our listeners some color on as to why you say that?   Alex Jarbo (00:14:53) - It's like. Getting the deal, finding the money compared to having the money, and then finding the deal or starting to work on the deal. Just the timeline type thing. It's like, okay, I have technically I have this closing date that I have to meet, and this is when the money has to be raised and anything and everything can happen with dealing with investors and getting. There's a big difference between a soft commitment and actually getting that money wired. So that's the biggest thing, is just the pressure of I would rather have dug that well before I needed it is what I've always told myself of, like having that money there waiting so I can then deploy it into a deal compared to the other way around.   Sam Wilson (00:15:31) - Right. And that's a challenge. It certainly is a challenge. And I think one of the. Things that you have in your favor. Having a fund is that you already know what types of assets you're buying. You've already got a proven track record. This is what we're buying. Here's the type of assets you can give a long history of the things that you're buying. A lot of times I as a personally as a passive investor, I'm not a big fan of funds because especially if it's a blind, entirely blind fund where you're like, all right, so you say you're going to buy that, but I'm not quite sure. You're like, hey, no, like, here's the 8500 previous I'm making number up. But properties we've bought that, this is what's going in it.   Alex Jarbo (00:16:08) - So yeah, that's a good point. I mean the I have so there's a fund that we've teamed up with and I'm completely open to doing that with this deal. But there was a there was a fund that we teamed up with where.   Alex Jarbo (00:16:21) - Like some of the some of the assets in that fund where like the investors were like, okay, I would rather just I wish it was a single asset syndication where I can just invest in this one property. So it's a double edged sword. It is honestly.   Sam Wilson (00:16:32) - Yeah, it is. And I will say that openly because we have a fund open right now that raising capital in a fund is twice as hard as raising for a single asset. So cut. Like you said, it cuts both ways. And I've heard that from a lot of sponsors. Like it's harder it's harder in a fund than it is in a single asset deal. But yet the ability, like you said, to continue to acquire, to continue to raise money constantly as opposed to going, all right, well, now it's go time. Now we raise a bunch of money. Okay, we closed and then you start the whole process over again. It's it cuts both ways. So making that decision obviously on a case by case basis.   Sam Wilson (00:17:04) - But I just loved hearing hearing your insights on that okay. So we talked a little bit. Focus on bigger deals syndicating these deals. Um Alex one of the things that we talked about before this or before this show started recording was that you have coached over 5000 people in the short term rental game. What has that process been like? Talk to us about that, because I'm sure I'm sure you've got a lot of insights from working with so many different coaching clients.   Alex Jarbo (00:17:34) - Yeah, that came from I had purchased a course through Brian Page of B&B formula when it was just it was like a, I think 1 or $2000 course. When I first started, I knew I wanted to get into vacation rentals. That's why I moved here. But it was cool. He was like one of the first people to create a course. And then I had actually pitched him on one of my deals where I was like, hey, like, I would love for you to invest. And then that that had spiraled, gone into like, he had a podcast at that time, too.   Alex Jarbo (00:18:00) - And I was like, I would love to hop on the podcast and pitch the deal. And he's like, I actually don't do the podcast anymore. But I'm looking for coaches and we only have like two of them right now. And that course had morphed into a coaching program. And I've been with B&B formula, teaching an hour or two a week for the last year and a half, and then it's morphed into over 6000 students at this point. And we do group coaching one on one, all that fun stuff. But yeah, it's just it's been really cool to see students go from like zero, like learn this in the Marine Corps. Like just to just general leadership is it's really cool seeing like some of your mentees sort of surpass you and seeing some of these students build these massive vacation rental companies, management companies and a massive portfolio as well. I mean, one of our students has over like 350 listings. So it's been it's really cool to be a part of a community like that, too, because you're sort of you have your finger on the pulse when it comes to like changing the things in the economy.   Alex Jarbo (00:18:55) - So like, you'll see, like students be like it's way harder to find a deal in X, x, X, or like every 2 or 3 months. There's always like a new topic that students are constantly asking about. So the biggest thing I've seen is like the rental arbitrage deals. It's, in my opinion, still the easiest way to get into real estate investing in general when it comes to vacation rentals. But there you have to be a little bit more strategic when it comes to choosing a market compared to just like I said, going into any market, getting any type of property and just throwing it on Airbnb. So that's just what I've learned from coaching so many students. Is that the biggest thing I've learned about coaching students is that. You're a lot of times you're going to be your biggest enemy where it's like students get in their own way. It's a mindset thing outside of you. We can give you all the tools in the world, give you the best coaches in this industry. But if your mindset is not there, or like you have a negative mindset that is going to severely impact the way you talk to owners or just talking to like negotiating your deals and whatnot and managing your properties.   Sam Wilson (00:19:54) - Absolutely. Absolutely. That's that's really great. That's awesome man I can't believe that. 5000 plus 6000. Would you say coaching students at this point?   Alex Jarbo (00:20:01) - 6000 students.   Sam Wilson (00:20:02) - Yeah, that's wild man. And I think that's an added benefit maybe I probably would never have thought about was just the fact that you get that consistent feedback from the people you're talking to of what's going on in the market. It's kind of your.   Alex Jarbo (00:20:15) - Yeah, I've gotten things like, hey, have you used this service or this new service or tool for your company? I'm like, no, but it sounds really interesting. Let me check it out. And then I end up putting it in my company.   Sam Wilson (00:20:25) - Right. That's cool. Let's talk about your company for just a quick second here. How do you balance being an operator? And I'm not I'm maybe use the wrong word here, but an operator and then also a capital allocator because obviously more than capital allocator. But you're raising capital and you're operating your deals. How do you balance that.   Alex Jarbo (00:20:42) - Yeah. So the, the, the biggest shift the last six months is finding we interviewed all the top managers in this area. And we're still I'm still in the management portion of it, but I'm not in the day to day. So I found a manager had him run projections for us that were without giving him obviously our numbers. And I found a manager that projected our number like did significantly more than us, and that was because they had access to specific channels that we didn't, just because of how big they are. So I've recently delegated a big portion of like my cleaning, my maintenance, my event planning, because we have a wedding venue in this market as well that's attached to one of our vacation rental properties. All of the operations piece has been delegated to a local manager. My goal is in my management side of my company is just strategy and social media, because a lot of our properties, with them being unique, social media is a big portion of that. And then when it comes to capital raising, I love putting together these deals like that.   Alex Jarbo (00:21:39) - That is where I realized my passion is is like negotiating, not necessarily negotiating this deal in particular, we were almost practically exclusively working with the sellers because they were representing themselves. But negotiating the deals and just understanding the different pieces and just fitting them together, that's really what I really specialize in. And the types of properties we're showing investors. I mean, they do sell themselves like they truly do sell themselves. We're running a big like Facebook and LinkedIn marketing towards like raising these capital. And the leads are just flowing in every single day is just how picturesque these properties are. So in terms of selling them on, on social media or just showing, like we shot a massive investor video that took us four days to shoot, that's easy to do. And then as long as you back it up with the numbers, you're good to go. So that's what I truly enjoy. So that's how I balance it. Finding a manager. Or you can hire someone in house if you wanted to do it that way to take take all the stuff that you don't want to do, like almost an operations manager and just focusing on the, the the stuff that you enjoy doing and time blocking, just dedicating three hours a day to 1 or 2 items snowballs into a ridiculous result over the course of 3 to 6 months or a year or whatever.   Sam Wilson (00:22:52) - I love it, man. That's awesome. Yeah, in the consistently improving what your strategy is, I think it's one of the things you say, okay, I've done it this way for a long time, but let's look at another way. Yeah.   Alex Jarbo (00:23:03) - Time to time to fire myself like the, the what I came to.   Sam Wilson (00:23:08) - Absolutely, man. That's that's that's it. There was, there was somebody inside of our company there today. What she say to me, she goes, you need to stop doing that. Like now I'm like, thank you. Yeah, yeah, that's my love language. She's like, just get out of the way. Like.   Sam Wilson (00:23:22) - Seriously I'm trying.   Alex Jarbo (00:23:23) - Yeah. Like I'm like trying to focus on, like how to, like, split all my time up. And I'm like, I think I just need to remove myself. Like, yeah.   Sam Wilson (00:23:30) - It's fast as you can, man. Alex, I got one more thing here that for those of you that don't know that, listen to this show.   Sam Wilson (00:23:37) - I always ask our guests on the onboarding side of things, you know, what's a unique something unique about you or a strange hobby or something that you might find interesting or I might find interesting? And Alex shared with me that he is a Guinness Book World record holder. Alex, here at the end of the show, just break it down for us man. What world record do you hold?   Alex Jarbo (00:24:02) - Furthest distance to roll a coin. It's one of the most random things if you don't know anything about me. Yeah.   Sam Wilson (00:24:08) - Furthest distance to roll.   Sam Wilson (00:24:11) - How far was it?   Alex Jarbo (00:24:12) - I forgot, man. It was like, I don't know, like I don't I had a friend that would like, was like manager of like a Gold's Gym. And this Gold's Gym had a massive long stretch of concrete like up front when you first walk into the gym, I think it was like it wasn't that far. It was like 60, 70m. It was honestly harder to find that than it was to like actually do the record.   Alex Jarbo (00:24:32) - But yeah, I did it back in 2019 when I was bored out of my mind for 2018. And. I submitted everything to Guinness and they sent me a certificate like six months later. It's pretty funny.   Sam Wilson (00:24:46) - That's hysterical. Furthest distance to roll a coin. All right, well, on that note, Alex, that's awesome, man. You never know what you're going to get out of Alex Jarboe, a short term rental expert. Thank you for taking the time to come on the show today and share with us all of your insights here. You've got some really cool stuff going on there in the Asheville market, and look forward to hearing what you do in those other couple of markets that you've identified to move into next. If our listeners want to get in touch with you, learn more about you and or your current opportunity. Raising capital for what is the best way to do that?   Alex Jarbo (00:25:19) - LinkedIn is really easy. That's a lot of stuff. Lives on. LinkedIn is just Alex Jarboe. We actually also built a website specifically just for this deal.   Alex Jarbo (00:25:27) - So that's Open Atlas Dot investments, investments with an S. I'm sure it's going to be linked somewhere in the show notes. But the deal is also on my LinkedIn, which is probably the easiest way to get to it. And then you guys can check out all the videos that we shot for it. Pitch deck there. You guys can sign up to to just schedule a call with us, and then we can go from there.   Sam Wilson (00:25:46) - Rock and roll Alex. Open Atlas Dot investments. We'll make sure of course as Alex said to include that there in the show notes. Thank you for coming on the show today. I certainly appreciate your time. This was great.   Alex Jarbo (00:25:55) - Appreciate you man. It was fun. Hey, thanks for.   Sam Wilson (00:25:57) - Listening to the How to Scale Commercial Real Estate podcast. If you can do me a favor and subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, whatever platform it is you use to listen. If you can do that for us, that would be a fantastic help to the show.   Sam Wilson (00:26:13) - It helps us both attract new listeners as well as rank higher on those directories. So appreciate you listening. Thanks so much and hope to catch you on the next episode.

When you think of short-term rentals, you may think of Air Bnb or Vrbo, but did you know short-term rentals were around long before those companies made them popular? In this episode, I speak with Alex Jarbo, the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments, who has an MBA with a concentration in real estate development. His company, Sargon Investments, is a short-term rental resort development firm whose mission is to provide above-average, double-digit returns to our accredited investors. He's also a former Marine, a regular contributor to some of the world's top real estate investing podcasts, and the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds, where he teaches how to build and manage short-term rentals properly. He discusses the short-term rentals he has right now, what attributed to their success, and his strategies in the current market to keep them successful. He also tells us how we can invest passively with short-term rentals and how you can get started investing in this booming asset class.   HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE 1:20 How he got into real estate 4:27 What gave him the confidence to do long-term rentals 5:57 What he learned from his first property 8:10 What is he doing now? 10:47 How is he handling the market right now 11:53 Recommended strategy 14:26 What trends is he seeing in short-term rentals right now 16:49 Be careful who you are taking advice from 17:57 What attributed to the success of his properties 20:06 The drivability of the markets 21:43 How does he separate himself from the mom-and-pop rentals 23:19 Investing passively with short-term rentals 25:50 Contact Alex   CONNECT WITH THE GUEST Email- Alex@SargonInvestments.com LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/ Website- https://www.alexjarbo.com/home YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/c/AlexBuilds1 Sargon Investments- https://sargoninvestments.com/   CONNECT WITH THE HOST Website- https://upstreaminvestor.com/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/TwoSmartAssets/ Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/upstreaminvestor/ Twitter- https://twitter.com/twosmartassets LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/two-smart-assets/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Listen, like, subscribe, and comment!

When you think of short-term rentals, you may think of Air Bnb or Vrbo, but did you know short-term rentals were around long before those companies made them popular? In this episode, I speak with Alex Jarbo, the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments, who has an MBA with a concentration in real estate development.  His company, Sargon Investments, is a short-term rental resort development firm whose mission is to provide above-average, double-digit returns to our accredited investors. He's also a former Marine, a regular contributor to some of the world's top real estate investing podcasts, and the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds, where he teaches how to build and manage short-term rentals properly. He discusses the short-term rentals he has right now, what attributed to their success, and his strategies in the current market to keep them successful. He also tells us how we can invest passively with short-term rentals and how you can get started investing in this booming asset class. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE 1:20 How he got into real estate 4:27 What gave him the confidence to do long-term rentals 5:57 What he learned from his first property 8:10 What is he doing now? 10:47 How is he handling the market right now 11:53 Recommended strategy 14:26 What trends is he seeing in short-term rentals right now 16:49 Be careful who you are taking advice from  17:57 What attributed to the success of his properties 20:06 The drivability of the markets 21:43 How does he separate himself from the mom-and-pop rentals  23:19 Investing passively with short-term rentals 25:50 Contact Alex    CONNECT WITH THE GUEST Email- Alex@SargonInvestments.com LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/ Website- https://www.alexjarbo.com/home YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/c/AlexBuilds1 Sargon Investments- https://sargoninvestments.com/ CONNECT WITH THE HOST Website- https://upstreaminvestor.com/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/TwoSmartAssets/ Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/upstreaminvestor/ Twitter- https://twitter.com/twosmartassets LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/two-smart-assets/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Listen, like, subscribe, and comment!

Today's Guest: Alex Jarbo Alex is the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments and has an MBA with a concentration in real estate development. He's also a former Marine, a regular contributor to some of the world's top real estate investing podcasts, and the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds, where he teaches how to build and manage short-term rentals properly. His company, Sargon Investments, is a short-term rental resort development firm whose mission is to provide above-average, double-digit returns to our accredited investors. Highlights From The Show: We begin the episode with Alex sharing his background story and how he ended up in real estate. Alex shares that he grew up in Michigan, and when he turned 18 and graduated from high school, he immediately went to the marine corps and served 4 ½ years. In his final year, Alex felt he wanted to do something more and started reading books on every topic in the business world, and real estate caught his eye. He loved the control and the appreciation of assets in the space. Alex joined a flipping mentorship group while he was still in the marine corps and realized long-term wealth was tied to short-term rentals. He left the military, got his real estate license, and started looking for short-term rentals, but he quickly realized that everything was way out of his price range, and if it was within his price range, it wouldn't have done well. After looking for eight months, Alex decided to build his first property, a ground-up investment he still owns today. We then talk about market selection and where you should be investing. Alex shares that he doesn't recommend investing in natural markets or moving to a brand-new city. According to him, you should start investing in your backyard, and the strategy works. Start by looking for an area where people like taking extended weekend vacations in your market. There are hundreds of these pocket markets throughout the country that nobody knows outside the people that live an hour or two away. Real estate will not only be cheaper but also have a built-in cash flow in those markets. Alex shares that right now, his focus is on doing 6 to 12 cabin cluster developments in the travel city market. He chooses how the property looks based on his research on Pinterest and Instagram, but the most effective way to do it is to search the city you're considering on the Airbnb platform. The top operators will pop up on the home page, and you can model them. Next, we talk about raising money and how a regular investor getting into real estate can finance their deals. Alex shares that there was almost no short-term rental financing when he started investing. He used a second home development loan, and you can still use it. The down payment requirements for this type of loan are very low. The second step is to talk to your local creditors. Don't do it online, don't call them, and don't email them - walk in there. If you need financing, Alex recommends three lending institutions: VCU Lending, Center Street Lending, and Host Financials for short-term rentals. Based on raising capital, Alex shares that there is a difference between raising capital with and without experience. He recommends starting with people in your circle, such as friends and family, if you are just starting out. We then discuss Alex's go-to high-level strategies for evaluating properties and opportunities in the short-term rental space. According to Alex, unique properties are way harder to evaluate, but there are strategies to assist you. Alex shares that prior to COVID, the occupancy break-even rate was 35%, and now it ranges between 42-45%. For him, he underwrites at 65% occupancy and does influencer marketing to increase occupancy, and all his properties are at 90%+ occupancy in both low season and high season. According to Alex, they just started using Stayamo for influencer marketing, and the results are ridiculous. Before looking for people in Stayamo, Alex had influencers coming to him, showing him their engagement rate and asking him whether they could stay on his property, and his answer was yes. Make sure you don't miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Alex Jardo and get valuable information on building unique short-term rentals! Notable Quotes: “You are not going to be 100%, but the number one thing is to be incredibly conservative.” Alex Jarbo “If you've developed a unique property, it will become an attraction to the guests and during the high season, the market becomes the attraction.” Alex Jarbo “Just because interest rates are hiking on the commercial side, don't let that scare you.“ Alex Jarbo Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes. Resources and Links From Today's Show: Sargon Investments Stayamo Alex on LinkedIn Alex on Instagram Alex on YouTube More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail! 7 Figure Investor Video Course - Scale your business to 7 figures. I'll show you how!

ABOUT ALEX JARBO Alex Jarbo is a short-term rental developer and manager. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He served in the Marine Corps for 4.5 years where he was stationed in Washington DC. He left the Marine Corps at 22 years old to pursue his career as a real estate professional. He is the Founder and CEO of Sargon Investments. He holds an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate Development and is currently finishing a Doctorate in Business with a concentration in Leadership. He is the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds where he teaches the ins and out of short-term development and management.  THIS TOPIC IN A NUTSHELL:Alex's background and how he started in real estate Joining a flipping mentorship  Pursuing his broker's license On choosing his mentor Finding his niche in Short-term rentals How he started in ground-up development  Broker and lender recommendations Finding the right GC for the project Loans and financing of the project Residential vs Commercial loan Why he prefers to do construction and development? SBA financing vs Traditional loan how refinancing work Current market rents and occupancy for cabinsOwnership of the deal and partnership Managing STRs and automation of processes  How to combat vacancy in STRs if people are not traveling  Choosing the right market Marketing strategy How to turn STR into a long-term investmentCurrent projects and long-term plan How to connect with Alex   KEY QUOTE:  [18:45] “You can start in your own backyard, and when I say backyard in your own little bubble of the market whether it be an hour or two away. You wanna think of a city or an area where people like to vacation in your area, they take extended weekend vacations too.  People don't stop traveling to those little pockets during a recession. People are gonna be looking for that unique experience on top of the market that they're going to.”   SUMMARY OF BUSINESS:Sargon Investments is a short-term rental resort development firm. We work to provide above-average, double-digit returns to our accredited investors. We don't like investing in populated metro areas. We like to build in areas that are 20-30 minutes away from the city. This allows our guests to have the privacy of a cabin in the woods while at the same time being close enough to the city where it isn't a long drive. This also leads to some pretty scenic drives to and from the cabins we build.   ABOUT THE WESTSIDE INVESTORS NETWORK   The Westside Investors Network is your community for investing knowledge for growth. For real estate professionals by real estate professionals. This show is focused on the next step in your career... investing, for those starting with nothing to multifamily syndication.     The Westside Investors Network strives to bring knowledge and education to real estate professional that is seeking to gain more freedom in their life. The host AJ and Chris Shepard, are committed to sharing the wealth of knowledge that they have gained throughout the years to allow others the opportunity to learn and grow in their investing. They own Uptown Properties, a successful Property Management, and Brokerage Company. If you are interested in Property Management in the Portland Metro or Bend Metro Areas, please visit www.uptownpm.com. If you are interested in investing in multifamily syndication, please visit www.uptownsyndication.com.          #realestate #realestateinvesting #passiveincome #passiveinvesting #realestateinvestor #realestateinvestment #REinvesting #cashflow #entrepreneurs #shorttermrentals #educationalplatform #STRdevelopment #airbnb #cabins #landappraisal #construction #residential #commercial #broker #traditionalloan #financing #propertymanagement #longtermrental #buyingland #refinancing #newepisode #podcasting #passivewealth #assetcreation #RoadToFinancialFreedom #WIN #JointheWINpod #WestsideInvestorsNetwork   CONNECT WITH ALEX JARBO: Email: alex@sargonivestments.comWebsite: https://sargoninvestments.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magicboyjarbo/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AlexBuilds1        CONNECT WITH US   For more information about investing with AJ and Chris:  ·    Uptown Syndication | https://www.uptownsyndication.com/  ·    LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/71673294/admin/         For information on Portland Property Management:  ·    Uptown Properties | http://www.uptownpm.com  ·    Youtube | @UptownProperties      Westside Investors Network  ·    Website | https://www.westsideinvestorsnetwork.com/  ·    Twitter | https://twitter.com/WIN_pdx  ·    Instagram | @westsideinvestorsnetwork  ·    LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13949165/  ·    Facebook | @WestsideInvestorsNetwork  ·    Youtube | @WestsideInvestorsNetwork  

A native of Detroit Michigan, Alex Jarbo didn't grow up wanting to be a short-term rental developer. In his teenage years, Alex developed a deep respect for engineering, especially aerospace engineering. But like most teenage dreams, that took a back seat to the needs of life, wherein he served 4 ½ years in the United States Marine Corps Honor Guard. In his last few months of serving, he realized he didn't want to re-enlist, so he thrust himself into any real estate investment classes he could before beginning his real estate professional career at the age of 22. Alex founded Sargon Investments in 2021, a short-term rental development firm. When Alex first entered the short-term rental market, he discovered that pre-existing structures didn't fully suit his needs or goals. As a result, Sargon Investments took the initiative to construct custom properties to provide guests of short-term rentals with an exceptionally unique experience. Through Sargon Investments, Alex has a goal to develop 650 cabins in the next 3 years. Like many entrepreneurs, Alex believes in sharing his knowledge and educating others. He does this by hosting a YouTube Channel by the name of “Alex Builds” (https://www.youtube.com/c/AlexBuilds1), and by providing a free masterclass on short-term rental development via his website, www.alexjarbo.com. FLIPPING, LONG-TERM RENTALS, & SHORT-TERM RENTALS Originally, Alex was interested in flipping houses. Flipping is where a buyer searches the market for less-than-desirable, even broken down, houses to invest in, fix while maintaining as much of the existing charm as possible, then put the renovated house on the market for a profit. In fact, while he was still in the Marine Corps, he began a mentorship for flipping houses. That was until he realized that the bulk of his mentor's long-term wealth was tied to short-term rentals. He discovered he could make approximately the same amount of profit from 10 long-term rentals as he would from one short-term rental. Flipping, long-term rental, and short-term rentals are all profitable. Each has its positives and negatives: Flipping: While profitable, it requires a lot of up-front capital to get started. It is also incredibly hands-on and usually requires you to outsource contractors, inspectors, and other professionals to make sure the structure is safe and up to date. Long-term rentals: Like flipping, you're going to need a chunk of change and investigate more spacious properties to fit families, established or growing. Unlike short-term rentals, you usually needn't furnish the home, but you need to make sure everything is safe and livable to avoid future malfunctions from daily use. Short-term rentals: Again, you're going to need a fair amount of money to invest in pre-existing properties on the market. A lot of pre-existing homes on the market aren't optimized for short-term rentals. You will also have to invest in furnishing the home in a way that draws renters in, versus them just choosing a hotel for their stay. Not only that, but the short-term rental market is starting to become heavily saturated. Each paradigm for how you get into the real estate investment market is going to take planning and money up-front. You must do your due diligence and determine what your budget can realistically afford, what your end goal is, and how much involvement you want in the property. For what he had saved while serving in the Marine Corps, he found that pre-existing properties on the market were out of his price range for his short-term rental goals. As a result, he decided to build from the ground up. In the end, it proved to be beneficial. As of this episode, Alex has: Turned one development into multiple Brought in investors Brought in some joint venture capitalists Developing $10 million in just short-term rentals, with hopes to triple that by next year DEVELOPMENT AND PRE-EXISTING PROPERTIES In Alex's case, it wasn't just a lack of savings that kept him from investing in pre-existing properties to create short-term rentals. He had a strong desire to construct distinctive properties that were appealing and offered an experience in and of itself – outside of the larger market that the guest would be traveling to stay in – something he couldn't really find on the pre-existing market. He focuses on building unique properties such as: Cabins A-Frames Barn style Chalets He specifically chooses to build single-family properties rather than multi-family complexes. This isn't simply because of his creative style, but also because he can easily sell off these properties in the future, if necessary. Alex will occasionally buy pre-existing properties on the market, but he generally only buys ones with decent acreage so that he may develop them later. Somuch of his business is solely focused on creating new, exclusive “Instagrammable” short-term rental residences- omething the guest will be more than happy to show off to friends and family, and on social media. AIRBNB/VRBO ISN'T YOUR BUSINESS, IT'S AN ARM Alex emphasizes that your booking facilitator – no matter if it is AirBNB, VRBO, etc. – should never be your entire business. Short-term rental owners shouldn't rely wholly on third-party facilitators to book and market their properties. Some of the most important recommendations Alex offers for lightening your marketing load while maintaining buzz and profit: Building your own direct booking website is essential. This is logical, as it will remove the bulk of the fees you have to pay for third-party facilitators such as AirBNB or VRBO. Influencer marketing is an incredible way to avoid having to constantly build ads on social media. Bring in travel bloggers or YouTuber vloggers and trade your vacancy days for content for the bloggers, or some other amicable deal. If you allow your business to live entirely on AirBNB or VRBO, not only will they take a portion of your proifts but, essentially, they will control your whole business as you are subject to and can become a victim of their changing policies and algorithms. . Your goal in marketing should always be to maximize your exposure while minimizing your expenses and uncontrolled risk. YOUR PROPERTY IS YOUR INVENTORY Most businesses that offer a product for sale have a very clear inventory: you're selling X number of Y goods for Z price. On the surface, this is equally true for rental properties, whether they are long-term or short-term properties. However, many property owners are unaware that their inventory is more than just the number of properties they have available. Your available booking days are your biggest inventory as a rental owner. Every day that your property is not booked is inventory that is not sold. In the short-term rental space, there are always going to be times of the week, month, and year that are just not going to book as much as others. Travelers generally come to rent during festivals, conferences, and holidays, however outside of those events, your property is susceptible to sitting dormant. This is where Alex suggests you bring in social media influencers to help market your property. It's a win-win barter situation: you're getting marketing, and thus your inventory is not going unsold, and the influencer gets a place to make content. By viewing your booking days as your inventory for your product, you're shifting your mindset into a dealmaker's mindset. You're going to be more motivated to find leverage in those days and to book those days, sell your product, and in return, be more successful and profitable. THE NEW EVOLUTION OF BUSINESS It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a wide-ranging impact on business, regardless of industry. Because of the pandemic, some industries saw a boost in profitability, while many others saw a decrease. To acclimatize to this new way of life, every industry had to effectively restructure how they performed business, and this process is still ongoing. Alex recalls the height of the pandemic and how bookings were practically non-existent in the short-term rental industry. People were staying homed; however, many people in business sectors and other professions still had to travel for work. Many of these professionals would choose a short-term rental over a hotel solely to avoid having to share space with other individuals. Alex elected to raise his prices – primarily to cover more extensive cleaning costs and to compensate for a lack of bookings – and he was able to remain profitable. While I try not to use the word “recession” since it may become a self-fulfilling prophecy, Alex and I discussed market downturns, the post-pandemic market, and what to do when things aren't as successful as every business owner hopes. Alex's top recommendations for us are: Even if you're starting in a stable market, build your business like you're beginning in a recession. Do your due diligence; research previous recessions, and how you can build and maintain your business should a recession happen. Look at your numbers, and make sure they work when business is good, and when business isn't so great. Alex looked at his numbers to make sure they worked not only at 90-95% occupancy but also at 60-65% occupancy. Always be conservative in your expectations and in your spending. INVESTING IN THE ENTIRE GUEST EXPERIENCE When building a business in the short-term rental market, your goal is to set yourself above the rest. During times of financial distress, many people will choose to not take a long vacation to some far-off destination, rather they will choose to take a shorter vacation merely a couple of hours away from where they live. If you're looking to get into the short-term rental market, it cannot be stressed enough how much due diligence will play a big role in your success. Choose and research your market – while the obvious choice is to choose a market that is a tourist attraction, sometimes that's not the best choice. Look for markets that have a sustained influx of travelers. Market your properties throughout the off-season. Travelers are constantly looking for a good deal, and off-season or a-bit-out-of-the-way lodging is where they'll start hunting. Invest in the property itself to make it appealing to guests both inside and out. It's not just about making sure they're not driving a half hour up a gravel road, but also the slightest of details, such as a mural or a cozy fireplace, will attract new guests, and even bring you returning business; Alex prefers to keep his properties travelable by state-maintained roads. MOVING FORWARD Alex intends to expand his unique short-term rental development firm, with a goal of constructing 650 cabins over the next three years. While he is committed to his objectives, he understands – as any good business person should – that life occurs, the market happens, and things may change. Alex is preparing himself and his business for stable growth potential and freedom as a business owner based on authenticity by conducting due diligence, remaining amenable to the ebbs and flows of the market, planning for both, best- and worst-case, scenario situations, and taking lessons from bad decisions or unsuccessful deals. Listen to the Full DealQuest Podcast Episode Here • • • For more on Alex Jarbo:www.alexjarbo.comhttps://www.youtube.com/c/AlexBuilds1Check out his Short-Term Rental Development Course: https://www.bdbstrmasterclass.com/enter Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Want to become financially free through real estate? Check out our eBook to learn how to jump start a cash flowing real estate portfolio here https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com/real-estate-wealth-bookIn this episode of The Real Estate Investing Club I interview Alex Jarbo, Alex realized early on that it made more sense to custom design and build the short term rentals because you can build unique properties that are an experience by themselves.  He learned that investing in populated metro areas is tough so it's best to build in areas that are 20-30 minutes away from the city so it isn't a long drive for short term rental guests.  This allows the guests to have some pretty scenic drives, enjoy the privacy of a cabin in the woods and have all their creatures comforts while being close to civilization.  Alex will break ground on 24 this year and has a goal to own 360 cabins in the next 3 years. Not only does Alex build and develop short term rentals, he also teaches others how to do the same on his YouTube channel Alex Builds and inside his Build Don't Buy STR Masterclass.. Alex Jarbo is a real estate investor who has a great story to share and words of wisdom to impart for both beginning and veteran investors alike, so grab your pen and paper, buckle up and enjoy the ride. Want to get in contact with Alex Jarbo? Reach out at alexjarbo.comEnjoy the show? Subscribe to the channel for all our upcoming real estate investor interviews and episodes.************************************************************************GET INVOLVED, CONNECTED & GROW YOUR REAL ESTATE BUSINESSLEARN -- Want to learn the ins and outs of real estate investing? Check out our book at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com/real-estate-wealth-bookCONNECT -- Want to join one of the most active Facebook Groups for Real Estate Investors? Click here to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2940993215976264PARTNER -- Want to partner on a deal or connect in person? Email the host Gabe Petersen at gabe@therealestateinvestingclub.com or reach out on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabe-petersen/GROW -- Want for us to bring you leads and run your real estate digital marketing? Reach out to our partner agency at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com/off-market-lead-generation-servicesWATCH -- Want to watch our YouTube channel? Click here: https://bit.ly/theREIshowMASTERY -- Want to learn how to master your life by mastering your health, wealth, relationships and spirit? Check out our sister podcast, Pursuing Greatness, at https://www.pursuinggreatnesspodcast.com************************************************************************ABOUT THE REAL ESTATE INVESTING CLUB SHOWThe Real Estate Investing Club is a podcast and YouTube show where real estate investing professionals share their best advice, greatest stories, and favorite tips as a real estate investor. Join us as we delve into every aspect of real estate investing - from self-storage, to mobile home parks, to single family flips and rentals, to multifamily syndication!#realestateinvesting #passiveincome #realestateSupport the show

While some have niched into short-term rental investing, Alex Jarbo niches down even deeper and specifically develops and builds short-term rental properties to the tune of cabins and tiny homes including land plays for multiple lots to build large short-term rental communities. Alex Jarbo was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. After high school, he felt that going the traditional route of college and university wasn't for him, so at the age of 18 years old, he decided to join the Marine Corps. Although it was scary at first, he gradually felt more confident and comfortable with his decision to serve his country. Over time, he was able to embody the core values of the Marines: Honor, Courage and Commitment. He served for 4.5 years in the Marines from his station in Washington, DC and towards the end of his service, started to read books about real estate investing. Alex, at the young age of 27, is now the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments. He is a short-term rental developer and manager. He is a regular contributor to some of the top real estate investing podcasts in the world. He is also the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds where he teaches how to properly build and manage short-term rentals. As mentioned, there are a few things that differentiate a short-term rental developer from other developers. First, they build places that are designed to be used as short-term rentals, so they are high quality and well-maintained. Second, they often focus on larger scale developments because they know hotel operators will want to cherry pick the best locations in a city. This means more inventory spread around, which increases the overall supply of available units for visitors across multiple areas of town. Third, with their expertise in short-term rentals, developers like Alex, understand the importance of community engagement and support for local businesses. Alex's lab is composed of creating a dynamic, technology-fueled business that is streamlined, strong, and profitable. Tune in to discover what experiments he did to become one of the best in his field. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE: 01:58 Purpose of the Experiment Nation 07:40 Fighter Leader Concept KEEPING IT REAL: 00:42 Introduction 02:44 Alex's Story 05:42 Alex's Mentor That Was Pivotal in the Beginning of His Experiments 14:20 Residential Construction Road 21:26 Alex's Obstacles 28:15 Alex's Current Portfolio 36:19 Conversion to Boutique Hotels 41:36 The Secret Sauce 46:29 Lifestyle Business NOTABLE QUOTE (KEY LESSONS): 4:31 “…I'm always looking for some sort of structure to help me with my goals, cause no matter what goal you have in whatever business outside of real estate, there's a coach, a course, a structure somewhere that someone's already done most of the work, you just gotta figure out how to tap into that....” - Alex Jarbo CONNECTING WITH THE GUEST Website: https://sargoninvestments.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/ Get coached on how you can repurpose your existing home or investment property into an Airbnb with me: https://experimentrealestate.com/hospitable-hosts Guesty Unique Link: https://hosts.guesty.com/?=therealestateexperiment Hospitable Hosts book: https://amzn.to/3e4LEhE #developer #structuredbusiness #discipline

Alex Jarbo is a short-term rental developer and manager. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He served in the Marine Corps for 4 1⁄2 years where he was stationed in Washington DC apart of the Marine Corps Honor Guard. He left the Marine Corps at 22 years old to pursue his career as a real estate professional. He is the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments, and he has a goal of developing 650 cabins in the next 3 years. Alex holds an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate Development and is currently finishing a Doctorate in Business with a concentration in Leadership. He is the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds where he teaches the ins and outs of short-term development and management.   In this episode, Alex shares his story of how he has made progress towards his short-term rental development goals by implementing a framework and focusing on daily tasks. He emphasizes the importance of uninterrupted time to focus on his goals and recommends breaking goals down into smaller, manageable tasks. He discusses the idea of setting goals and timelines for oneself in order to achieve them more efficiently. He found that by focusing on achieving specific goals in a shorter amount of time, there is less pressure and stress involved. He mentions a book called, “The ONE thing” by Gary Keller, which focused on goal setting was very helpful in achieving their desired outcome. Listeners can learn more about him and his firm by visiting his website at https://www.alexjarbo.com/! [00:01 - 09:35] Opening Segment   Alex has made progress towards his goals in the space through careful intelligent investing and a mindset focused on framework and schedule     [09:36 - 18:55] A Framework That Will Help You On Your Goals Alex mentions the most productive time for him   Having a framework for one's goals is important, as is breaking tasks down into manageable chunks to make them seem less daunting Having uninterrupted time to work on one's goals is key to success    He shares his tips for setting goals and achieving them in 12 weeks   [18:56 - 25:45] Closing Segment Alex offers his advice to those interested in short-term rental properties  Join Alex's Masterclass at, http://bdbstrmasterclass.com/! Alex shares where you can get in contact with him (links below)   Quote/s: “Outside of mindset, I would say like the biggest thing is making sure that there's a framework that you can just follow on a daily basis because that will help with the mindset stuff as well. It's like having a big goal, but also having a framework to help you achieve that goal.” – Alex Jarbo   You can connect with Alex through his:  Website: https://www.alexjarbo.com/ Facebook: Alex Jarbo LinkedIn: Alex Jarbo YouTube: Alex Jarbo Instagram: Alex Jarbo LinkedIn: Alex Jarbo Masterclass: http://bdbstrmasterclass.com/ WANT TO LEARN MORE?   Connect with me through LinkedIn   Or send me an email at sujata@luxe-cap.com   Visit my website www.luxe-cap.com or my YouTube channel   Thanks for tuning in!   If you liked my show, LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe!

On episode 211 of the Discovering Multifamily Podcast, Alex Jarbo joins us as the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments. He is a regular contributor to some of the top real estate investing podcasts in the world. He is also the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds where he teaches how to properly build and manage short term rentals. YouTube: https://youtu.be/_4WreJ9Mt7oWebsite: www.redknightproperties.com/media   iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/discovering-multifamily/id1506820688   #financialfreedom #passiveinvesting #activeinvesting #investsmart #investwisely #buildingwealth #multifamily #podcast #Red Knight Properties #Anthony Scandariato #Brian Leonard #investing in real estate #investing in multifamily #investing in syndication

Short term rentals are one of the hottest areas in real estate investing and, after speaking with this week's guest, it's easy to see why.    Alex Jarbo is the Founder and CEO of Sargon Investments; a short term rental/hospitality business based in Asheville, North Carolina that has a goal of developing 650 cabins in the next 2-3 years. Alex is the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds, where he teaches the ins and outs of short term rental development and management and he's about to launch a new course aimed at helping other potential investors learn from his experiences. Prior to his real estate career, Alex served in the US Marine Corps for 4.5 years.    Alex shares his experiences in short term rentals & hospitality and how he operates each of his properties like a business. His strategy of developing unique properties comes from a strong focus on his guests; he has a deep understanding of what makes his market unique and how he makes his properties “Instagrammable”; thinking about the guest experience to help amplify his marketing efforts. He also discusses how he was able to navigate supply chain issues while building new properties, the importance of relationships to create offline opportunities (outside of online travel agents), and he even shares a story of how he was able to work with AirBNB to remove a fabricated complaint that temporarily removed his Super Host status. Key Takeaway: When thinking about the short term rental market, focus on the uniqueness of your property, knowledge of the local market and building strong relationships to help boost the performance of your properties. Move beyond a “set it and forget it” approach that relies on just AirBNB or VRBO as your only sales channel and focus on creating a unique experience for your guests to boost year-round cash flow and help your properties stand out from the competition. How to Contact Alex: Company Website: www.estesgandhi.com Personal Website: www.alexjarbo.com  LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/  YouTube: www.youtube.com/AlexBuilds1  Are you REady2Scale Your Multifamily Investments? Learn more about growing your wealth, strengthening your portfolio, and scaling to the next level at www.bluelake-capital.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Jarbo is a short-term rental developer and manager. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He served in the Marine Corps for 4 1⁄2 years where he was stationed in Washington DC apart of the Marine Corps Honor Guard. He left the Marine Corps at 22 years old to pursue his career as a real estate professional. He is the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments, and he has a goal of developing 650 cabins in the next 3 years. Alex holds an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate Development and is currently finishing a Doctorate in Business with a concentration in Leadership. He is the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds where he teaches the ins and outs of short-term development and management. Alex advises listeners that they can learn more about him and his firm by visiting LinkedIn and checking out his website which has a course on real estate development! [00:01 - 01:50] Opening Segment   Alex believes that the property itself should be an experience He focuses on developing A-frame properties outside of the city       [01:51 - 08:37] Creating An Experience From Short Term Rental Cabins Alex discusses how he decided to go outside of the city limits and operate their short-term rental business legally How he operate a syndication model where he builds multiple cabins at a time He discusses his investment model A mastermind called “Puppies and pancakes” He uses Airbnb's historical data, which can be used to help predict what the rental rates for a particular property Dynamic pricing can be used to adjust the nightly price of a property based on demand   [08:38 - 10:27] Closing Segment Alex shared details about how he determines the average daily rate for a property He shares details about his course on real estate development   Alex shares where you can get in contact with him (links below)   Quote/s:   “One of the reasons why people are stepping away from hotels or stepping away from the general looking “cookie-cutter” hotel is because they want an experience.” – Alex Jarbo   You can connect with Alex through his:  Website: http://sargoninvestments.com Facebook: Alex Jarbo LinkedIn: Alex Jarbo YouTube: Alex Jarbo Instagram: Alex Jarbo LinkedIn: Alex Jarbo   WANT TO LEARN MORE?   Connect with me through LinkedIn   Or send me an email at sujata@luxe-cap.com   Visit my website www.luxe-cap.com or my YouTube channel   Thanks for tuning in!   If you liked my show, LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe!

Today I chatted with Alex Jarbo, Founder and CEO of Sargon Investments. He is a regular contributor to some of the world's top real estate investing podcasts. He is also the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds, where he teaches how to build and manage short-term rentals properly. Sargon Investments is a short-term rental resort development firm that provides above-average, double-digit returns to our accredited investors.Episode Spotlights- HowAlex got started in short-term rentals- How Alex chooses locations that could be short term rental friendly- How lending works in the short term rental space - How Alex manages the construction of his properties- Best and most challenging experience in short-term rental space Book Recommendations:- The One Thing- The 12-week year-  The creature from  Jekyll islandConnect with Alex:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/alexbuilds1Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magicboyjarbo/?hl=en Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alex.jarboWebsite: https://sargoninvestments.com/ Grab your freebie - Tips for Multifamily Investing at www.ushacapital.comFound this episode insightful? Show us some love by spreading the word on social media or  rating and reviewing the show here - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/multifamily-ap360/id1522097213Follow Rama on socials!LinkedIn | Meta | Twitter | InstagramConnect to Rama KrishnaE-mail: info@ushacapital.comWebsite: www.ushacapital.com

How many times have you considered going into short term rentals as a property manager? Short-term and vacation rentals are enticing, but they can also be an intimidating niche for newcomers.  Today's guest is Alex Jarbo, short-term rental developer and manager and CEO of Sargon Investments.He is the host of the Youtube Channel called Alex Builds where he teaches the ins and outs of short-term development and management. You'll Learn… [01:08] Starting out in the Short-Term Rental World [08:04] Useful Tools for Managing Short-Term Rentals [12:13] Virtual Guidebooks: Providing a Unique Experience to Guests [15:42] Dealing with Common Issues in Short-Term Rentals [18:32] Some Extra Tips from Pro Short-Term Rental Manager Alex [23:06] The Shifts in the Industry Since COVID [25:34] Where to go to Learn More! Tweetables “And anytime I talk to someone they're like, "I don't know where to start investing." I was like, just start in your backyard.” “It's easier to rent out these unique properties compared to, say, something like a normal condo or something.” “I like the property to be an experience in itself on top of the city that the people are visiting for the attraction.” “I talk to a couple of people a week then it's like, is it too late to invest in short term rentals? Like, no. It's not. Invest and manage both.” Resources DoorGrow and Scale Mastermind DoorGrow Academy DoorGrow on YouTube DoorGrowClub DoorGrowLive TalkRoute Referral Link Transcript [00:00:00] Alex: I talk to a couple of people a week then it's like, is it too late to invest in short term rentals? Like, no, it's not. Invest and manage both. [00:00:06] Jason: Alright, welcome DoorGrow Hackers to the #DoorGrowShow! If you are a property management entrepreneur that wants to add doors, make a difference, increase revenue, help others, impact lives, and you're interested in growing your business and life, and you are open to doing things a bit differently, then you are a DoorGrow Hacker. DoorGrow Hackers love the opportunities, daily variety, unique challenges, and freedom that property management brings. Many in real estate think you're crazy for doing it. You think they're crazy for not because you realize that property management is the ultimate high trust gateway to real estate deals, relationships and residual income.  [00:00:44] At DoorGrow, we are on a mission to transform property management businesses and the business owners. We want to transform the industry, eliminate the BS, build awareness, change perception, expand the market and help the best property management entrepreneurs win. I'm your host, property management growth expert Jason Hull, the founder and CEO of DoorGrow. Now let's get into the show.  [00:01:08] And today's guest is Alex, Alex Jarbo. Am I saying your last name right?  [00:01:13] Alex: Yup. [00:01:14] Jason: I did? Okay. I didn't know if it was like a soft, "h" sounding 'j' or something. So Alex, welcome to the show. You have a company called Sargon investments. You do a lot of cool Airbnb stuff. So I'm really excited to have you on as a guest. I think the Airbnb market is of interest to a lot of my clients and a lot of property managers. It's heating up. There's more interest growing. So, maybe to get started: tell us a little bit about your background and how you kind of got into dealing with rental properties. [00:01:48] Alex: Yeah, absolutely. So I was originally, I served about four and a half years in the Marine Corps. And then I had gotten to a point where I just wanted to branch out and sort of do my own thing outside of the military. So, got out, and then the day I got out of the military, I actually moved down to where I live here in Asheville. Prior to that, I spent a couple months trying to figure out like where I wanted to move. I'm originally from Detroit, Michigan. And I wanted to get into short-term rentals. That was sort of the niche that I had chosen inside real estate. So when I moved here, got my real estate license, helped some people purchase and sell properties, but I saw a lot of people purchasing short term rentals that would just come to me. [00:02:26] So I decided to purchase my first one or at least start to purchase my first one. And I originally wanted to use my VA loan and purchase like a duplex or a triplex, live in one, and rent the other couple out on Airbnb. But what I realized really quickly was that like it was just very difficult, even back then in 2017 to find good, cash flowing short-term rentals that weren't completely out of my budget at the time. So after maybe like three months of looking and getting outbid a lot, I decided to build my first short-term rental. And on top of a building I decided to take over the, uh, management. So that's where I decided to both start a development company and start a management company. And that one property turned into two, two turned into four that we're developing, and now we're developing 10 and then working on like a boutique resort. [00:03:13] But yeah, that's the sort of the short of where I'm at now is just focusing on putting together these like boutique resort developments. And then we self manage in house. [00:03:24] Jason: Awesome. So a lot of property managers listening might think "I would like to be an investor and maybe get some of my own." I know some of my clients dabble a little bit just in their own investments. Even if they manage long-term rentals, they want to get more into AirBNB. So why don't we approach that topic first? Like getting into it, you do some things that are a little bit different than the typical Airbnb investor. And one of which being cabins. So I'm really curious about this idea of: why cabins? [00:03:59] Alex: So this is prior to COVID. My whole idea was like-- right now we invest in mountain communities, but every market has their own little area. And anytime I talk to someone they're like, "I don't know where to start investing." I was like, just start in your backyard. If you live in a Metro area, like a lot of areas, you're going to be renting out, like say condos, or you're going to be renting out apartments or something just cause you're in a busy metro city. I like to ask them like "where in your city or the market that you live in-- where do people like to take weekend vacations, maybe an hour to two away from you driving wise? [00:04:29] And that's sort of the market that I recommend people sort of go into. People are fine with driving say like 15- 20 minutes away from like a Metro city up to an hour in some cases. So like a good example of that is like people in New York, like New York city are going to travel maybe two hours. They're used to traveling two hours north to vacation, same thing with, say like in California on the west coast. People in San Diego are pretty used to going up to Big Bear Lake and taking that drive. Land prices are going to be cheaper.  [00:04:59] You can also host some like, not parties, but like bigger-- you can host more people in some of these larger cabins and you have more control on the design and that's sort of the thing we really focus on is focusing on developing unique cabins, whether it be a frames, really nice log cabins... we're, we're dabbling in like tree houses. It's just difficult to find like financing on those right now. The reason we gravitated towards cabins over something like purchasing a condo in a Metro city is we have more control over the design, which just plays into the marketing. It's easier to rent out these unique properties compared to say like something like a normal condo or something where it's a little bit more difficult to differentiate yourself to like the condo next door or something. [00:05:41] Jason: So it sounds like some of the key things you look at is proximity: like pick an area that's nearby. It needs to be something kind of where people take vacations and then novelty seems to be an aspect to this. Like cabins are a novel thing in the mountain area and making it somehow unique or different or stand out.  [00:05:59] Alex: Yeah, absolutely. And it's like, what I always like to say is: say, if you're not developing the property and you're coming into it, you want something unique about the property. I like the property to be an experience in itself on top of the city that the people are visiting for the attraction. So like, if you're looking at a market that has its attractions, but at the same time, it's like you sort of get rid of the seasonality part of it a little bit when the property itself is an experience in itself,  [00:06:24] Jason: Mmm, yeah, good point. The property kind of needs to be its own event or its own thing. Yeah. Cool. So let's shift gears and talk about property managers that might want to get into this game of targeting people. Like you have a portfolio or a small portfolio of investments that they can maybe get on as clients and what that might look like. And then maybe one of the things I think you're really good at is the technology. And so we could chat maybe a little bit about that.  [00:06:55] Alex: Yeah, for managers who are looking, before this, we were talking about like a lot of long-term managers are sort of starting to dabble in the short-term rental game. It sounds intimidating, but it's not as intimidating as it sounds. There's a lot of technology out there right now, plugins and then also CRMs that make the process pretty seamless. Depending on how many properties you have in the portfolio, you really don't need boots on the ground. It might in terms of like having a property manager in an area. Again, I would focus on one market at a time.  [00:07:25] But you can get away with a part-time maintenance person. The most important part is probably going to be your cleaning crew, and that's going to be up to you. There's pros and cons to either hiring your own, like managing the cleaning in-house or teaming up with a local cleaning crew in the area that can handle the cleaning stuff. Which again, the cleaning is definitely like-- I look at my cleaning crew as almost the manager of the properties themselves, because they're there at least twice a week or at least once a week, depending on what the booking looks like. So they see what needs to be replaced, what's damaged. If anything is damaged, they send me a picture directly, which I send directly to either Airbnb, VRBO, or wherever the property's listed.  [00:08:04] So the technology piece is going to be huge. And it, again, it's all dependent on how big you are. If you have 10 cabins, you can probably get away with, there are messaging plugins where it's like, I would say 80% of your messaging is automated. And then you can hire virtual assistants to sort of take over the other 20% of the messaging where it's like specific questions that are asked or say, if they're calling or something. [00:08:26] Jason: So the cleaning crew is almost your inspection crew. Like they're doing somewhat of an inspection as well, not just coming in and cleaning. So they're identifying issues, submitting things to your maintenance team or your system for maintenance. And then you need people that are managing that. And then you've got VAs that can help facilitate some of these things happening right? [00:08:48] Alex: Right. [00:08:49] Jason: What are some of the actual technological tools that you utilize that help you to systemize the business and make things simple for yourself?  [00:08:58] Alex: The first one is-- and I'll talk about maybe four or five tools here. The first one is going to be a tool and a company called StayFi. And I've talked about this tool so much now that I've recommended it to anyone looking to get into short-term rentals. StayFi is essentially a little disk that plugs in the back of the router. And what that does, is it email captures any guests that's using your internet. That 1. Protects you from if the guest is doing anything illegal on your internet, which might happen. But 2. It captures everyone's email in the cabin.  [00:09:29] So, you're essentially taking digital marketing principles and applying it to brick and mortar business, which is the short-term rental stuff. Which is a little difficult to do, but if you can master that part, you can essentially capture your customers. So StayFi. Imagine like you're walking into a Starbucks, you walk into an airport and you have to enter in your email address to be able to get access to the wifi. It's the same idea here, but it's geared towards short-term rentals.  [00:09:52] So from there we use MailChimp to push out marketing emails, but we push out maybe seasonal emails, like three or four emails a year just saying, "Hey," like "this season's coming up" or "Valentine's day is coming up. Would you like to book with us?" [00:10:04] Originally, when you're starting off, you can just put your Airbnb link directly in there. But as a manager who wants to build a bigger short-term rental business, you can use this to sort of take people off of Airbnb, VRBO where they book initially with the short-term rental sites, but then you can build a platform on the backend to sort of capture direct bookings where you're not paying both. The guest is not paying the processing fees. And then same thing with the host. You're saving money on that end where you're sort of-- you have more control over the guests, which is what we realized is very important.  [00:10:38] Jason: Yeah. So you're shifting from just traffic that's fed to you by Airbnb and you're taking that traffic so that it doesn't always have to come back through that and creating your own traffic. It's traffic you own now.  [00:10:50] And for those emails that you capture, do you have any, like, even anecdotal data or information on how many rebook at the same property? Is that common? [00:11:00] Alex: It is pretty common. I don't have exact numbers on that. But we do see a boost in booking say like a couple days after we've pushed the email out. Right now we're still working on building out the backend platform.  [00:11:13] We're just pushing them directly back through Airbnb right now. But like, companies like Airbnb and VRBO have metrics that show like, "Hey, this person has rebooked with you this many times." And then people who are looking to get into more of an advanced system, we use Streamline, or we're going to be using Streamline. vacation, rental software is top of the line where you can syndicate all the top short-term rental sites, and then it sort of syndicates all the messaging too that comes from the different sites. So you have one platform which I really recommend doing. Like, if someone is coming up to a manager and saying, "Hey, I want to take over your property. What can you do for me?" The first thing I recommend is always: are they just on one platform? If they're just on Airbnb, if they're just on VRBO, there's already room for growth there by just putting it on a couple other platforms or putting more eyes on your property. [00:12:00] Jason: Yeah. Very cool. So Streamline for syndication is one of the things. You mentioned MailChimp for getting emails out periodically do your list or some sort of newsletter. What other tools are you using to kind of simplify the business?  [00:12:13] Alex: Right now, a digital guidebook is very effective. We like to essentially plan-- I sort of stole this idea. My wife and I had a vacation in Taloon beach on a resort. And when we arrived, the resort had practically planned our trip for us, where it's like, "Hey, if you want to do a cave diving trip, this is this. If you want it, this is what your day would look like. If you wanted to go visit the pyramids, this is what your day is going to look like. If you just want a chill day and just want to go visit restaurants, this is what your day could look like."  [00:12:43] So we did the same thing there where we plan maybe three to four days. Like here we have like over a hundred breweries in the city, so we do like a brewery day. We do a hiking day. We do a waterfall chasing day, and it's like all that's in the digital guidebook where you could put links to different things in the digital guidebook. And it's just sent out. The link is sent out with the check-in instructions. Same thing with you can get with local restaurants or local providers and be like, "Hey, can you give me like a 10% discount, and then I'll put it in my digital guide book where the guests can use almost like a QR code where you can just generate a QR code. Yeah.  [00:13:15] Jason: So for the digital guidebook, is this just like a Google document or is this like..? [00:13:21] Alex: We use a company called Hostfully. And Hostfully is specifically a short-term rental, digital guidebook. [00:13:28] Jason: Host fully?  [00:13:30] Alex: Yeah, Hostfully. Host and then F U L L Y. Yeah.  [00:13:33] Jason: Okay. Great. [00:13:34] Alex: Pretty cheap too, man. It's like, I think it's like 15, $20 a month per property.  [00:13:38] Jason: Got it. And so what advantages does Hostfully give you over just throwing it in a Google document, for example?  [00:13:45] Alex: The templates are super easy to use. You can also track like how many people are actually looking at it. I mean, I would say the templates, and then also, Hostfully does have a backend system just like Streamline. So. Streamline I believe it's a minimum of 15 properties if you're just starting off. Hostfully I believe is like $25 a month per property. Where it's the same type of syndication CRM, where it pushes out to the other short-term rental sites. So you can sync those two together.  [00:14:11] Jason: Got it. Yeah. I had a software company on one of my previous episodes. They were showcasing TripAngle. Tripangle.com. And he was talking about how they like reduce all the fees, connected Airbnb and all this stuff. So. Pretty cool. It might be worth listeners checking out that and checking out tripangle.com. I think he had mentioned something about Streamline the last time I talked to this gentleman too. So, some connections. [00:14:37] Alex: Streamline's a company standard. It's been around before Airbnb. Before VRBO blew up too. People forget like short-term rentals is not a new idea. It's just the access Airbnb has made it so much easier and VRBO too. Short-term rentals have been around for a very long time where people have to pick up a phone and book So like, I mean, people aren't missing the boat on that. I talk to a couple of people a week then it's like, is it too late to invest in short term rentals? [00:15:04] Like, no, it's not. Invest and manage both. It's continuing to grow, especially with COVID like people sort of stepped away from hotels a little bit, and they're more comfortable driving out a little further out where it's like, would you rather pay an extra $1500 to stay an actual house compared to a hotel? And same thing with like some of the larger properties that we manage. It's like we have families instead of booking, maybe two or three hotel rooms, they're just going to book one house and it almost comes out to be the same price.  [00:15:31] Jason: Nice. Yeah. For large groups it's hard to beat, you know, if you're doing a family reunion or something like that. It's pretty difficult. You're talking a whole bunch of hotel rooms or you get a 10 bedroom house. So, [00:15:42] Alex: One thing going back to the tools that just came to mind. This has helped us a lot when it comes to-- cause we are in a very strict short-term rental market in terms of like laws and zoning and everything. And one of the things that's helped us a lot. And this can help a lot of the managers who are looking to get into the space is using a company called NoiseAware and stacking that with a company called Party Squasher. And we mainly use NoiseAware compared to Party Squasher. You can combine the two but NoiseAware sort of, it hears-- it doesn't listen to everything. It doesn't listen into conversations, but it monitors the decibel level inside of the property.  [00:16:17] So if the guests are being way too loud or screaming since you get their phone number at booking, even if it's through Airbnb or VRBO, they get an immediate text message "Hey, you're being too loud. Could you please like quiet down?" Or something like that. Maybe a little bit more tactful than that. But that's been a very powerful tool for us and especially approaching the county. It's like the biggest thing neighbors think about is like, oh my God, when they think Airbnb they think like, oh my God, there's gonna be just parties next door all the time. So.  [00:16:44] Jason: Right. Destroy the neighborhood.  [00:16:46] Alex: Right.  [00:16:47] Jason: So, yeah, that's pretty interesting. So they get a text message. Do they reply to this and do you see their messages? Or like, what the hell? You know,  [00:16:55] Alex: But what we do, there's like a whole list of things. So Stayfi, what I mentioned earlier also allows you to see how many devices are connected to the wifi. So. [00:17:06] Jason: Right, so if there's like a thousand, you know there's some rager going on. [00:17:09] Alex: Granted, you might have your laptop. Like one guest will have a phone, a laptop, So two, three devices, maybe an iPad too, a tablet. But if like the property sleeps six people and there's 30 people attached to the wifi. [00:17:21] We also have like an outdoor facing camera just at the driveway too. So say if we do get a say, cause we can set it up to where we get the noise notification as well. So from there, we just look at our cameras and say, oh, okay. There's 50 cars in the parking lot, and this place sleeps six people. And then from there, we can either text "Hey, like you're not supposed to have..." or we can reach out to Airbnb directly. We've never really dealt with that issue, but the systems are in place just to make sure. [00:17:48] Jason: And it's largely probably the screening process at the outset that you have in place to prevent that. Right. So you mentioned NoiseAware you couple it sometimes with Party Squasher, is that what you said?  [00:17:59] Alex: I personally haven't used it, but some other guests have recommended it to me. I haven't-- I have almost no experience in that, but I've seen it a lot mentioned on different short term rental podcasts and some of the books that I've read too. [00:18:10] Jason: Okay. Cool.  [00:18:11] Alex: I Don't know what it does on the backend but...  [00:18:13] Jason: Yeah, I don't either. Okay, cool. But it probably prevents parties, which is probably a big concern, like, parties happening, the NoiseAware and the Party Squasher. All right. Cool. Any other tools or systems that you utilize in managing your rentals to make sure things go smoothly. [00:18:32] Alex: Going back to the cleaning crew just a good line of communication is very important. Making sure that you are choosing a cleaning crew or cleaning company that can grow with you. A lot of the time, you don't want to be teaching your cleaning crew how to clean short-term rentals because what I realized initially, and just with the labor shortage that's happening right now is a lot of people, like my cleaning crew stopped taking on new clients, not new properties, just new clients. [00:18:58] It's difficult to try to switch the mindset of approaching a cleaner that takes care of properties. Say for just cleaning people's properties like our property manager or our cleaning crew specifically deals in short-term rentals, a company that is used to turning a property two, three times a week if need be.  [00:19:17] Another thing I'd recommend is-- it might affect your bottom line a little bit, but it might outweigh the amount of time that you put on a specific property. Because of COVID, we stopped taking on one day bookings, which we were taking a lot of, one day bookings prior to COVID and that sort of just came out of my cleaning crew couldn't handle the work from the one day bookings, but what I realized is looking back, we've been doing that for four or five months since we stopped taking one day bookings, a lot of our problems, a lot of our questions, a lot of our bandwidth was taken up by one day guests. And I sorta understand it's like a lot of the times they were just coming in at like, say 8, 9, 10 PM. And they have to check in at 10:00 AM the next day. They don't really get to enjoy the property too much. You get those late night texts a lot too, from the one day guests compared to a guest staying 3, 4, 5, sometimes a week with you. [00:20:10] Sometimes those are the quietest guests where you don't hear anything from them. Maybe a couple of questions here and there. But what I saw was a lot of my issues, a lot of my people requesting refunds or whatever was coming from one day guests. So for people who are already in the short-term rental space, I'd play around to see. And what I also realized too, was like, sometimes that one day guest will book in the center of the week on the Wednesday, which blocks someone from booking that entire week. So if someone's in the short term rental space play around with seeing, maybe just do it with one property and see how the property is affected.  [00:20:42] You might get a better tenant in there which is what we saw a better tenant by booking two, three days minimum compared to a one day. And what I also saw with if you're booking on Airbnb or VRBO, is the algorithm sort of adjusts based off that request of only accepting two or three-day bookings. They'll try to play with your schedule to show it to people who are only trying to book three days and sort of, like for most of our properties are fully booked up with no one day gaps in the schedule right now, after we've switched over from not taking one day bookings. [00:21:16] Jason: Yeah, that's interesting. I would imagine that would be really effective. Plus if you're able to get two and three day bookings to fill it up for the most part, you probably rather than a bunch of one days, you're probably between a one day and a three day. For example, you probably have similar operational costs. [00:21:34] Alex: That's been huge. And that's sort of just came that we discovered that by accident. Also, one of my mentors had told me, like we were operating for the first year, we were operating at like a hundred percent occupancy and he's like, "your prices aren't high enough. You shouldn't be at a hundred percent occupancy." And that rings true for any type of real estate asset. It's like, if you're at a hundred percent occupancy or hundred percent booked... [00:21:53] Jason: yeah. You haven't hit the limit yet on what you could get. [00:21:55] Alex: Right.  [00:21:56] Jason: If you're at a hundred percent,  [00:21:57] Alex: If it's multi family, self storage, whatever. It's like, if you're at a hundred percent, you got to raise your prices. [00:22:01] Jason: Yeah what's the occupancy rate you go for now instead of aiming for a hundred percent.  [00:22:07] Alex: So we raised our rates by 30%, if we can stick to the 85%, which is, I mean, if you look at like companies that look at like what to price your property as like rdna.co is probably another good a good tool for the audience that sort of helps you price out what the short-term rental will rent for rdna.co they look at if a property is anything over 75% that's looked at, like you're in a higher percentile compared to anything below that. [00:22:35] This is getting on the development side when we develop our properties, we underwrite them as long-term rentals. Just in case, if the zoning ever changed in the city, that it's an extra fail safe, it's an exit. That's worst case scenarios. If we have to book it out, has a long-term rental. It can cover the debt service and the expenses. If we need it.  [00:22:54] Jason: Smart. Yeah. I know when COVID hit, the short-term rental game got pretty damaged in the short term, right? And there was a lot of people like trying to shift and shuffle and get their properties into the long-term space.  [00:23:06] Alex: What I saw too is I had talked to someone. I realized that this was different. We use the term vacation rental and short-term rental pretty interchangeably, but sometimes people look at that as differently. If you're looking at the definitions of what I'm about to explain right now, vacation rentals is what I'm in right now. Sometimes short-term rentals can be looked at like 30 day plus stays, but not over six months. During COVID a lot of people were renting out to traveling nurses and they're still doing that is they're renting out to traveling nurses. Say you're not in a market where you have all these properties. You might be close to a very large hospital. [00:23:40] If you're close to a large hospital, you can go. There are short-term rental sites that are specifically geared towards nurses. And that's a lot of hosts sort of pivoted towards that during, when they weren't allowed to do short-term rentals. But the 30 day plus stay is a gray area. Almost all cities and counties cannot regulate short-term rentals for 30 days plus which is interesting. A lot of people are making good money just on that route.  [00:24:06] Jason: Yeah. I've talked to some property managers. One property manager mentioned that they do a lot of that extended stay it's in the short term sort of space, but they get a lot of people from overseas that are coming over that need a place to stay in the interim or they're coming for some sort of work thing, you know, they might be maybe from India coming to work for a tech firm or some of these things, and they need an extended place to stay for a few months while they're doing some sort of training, you know, things like that. And so, yeah, that can be a very profitable business. They're getting a lot more money than the standard rate on a property.  [00:24:43] Alex: And you had mentioned COVID. It'll be interesting to-- I've seen different projections on like once international travel really starts to pick up again. Prices or occupancy might drop, but it's going to be interesting to see, every market's going to be different, how that plays out because a lot of people did start using. They picked up Airbnb and VRBO during COVID where it's like, instead of staying in a hotel, they decided to book through Airbnb and VRBO for the first time. So it'd be interesting to see if those people, if the occupancy and the rates sort of stay the same once, international travel picks back up. [00:25:16] Jason: Yeah, that will be interesting. Well, cool. This has been really insightful and I'm sure those that are kind of dabbling or just getting into the short-term rental game will have picked up some cool ideas and some cool tips. Anything else that you think they might be interested in or that we could point out to property managers? [00:25:34] Alex: Yeah. I talk a lot about this stuff on my YouTube channel too. Alex Builds it's a little logo of a blue tree house. If they want to sort of dive deeper into the management side of it and the tool side they can check that out. And then also my website, Sargoninvestments.com they can, if they can't find that YouTube channel, they could find it through there too. [00:25:51] Jason: Awesome. Cool, Alex, I appreciate you coming on the show and thanks for sharing so many of your knowledge and insights, and I wish you continued success in your short-term game.  [00:26:03] Alex: Perfect. Thanks, Jason. [00:26:04] Jason: You bet. All right. Cool. Check him out on YouTube. He's got a cool little YouTube channel you know, going over investments short-term rentals. He talks about some cool ideas. Lending loans like how to play the game of short-term rentals. So check him out on YouTube. And for those that are interested in growing their property management business, be sure to check us out at doorgrow.com we're here to support you and your growth. We're especially really good at helping you not just add a bunch of doors without spending a bunch of money on marketing. [00:26:34] And we are helping. We have short-term rental clients, you know, in our program. Long-term rental clients are our most common target audience that we're helping build out their portfolio. But we also are helping on the operational side to be able to streamline the business and to become the entrepreneur that can run and have a team that makes your life easier so that you have more freedom, more fulfillment, more contribution, which means you're making a difference and doing things you really feel good about, and more support. And so if you feel like you're kind of scarce on those things, I call those the four reasons and you're really frustrated and you're banging your head against the wall with your team, then reach out. We can support you and help you in that. [00:27:17] You might be a really good candidate for our DoorGrow and Scale Mastermind which is really awesome. So anyway, check this out. And for those that are listening to this on iTunes or on YouTube, be sure to also join our free Facebook community, which you can get to by going to doorgrowclub.com and until next time to our mutual growth. Bye everyone. [00:27:42] You just listened to the #DoorGrowShow. We are building a community of the savviest property management entrepreneurs on the planet in the DoorGrowClub. Join your fellow DoorGrow Hackers at doorgrowclub.com. Listen, everyone is doing the same stuff. SEO, PPC, pay per lead content, social direct mail, and they still struggle to grow!  [00:28:09] At DoorGrow, we solve your biggest challenge: getting deals and growing your business. Find out more at doorgrow.com. Find any show notes or links from today's episode on our blog doorgrow.com, and to get notified of future events and news subscribe to our newsletter at doorgrow.com/subscribe. [00:28:30] Until next time, take what you learn and start DoorGrow Hacking your business and your life.

My guest today has a vacation rental strategy that is quite unique. Instead of buying or converting residential property into vacation rentals, he prefers to build cabins. Alex Jarbo is a short-term rental developer and manager. He's also a military veteran and the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments with a goal of building 650 cabins in the next three years. He's also the host of the popular YouTube channel “Alex Builds” where he teaches the ins and outs of short-term development and management. Today, Alex shares how he got into vacation rentals by putting his own apartment unit on Airbnb and sleeping in a car for three months so that he could afford to build his first cabin. We'll discuss the unique experience that cabins offer, as well as the amenities Alex likes to offer. I'll also obsess over the cleanliness and logistics of offering a hot tub. If you're interested in offering unique vacation rental experiences or want to understand the compelling financial reasons to do so, you'll love this conversation with Alex. You can find out more by going to https://sargoninvestments.com or check out “Alex Builds” on YouTube. Today's episode is brought to you by Green Property Management, now offering a $250 per unit project allowance to new clients in West Michigan. Text "Green250" to 21000, or visit them at https://www.livegreenlocal.com/. And RCB & Associates, helping Michigan-based real estate investors and small business owners navigate the complex world of health insurance and Medicare benefits. Visit https://www.rcbassociatesllc.com/ to learn more.

Join the Rent Roll Radio's host, Sterling Chapman, with his guests Alex Jarbo, who develops short-term rentals that is a hot topic currently with investors. Alex shares about how he's gotten into real estate especially into short-term rentals. He joined the military when he was 17 and got out by 22, from then on he's decided to move from Washington, D.C. to Asheville in North Carolina. Getting involved with a mentorship, Alex saw the potential of the cash flow in the field and decided to become a part of the business. He shares more about the details of short-term rentals, acquiring, and rehabilitating properties, and a forecast of what he thinks would be the future for short-term rentals too so stay tuned!    In this episode, you'll learn: What to look out for when developing Electricity amongst other challenges in rural areas Effects of saturation in an area according to Alex Keeping the exit in mind for the protection of investors The funding process on development projects. And many more!   About Alex Jarbo: Alex Jarbo is the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments. He is a regular contributor to some of the top real estate investing podcasts in the world. He is also the host of the YouTube channel Alex Builds where he teaches how to properly build and manage short-term rentals. Sargon Investments is a short-term rental resort development firm. We work to provide above-average, double-digit returns to our accredited investors.   Connect with Alex Jarbo!    Website: https://sargoninvestments.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alex.jarbo Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/alexbuilds1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magicboyjarbo  

Alex Jarbo, is a Vacation rental developer and host of the YouTube channels Alex Builds. He focuses on developing vacation rental complexes in Western North Carolina and partnering with investors to help them achieve above average real estate returns.Main Points:Why build cabins when purchasing a rental is much easier?Do you manage other people's properties or only your own? Why don't you manage other people's properties after you build them?In what areas do you like to invest?Do you take on any investors?How important do you think having an exit plan is for a property you own?How important do you think having an emergency fund for your short-term rental is?Connect with Alex:alexjarbousmc@gmail.comalexjarbousmc@gmail.com 

We're broaching quite a different subject for this week's episode. Today, we're talking all about vacation rentals—including how to invest in, develop, and manage vacation rental properties—with Alex Jarbo, a former marine turned real estate developer. Alex Jarbo is a former marine, real estate developer, and the Operations & Property Manager at Recession Proof Property Partners, where he handles the identification, procurement, and development of land and vacation rentals. He also has his own YouTube channel called Alex Builds, where he educates people on how to invest in, develop, and manage vacation rentals. On this episode, we talk about some of the most important things that the average investor needs to about vacation rentals, such as valuation, the specific problems of vacation rentals (e.g. cleaning, pest control), finding the right lender, and more. KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Access is an important factor to consider when choosing the right land to develop. 2. Finding the right investors to work with is the key to investing in vacation rentals. 3. When investing in a place where you don't live, taking out a second home loan is a great way to finance a vacation rental. LINKS https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/ https://www.instagram.com/magicboyjarbo/?hl=en https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN0sdWw5T6zP7-NG4p8Ry6g Want to invest in my deals? - Click Here to Find out More!

Alex Jarbo is a real estate agent and investor that specializes in custom-built short-term rentals. He also runs the YouTube channel, Alex Builds which details his process. In this episode, he tells us how he got started, what his strategy and returns are, and important things to consider if you are interested in getting started in the short-term rental game. Alex's channel and contact: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN0sdWw5T6zP7-NG4p8Ry6g Email: alexbuildschannel@gmail.com --- Before we jump into the episode, here's a quick disclaimer about our content. The Remote Real Estate Investor podcast is for informational purposes only, and is not intended as investment advice. The views, opinions and strategies of both the hosts and the guests are their own and should not be considered as guidance from Roofstock. Make sure to always run your own numbers, make your own independent decisions and seek investment advice from licensed professionals. Hey, everybody,   Michael: Welcome to another episode of remote real estate investor. I'm Michael Albaum. And today with me, I have a guest, Alex Jarbo. And Alex is actually doing ground up development for short term rentals out on East Coast market. So he's going to be talking to us about what that process looks like, and all the lessons he's learned along the way. So let's get into it.   Alex Jarbo, welcome to the podcast. Man. Thanks so much for taking the time to hang out with me.   Alex: Oh, thanks for having me on, Michael.   Michael: Now. No, I appreciate you. So give everybody a little bit of background on who you are, where you come from, and what is it that you're doing in the real estate space, because I know that it's very interesting. Let's bring everybody up to speed.   Alex: Yeah, so I'm originally born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. My parents grew up in Detroit and then my parents moved to like 20-25 minutes north of Detroit. During the Marine Corps when I was like 18 years old did that for like five years, I was stationed in Washington DC, that time it was like time to leave the Marine Corps. I decided that I want to be in real estate got my real estate license in North Carolina, moved to Asheville, North Carolina, right out of the military, and then I sort of dabbled around in real estate flipping properties.   Didn't really like that too much did the real estate agent thing for a little bit made some good money but I was I was helping investors sort of find Vacation Rentals instead of, and I realized like okay, let me let me try like purchasing some. So we had some money saved up and I went out and started like looking for vacation rentals in this area. Or like properties that would do well as like short term rentals and stuff didn't really find anything that wasn't like crazy overpriced. This is like even before like the COVID lockdown and then so we just decided to build we just decided to build our first cabin which ended up being an a-frame took took about a year to get that done just because we were like my first build and just learning everything and then from there like we started renting it out and started doing really well and then like one turn into four and then four turned into not like next year so we're breaking ground on four this year and then we have 24 plan for next year.   Michael: Holy smokes it sounds like these cabins are just having like little cabin babies.   Alex: Yeah. We just took took the class cashflow and just rolled it into the next board took our like I took on investment money for the first time with with the like to have the cabins and then all the all the properties we're doing next year with investment money. So like with other people's money, oh,   Michael: Man, that's frickin awesome. I love how you just said, Oh, this thing isn't working over here. So let me just go build my own. Most people say oh, it's not working like Screw it. Real Estate sucks. It's I can't do it.   Alex: No, no, absolutely not. And I mean that the model that we're following now really has been I mean, like solidified with like with COVID, because we had a lot of like out of town, people moved to this area that are working remote. And that sort of drove real estate and that's driving real estate prices up everywhere. But that drove real estate prices up here now. And it's like, if I try to go out and find a vacation route right now like I'm competing with people who also want to live in the home, we build all of our homes a stick built permanent foundation. And the reason we do that is just so like it's just as a built in exit strategy there so we we build them as normal, like single family house for the most part, like they're still built as unique cabins, like a-frames log cabins, something something unique about the architecture. But if like for some reason, like 5-10 years down the road or the city, like decides to one like the county one day decides randomly to not allow short term rentals in the city or the county. Then like we do have an exit strategy there.   Michael: So yeah, that's awesome. And so that first one that you built and rented out, was that a short term rental? Was that your traditional long term?   Alex: Yeah, no, it was a short term right out of the gate. We had designed it as a short term rental and then we saw how good those numbers were that were just like I was I never really underwrote the property myself. I just figured that we underwrote it as a long term rental like okay if it doesn't work out, we can put a renter in there and just cover the mortgage and maybe cash flow a couple $100 but I mean the cash flow like for October's like five grand for the small cabin. That's like that's net in our pocket.   So yeah, I was I was curious to see like, I was You know, I've never done my numbers on this before because it's been renting out for like a year and a half a little over a year and a half now, I was like, let me let me do like annual numbers and see like, what actually would have like if like, let me do the cap rate, let me do the ROI. And like, just with, like, I didn't have an investor with that property. So like, my cap rate was like 26%. My, yeah, my ROI was like 80 something percent, like for the whole year, I'm like, oh, okay, I think we are working here.   Yeah, so that's what I put together, I started putting together like a YouTube channel and sort of talking to some people. Like just some, like close friends and stuff, who had some money saved up and they wanted to do something. And then I just just pitched him the idea of like doing like, right now what we do is like, we sort of pivoted from doing like one or two cabins at a time to like doing six at a time. So we do like these small vacation rental complexes, but there's still like stick build permanent foundation owns, like we purchase six to 10 acres. And then we subdivided into three plots. And then we put three primary homes on it. And then three accessory dwelling units are like mother in law suites that are detached, like in the back, like up maybe like 100 or 200 meters away. That way we get away with doing six at the same time, but it's three separate parcels. So safely, something comes up and we need to sell one of the properties are safe, like an investor wants to back out or something. We can also like give them back their money.   But yeah, it's like we the 24 that we're doing next year, we have like 455 investors lined up for those for those 24 cabins and it's four separate communities. So…   Michael: Man, this is incredible. So I'm curious on that very first one, did you finance the build with a construction loan? Did you go all cash then he didn't have investors walk us through how you got that done?   Alex: Yeah, and I sort of briefly talked about this on my YouTube channel. But we we started with like a second home loan, essentially I had my license technically was still in Michigan, like where I'm from, and then my wife, we'd live separate for a little bit until just like until her job allowed her to work remotely full time. So we were allowed to get away with doing a second home loan second home loan construction loan. Just because I had an established residency here in North Carolina, I didn't know if I was going to be here long term either. So technically, like my address was still in Michigan.   But a lot of people a lot of posts that I talked to now sort of that's how they get into this space, whether it be building or with with just purchasing an already built home for vacation while purposes they do it as a second home loan, and other lenders are fine with it. Like if it's a second home loan, it's rented out as an Airbnb that's what everyone's doing. It's like they'll stay in it two, three weeks a year and then for the rest of the time they'll just rent it out just to cover their mortgage.   So yeah, that's that's how we started we did a two time close loan, which there are negatives and positives to that so it's essentially a construction loan for a year and then you refinance into a permanent like 30 year fixed which is what we ended up doing.   Michael: That's awesome. And so can you walk us through some of the numbers on what did it cost to build because I think a lot of people just assume that building ground up is more expensive than buying existing which is why more people maybe don't do ground up.   Michael: Right. Like you're a little bit of the head like headache comes with it if you're just like starting with it, but but it felt like it fell on us we're just like okay, we're either gonna overpay for a property that's not 100% perfect and it's gonna need some work anyways, so we're like instead of renovating a home for three to six months, why don't we just build one like from scratch and we'll take like 12 to 14 months. So what are our numbers these numbers again, these are numbers that were prior to COVID so like with like materials and everything going up but our first Kevin the first Kevin we built for 202 and that the 202 means it was also like furnish the land cost about 50,000 and then it cost around like 135 130,000 a build it's only an eight it's like an 830 square foot cabin, which sounds small but if you actually like if you actually see it like it's an open floor concept pocket doors everywhere so no doors are opening in and out we just really tried to optimize the space like.   It's funny like we just the furniture sort of decided what when you're building these cabins like these smaller cabins, the furniture like decides what the house sort of looks like so it's like you have to like have your furniture planned out before you start designing the home but yeah, we that that cost It costs around like 202 to three to build and furnish.   And then yeah, we started we just started renting it out. We've been we've been 100% occupied for the last a year and a half. I mean besides maybe like, one or two days that we've taken for like maintenance days or like to just do some like extra work on the cabin. Like I already mentioned my cap rate was like 25% for that first year without an investor. And then my ROI was about like 80%   So like the nice thing about our market which If I do decide to invest in a different market and this market is year round I'm here like people like to be in the mountains year round we have the I'm in Asheville, North Carolina so we have like the breweries here but we also have like the Biltmore Estate, which people actually come for like in the winter and stuff people like to hike in the winter too so with Yeah, it's like I accidentally stumbled upon like a year round market now we do have like busier seasons and stuff so like October November in my opinion are our busiest seasons because it leaves season like with all the leaves, changing colors, it just like turns like yellow orange reds and stuff. So   Michael: That's incredible. So while you were talking, I just pulled out my calculator and ran the numbers on your dollar cost per square foot, which is about 160 bucks a square foot   Alex: Yeah, and I would say right now I'm pricing out these other properties that we did it's closer to 200 a square foot Okay, which is a pretty big jump but it's nothing it's nothing like compared to like if you're building in like California, like our lender that we're using now for the bigger projects next year. They're based out of California and it's like my entire 660 unit project is about like a $2 million bill compared to like something in California which like a single family house could cost that.   Yeah, So yeah, we're around like 200 square foot or and so like this the first six that we're doing next year, it's anywhere between 400 square foot all the way to 2600 square foot so it's like there's a big range there. Like some cabins can only sleep like two people but the biggest cabin can sleep like eight to nine people.     Michael: Oh my gosh that's awesome. So you take on investors you do the build and then do you turn around and sell them for the investors and then you manage them talk to us a little bit about the whole business model.   Alex: Yeah, so that we self manage and that's that's part of the business model is we take we we take on the investor money and then we don't take a development fee, we're a full partner throughout the whole thing it's a it's a long term play we don't we don't we're not selling them so that the hold is about 10 years I just that's a pretty round number. If I can refinance say like at the five year mark, I will just to give the investors back their money but I think my projections I've done for my last the last three projects were like two and a half years to get your money back from when your initial investment from when when they're fully built so about it takes about a year to fully build the project three and a half years to get your initial investment back and that's not including the refinance to pull out money say like they want to another initial investment back essentially or we can take that money and go do other projects with it. And also that doesn't include principal pay down that doesn't include if if we do want to sell like in 10 years like so. Yeah, they're getting their money back four or five times over six times over I would say so.   Michael: That's amazing. That's absolutely amazing. So what do you tell people that are trying to get into the short term rental business? Do you tell them hey, you know go start go do ground up development because it works really really well.   Alex: It's all dependent on your risk and what type of headache you want. Like so   Michael: You're getting headaches it just depends what kind   Alex: Yeah so like that was a that was the biggest reason why I started the YouTube channel was like to detail every single part of the ground up is is not as stressful as people find it I would say the hardest part is just making sure that you have a builder like a competent builder that's also comfortable and take it on   Michael: Competent being the main key   Alex: Yeah, absolutely. And another another thing is like when you're approaching a builder like and you're you're looking to do maybe if you're just on the like if you're just trying to do like what we first did which is like an 800 square foot cabin make sure the builder knows that upfront like you're they might not want to take on a project that small um so yeah, I would say getting into it just making sure that you have a competent builder but also an agent like when you go start to look at land.   And stuff to make sure that you have an agent that deals specifically in buying and selling land, which we have in this area. So like I went to Google and just type in like land agent Asheville and there are there are agents everywhere that only specifically deal in land save like you're in the rural parts of like the city that you live in. So that that's huge. It's just like you can you can leverage all their knowledge all their context when it comes to finding the right piece of land.   Access is the biggest thing for us. So making sure that our guest isn't driving like 20 minutes down a gravel road, especially if they're arriving at night. So like we look at we look for like properties that are like parcels of land that are attached to like state maintained like double lane roads and stuff, especially if we're building six cabins. So like the six cabins we're building, the first six we're building next year that All if all those cabins are fully like maxed out on, like the amount of guests that can sleep in, they're all rented out. It can sleep up to 34 people a night, like all six cabins together, so you got to think of like 34 people going up and down that road, it can't be a single lane, gravel road.   Michael: Right.   Alex: So that even even if you're building only one cabin, you got to think of like the guest experience, like do like do you really want your guests who maybe is arriving at night to be like going up, like 20 minutes up a gravel road, and they've never been to this cabin, and they lose reception like, like, so it's like, that's the biggest thing when we first look at even building the access to the lands important, which means before like part of the due diligence before we even go under contract is driving out to the land, because it might look cool on on the MLS and might look cool when we're looking at it with the agent like on the computer, when we're looking like at the GIS maps, like the satellite images, but you might not know like, maybe it's just that, like, it's an absolute terrible commute to even get to the land. So it's very important to drive up there, too.   Michael: That makes so much sense. And so are you using the same agent and the same builder like the same team for all of your builds? Or do you find Do you bid out all your projects?   Alex: So different subs, same builder, I wouldn't say we have an agreement with the builder that we have is just like we're sort of like, we've become his exclusive client. Because we we I went to him, I'm like, hey, like 24 projects next year, like I'd like to be a priority here. Which makes sense. So yeah, we use the same builder, same agent, for the last two that we did was the same agent, I'm licensed in this area as well. But it does help to have someone that only deals in land. And like the land agent that we use has like experience with like buying and selling for their clients like up to like, under 200 acres. So like our 10 acre parcel isn't really a big deal compared to like, some of the larger projects they build. So yeah, same team, for the most part, it's just the subs are going to be different because we bid everything out after that.   Michael: So Alex, can you speak to now that the building is built, you've got your short term rental built, or maybe you go and buy one, what's what are some things that you're doing to kind of set yourself apart without giving away the secret sauce, but that, you know, investors should be thinking about or be aware of, of things they could do in their own short term rental.   Alex: Yeah, and playing off the title of this podcast, you got to decide if you're, if you're going to be worse, if you're going to be doing it remotely like out of state or if you're if you're living in the city, you also got to decide if you're going to self manage compared to if you're going to hand it off to a manager, you're going to hand it off to a manager, that's easy, you just give it to them they handle everything. Um, there are more and more tools that are coming out now that allow remote real estate investors to be able to handle this themselves.   A good example of that is like when I when my wife and I recently went to Tulum, Mexico, I almost everything was handled from my phone like nothing crazy it happened there. So I would say the if you're going to self manage, which I'd honestly recommend because like right now managers is a good manager will take about like 25 to 30% of gross, which is a lot. I would recommend like trying to do it on your own. Start with the cleaning crew find a cleaning crew that specifically deals in short term rentals. If you're just starting out, I wouldn't like go out and try to hire a cleaning crew like find find a company that already handles short, short term rentals, they're going to be sort of like where the gravel meets the road there.   The cleaning crew helped helps with like save something's broken, like my cleaning crew will like take a picture and send it to me and I sent it directly to Airbnb or wherever I'm renting from they, my calendar directly links to my cleaning crews calendar. So like if there's an update on a booking or like if, if a new booking comes through, they automatically see it. So I would say cleaning crew number one.   Have some contacts. I like a plumber and electrician, like just like three or four contacts there just in case something does come up at the cabin. The nice cool The cool thing about new construction is for about the first year you don't really have to worry about too much maintenance, because they are brand new homes. And then on top of that it's just leverage leveraging the technology like we use. We use a service called Smart B&B that automates all of the messaging. So I'd say 80% of my messaging is automated, where like sending, sending and checking instructions, checking up on the guest sending out checkout instructions, and then everything like the last 15 to 20%. Like if I do like something some days will pass where I don't I don't look at we'll look at the Airbnb app, but it's like some days will pass where I don't even touch my like, contact the guests at all because they're having a good stay without me having to do anything. So messaging is important, Smart B&B.   And then right now we recently started implementing stay fi which is like an online marketing platform where it's like an email capture. So like say if you like go to an airport, you go to, like a mall, you have to put in like your email address before you have access to the internet. And that sort of protects us. Like if they're doing anything like sketchy on our internet, that that will protect us. But it also captures their email, it captures everyone's email in the cabinet as well. So it's like one listing, if five people are staying in the cabin, that's five emails there. So you're building an email list there. And then we just re we're gonna start remarketing, to these guests who have already stayed with us. And the goal is to be able to take them off of the Airbnb platform and sort of run them through our platform. That way, we sort of have more control over the guests, like the the guests, and also, they're going to be paying less in service fees, because I believe right now, like the service fee on the guests adds like 15% for Airbnb, which it's getting higher and higher.   And it's like, they take 3% from the host, which is not too much, but 15% from the guest, and it recently went up like like a year and a half ago. And like now I like there isn't really a week that passes by, and that we don't get at least like a potential guests or to complain about the price prior to booking. Like they're like them asking for a deal. So that didn't happen for the first year where you're renting it out. And it recently started to happen in the last six months, where like a lot of people are complaining about the price where we don't really have too much control over it, like of the service fee. So that sort of really opened my eyes to like, Hey, I think we there there has to be a way to sort of start getting, like controlling, controlling the guest experience essentially.   Michael: Totally. Well, I mean, I feel like it's very similar to a rental car, you say, Oh, it's 25 bucks a day. And then I'm renting for three days, and then you get your bill and it's $700. Like, wait, what, how did that happen. Sur charge   Alex: Yeah, why is my security deposit more than my rental. Yeah, yeah.   Michael: It's crazy. That makes a ton of sense. I think that's frickin genius. I think that is genius.   Alex: We were thinking about it like last, the service that we use Stayfi recently came out like in the last six months, but we're I was trying to figure out how to do that, like I want because like with any business online or offline, like real estate to offline, for the most part, you have to build a list in some in some type of way. Even if you do long term rentals, like building a list, building a waitlist is super important. So that's our way of end like we're essentially getting paid to build our email list here. Where it's like the guest is paying us to stay at the cabin, and we get their email. And we're also helping them out. Because if they do decide to book through us compared to Airbnb, they are saving money on the service we sell.   Michael: So yeah, so did you set up a direct website for us specifically, or is third party,   Alex: We're building a website right now to help bring those like people in so like we're building the list right now. But for all of our future cabins, all of that is built into like the budgeting and everything. So..     Michael: That is incredible, man. But Alex, anything else that folks who are getting into the short term space should be aware of things you know where that you've seen things go south or sideways for short term rentals.   Alex: Oh, when it comes to utilities, make sure that you have like, when you're purchasing the land, I would say the land is probably the most important part is making sure that you have access to utilities, when it comes to like, you get like, here we're a little bit we invest in more rural areas about like 15 to 20 minutes away from downtown. So let's like the first cabin that we built, we needed like an electricity easement from the neighbors to be able to run electricity to our property. And it took about like six months to build that. Or to get that we built that entire first cabin with a generator, which is crazy to think about now.   Thinking about utilities, electricity Internet's a big one, making sure that you have like, even if you're doing Satellite Internet to like make sure that like you, you take down the right trees, or you know where the internet is going to be at. So when you start building. Yeah, making sure just making sure on the management side making sure that you are able to the right people are in place. So like before you if you're looking to get into like a specific market, making sure that the builder like you can find the right builder, you can find the right cleaning crew that that's going to be super, super important and just you building unique properties. If you're going the building route.   What I'm seeing is and I started this way, like I started with the master leasing thing where it's like you you rent out a property from a lot like an owner and then put it on Airbnb and sort of split the profits there or at least pay that rent. That's how I started. That's how a lot of people started. That's how I saved money to sort of do the my first build. But what I'm seeing is investors like I already mentioned are coming into these markets and sort of really bidding up the properties which is driving down returns, and they're just they're purchasing normal properties and just putting them on the market. There isn't any really draw to them or any type of appeal, they're not really unique in any way. So I would say for the listeners, though, if you're going to go the building route to like really focus on building a unique property where the property itself is an experience outside of the city, like that the guest is visiting. So that's sort of like my company thesis, for the most part is building unique properties that will, like draw guests to these properties and sort of set you apart from the 1000s of listings in your market.   Michael: Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. I have a couple Airbnbs over in Portugal, and we're getting it furnished right now. Beautiful. Yeah, it's awesome. But I was chatting with a property manager about furnishing it. And he goes, Michael, I swear to God, if you put a single trolley car picture in your house, it is not going to work with you, because that's what everybody does. Everyone. Portuguese is very famous. So you have to set yourself apart. I think that makes tons of sense.   Alex: Absolutely.     Michael: That makes sense.   Alex: Yeah. And I mean, you can't like, like thinking of that, like, before you even like when you're designing the property is super important. Because like, yeah, change the structure once it's fully right. So.   Michael: Right, right, right. Yeah. Cool. And Alex, my last question for you is how do you think about or how do you go about getting ahead of political changes or county ordinance changes? What's the best way to get informed about that if someone is trying to buy a short term rental?   Alex: Yeah, I would say number one, look up your your county city's zoning laws before you go in there. So in the city of Asheville, currently, you can't have vacation rentals, but in the county you can, in the city you can't so we invest in the county that sort of helps us a little bit to Asheville is a drive in city where a lot of our guests were coming in are driving in they're not flying here. Um, so they don't mind the 15 20 minute drive. Getting Ahead getting ahead of it, it's just like call up your planning department and just ask them what the zoning laws are.   What we do to on top of that, to protect us is we like Like I said, we keep the property separate. Where we subdivide, we're all say like, all six of our properties aren't on the same parcel say if we do need to sell, but we also underwrite our properties as long term rentals, like when it comes to like, we make sure that if we put a long term rental in our property that it will be able to cover the mortgage payment or at least break even if not cashflow a couple $100 a month. And that's like, that's like Plan C when it comes to the vacation rental stuff is underwriting them as a long term rental, which some coasts might not agree with. But that's just been with me taking on investor money, I need to be like 100 like very, very conservative when it comes to like, Plan B Plan C plan D So   Michael: Yeah, I think that makes sense. That's that's what I've said for years too because you know, I don't know how somebody could disagree with that methodology because you seeing this this Airbnb going away in numerous cities like Monterey, California, you can't have short term rentals. So what are you going to do if you just bought a property there so I don't think saying it could never happen here is a realistic adage   Alex: Yeah, no, I had spoken to a host that had like I think 2020 listings in Detroit where I'm originally from and the the mayor of Detroit at the time had done an Airbnb ad like he had he had been on an Airbnb ad like like telling people like hosts and stuff to like essentially come to Detroit like Airbnb is welcome. And then like a year later, it'll leave a year later, like Detroit just decides to get rid of Airbnb. So it's like like you like you? Yeah, and he had he had worked with the city and I forgot what he had done to sort of grandfather himself in but um yeah no you're completely right there is is like plan for the worst when it comes to this stuff because like, again, like the the mayor of the city was on an Airbnb commercial. Like and they still they still change their laws. So.   Michael: Wow, yeah, I can't really happen anywhere. Alex might my truly last question for you is how can people find out more about you? Where can they get in touch with you? Where can they come invest with you if that's something you're open to?   Alex: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we're, we're we're building out we're growing pretty rapidly right now. So if they want to, if they want to check out my YouTube channel, it's called Alex Builds. The little icon to find it is like a little treehouse or blue treehouse. Or they can email me directly at Alexbuildschannel@gmail.com so it's alexbuildschannelchanel@gmail.com. I'll be I'll answer any questions that anyone has some   Michael: Fantastic man This was absolutely awesome. Thank you so much for coming on and taking the time really appreciate it and curious see how this next build turns out.   Alex: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks, Michael.   Michael: Alrighty, everybody, that was our episode a big big, big thank you to Alex. I hope I wasn't being too too much of a fanboy the whole time. I was like, what this guy is doing is unbelievable. So definitely go back. Give this episode another listen to if you're at all considering getting into short term rentals. If you liked the episode, feel free to leave us a rating or review wherever it is, listen, your podcasts We look forward to seeing the next one. As always, happy investing      

The future of travel is in unique experiences. And the more Instagrammable your short-term rental listing, the more likely you are to succeed in the long term. So, what if you could design your space from the ground up, building your own A-frame, log cabin or tree house to rent out on Airbnb? Alex Jarbo is an Airbnb Superhost out of Asheville, North Carolina, who builds his own unique vacation rental properties. He is also the host of Alex Builds, a YouTube channel dedicated to documenting his journey as a vacation rental developer and manager. On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Alex joins me to explain what inspired him to build his own vacation rentals, walking us through the process of buying land and sharing his checklist of things to consider before you build. He offers advice on finding the right architect and contractor for your job and working with lenders to finance a STR build. Listen in for insight on navigating county zoning laws to secure the proper permitting for your Airbnb and get his advice for hosts looking to build their own unique short-term rental properties! Topics Covered What inspired Alex to build his own STR propertiesGot into bidding wars for homes on marketRealized could design to be vacation rental The process of buying land to build STR propertiesFind real estate agent specializing in landSecure necessary permitting Alex's insight around county zoning lawsMake sure land zoned for vacation rentalsCounty website, talk to local authorities Things to consider when you buy land for STRsAccess to state-maintained roadAccess to electricityAvailability of satellite TV/internetAbility to accept septic systemDepth of water well Alex's advice around finding an architectConnect through FiverrPurchase pre-made plans Alex's tips for working with contractorsBe sure passionate about unique housesChoose one who communicates wellSet up closing draw or line of credit Working with lenders to finance an Airbnb buildHost Financial (uses AirDNA projections)Use regular home loan, live there for 6 mos. Alex's advice for hosts looking to build STRsResearch to find perfect landUniqueness of property is key Connect with Alex Alex Builds on YouTubeAlex on AirbnbEmail alexbuildschannel@gmail.com Resources FiverrAlex's Video on Finding an Architect for Airbnb BuildsDen OutdoorsHost FinancialAirDNAAlex's Video on Financing Your STR with a Regular Home LoanHost Financial on Get Paid for Your Pad EP315STR LegendsGet Paid for Your Pad on YouTubeEmail jasper@getpaidforyourpad.com Sponsor Hostfully [Discount Code PAD] See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.