Buying an Abandoned Motel for Airbnb?? (it just might work)

[@MP-te6hk]

This type of vlog style video is much more valuable I find :)

[@imrichardfertig]

Good!

[@LaughingOakFea]

I read about a guy in Nashville who bought a broken down and condemned 8 unit apartment building and turned those units into high end short term rental units. Ever since hearing that have been on the multi unit bandwagon. I LOVE this idea Brother. I hope you CRUSH IT using this as a short term rental

[@trailerparksupervisor7046]

How’s it working out for you?

[@LaughingOakFea]

@@trailerparksupervisor7046 I changed my business focus, instead of short term rentals I changed up all my units into corporate rentals and was almost 100% rented out during the pandemic.. It worked so well during the pandemic I did great.

[@trailerparksupervisor7046]

@@LaughingOakFea thanks for the update

[@anneoreilly4900]

This ad hoc style is more appealing than the staged "after" videos. Charles did a great job.

[@moniqueramirez3202]

Great video! Thank you for taking us along for real questions and answers...its the real time process that helps us all.

[@imrichardfertig]

So glad you found it helpful Monique. We have some more stuff coming up you'll enjoy.

[@robthewaywardwoodworker9956]

Wow this looks like a great project! Being a professional designer, I find the initial phases of something like this (as well as the potential finished product) fascinating. Looking forward to seeing if you get this bad boy off the ground.

[@julieramos7738]

This is awesome! You give us so much knowledge! Thank you!

[@mikestevens2053]

Clarify the meaning of the "50% rule" in this area. In our (highly regulated/urban) area for example, one can spend unlimited amounts of $$ renovating an existing structure; issues of percentage only kick in when you're talking about completely rebuilding but you wish to take advantage of structure-specific zoning or code conditions which are no longer allowed ("grandfathering"). I'm not your civil engineer, but I suspect you could do quite a lot of renovating as long as you stay within the basic footprint and height profile of the existing structure. Depending on the extent of renovations needed, you could of course find your renovation costs exceed the cost of new construction of a similar structure, and renovation costs are always harder to predict than those of new construction. Still might be worth doing however if justified by a decent margin of positive cash flow. You could also possibly renovate the entire exterior including windows but complete the interiors in vertical "stacks" to maintain occupancy. Good luck with whatever you decide!

[@neldaesmeralda5561]

I enjoy listening to the process.

[@Wire-Free]

Thanks for the updates and taking us along for an inside view of your thought process. Invaluable experience Richard! Lots of potential; curious what the insurance landscape is after the hurricane Florence (?)

[@upnorthkenny9674]

Great info your a lot like me lol I bought a Motel rehabbed it myself and I’m rated number one with in 100 miles surrounding me looking to move up one day I like your style good luck!!

[@phillyvoodoo]

Cool!!! Did you document your process??

[@swatisquantum]

How many keys? I’m in the same process.

[@janisareeves5935]

I'm looking to purchase my first property to AIRBNB, & your videos are so inspiring. 👌 👌 👌

[@imrichardfertig]

Thank you Janisa. Best of luck.

[@unico2162]

Yes I see it... keep as many units as possible, minimal renovation and stick to 50% This one is fun

[@parkex9840]

This is awesome! Shows some real challenges in real estate investing. Hope to get to your level one day.

[@azeemali7102]

key word "Research", wow this is awesome!

[@MarkBatchelder]

Do Airbnb rules allow this type of hotel property to be listed?

[@imrichardfertig]

Yeah that wouldn't be a problem. It will be a tailored experience for kiteboarders.

[@SirenaSpades]

Actually there is a property like this in my area. In fact, it's almost exactly like this :0 (not even hardly renovated)! Terrifying.

[@SirenaSpades]

This looks like a fun project. I'm familiar with the percentage rule (I'm a GC). In the superficial pictures shown, the place doesn't look that bad structurally or even inside, surprisingly- lol! I thought it was going to be awful from the thumbnail. Seems as though the damage on the outside might be due to climate. Good luck!

[@rarefindhomesllc3479]

Why would it be better to create AirBnB rooms with this instead of making it back into a motel? It seems way more effecient to just run it as a motel than try to AirBnB the rooms. It will still feel like a motel when people drive up for their reservation either way. Thanks for all the videos!

[@oOdOdY75Oo]

Lol, isn't that why it was abandoned in the first place? Second, I've seen people run motels with air bnb side bookings.

[@silvermushroom-gamifyevery6430]

@@oOdOdY75Oo - yeah, putting motel rooms on Airbnb seems like the rental analog to posting your ecommerce products on amazon despite having your own site, which makes sense for the same reason.

[@JamieTransNyc]

Because you do not need to employ staff to manage the place 24/7

[@rlinton123]

Very informative even for someone like me who loves to buy and renovate old properties. In fact I have an old abandoned motel on my list right now. I also tend to be the working contractor on all my projects. I do everything from electrical to the plumbing. I don't do roof or structural repair though. Well good luck with this project

[@RubberWilbur]

You'd be better to do weekly stays and not nightly. This will save you tons of money on labor, linen, security, etc. Basically you would be doing an extended stay bnb

[@nicholasvarro7382]

4 doors is definitely a no go! Rich your beyond practical knowledge is priceless!

[@BuckBreaker]

I'm at my beach house right now at Ocean Isle. It was the 33rd house built on this island. The house to the right looks like some post modernist crap out of Malibu and to the left is a sky scraper of a 'home'. Your property has the same feel as my cottage and I dig the throwback, rustic feel. It's not all super fancy, sleek or ornate. And from Coolangatta to Santa Monica to Hawaii to Bali I see the same theme. Rich investors build huge properties and the towns lose that classic chill beach vibe. This place has potential to keep that vibe and be something really special that is affordable. Best wishes with this. I'll come check it out next Spring if everything pans out.

[@markgaterbondifinancialguy3885]

From Coolangatta. Are you Australia?

[@BuckBreaker]

@@markgaterbondifinancialguy3885 I’ve visited the White mans paradise and Oz is beautiful. I live in America.

[@LegendaryRob]

Incredibly helpful. Thank you.

[@aga2353]

so did you go through with it? Is there a follow up?

[@40EntrepreneurDrive]

With a property that is actually abandoned ‐meaning there's no lockbox on the front door-no agent or owner to communicate with‐ how do you go about getting an inspection and evaluating the ARV? There's an abandoned property in my city that I'm interested in. It's been boarded up for about 4 years now. It's in obvious disrepair. I'm doing my due diligence by utilizing my local tax assssor, but if I'm not able to get in contact with the owner how would I go about getting an inspection done and seeing what all needed to be repaired or renovated?

[@Neilly671]

Awesome work Richard and good luck with your project!!

[@mattpresley3773]

I’m from NC and have a good bit of experience in building and I think the 50% rule isn’t being understood correctly unless it’s different in my area. It’s not 50% of the cost of the project but you can’t demo more than 50% of the structure.

[@MrMonalindav]

On the first remodel...

[@clreed4894]

UR giving me chills...

[@brayhillhouse2049]

Super! You got to look into that 50% rule. Maybe you can get a variance. Is your Civil Eng. local?

[@Endeavor545]

If it were mine, I think I would make it clean, safe, and fun. If it's then affordable too boot, then I personally think you could airbnb it all day long.

[@jefffeltes9309]

Is that 50% rule for a one time renovation? Or can you spend more after a certain amount of time to do more renovating?

[@Radhatter1]

Would you consider consider creating a 260 room Exclusively Airbnb 3/4 star hotel in Hong Kong or is that too niche？ The units would be 25/30 and 38 sq meter in size no loung or kitchens so not apartments as such. Hotel rates for that segment are US200 per unit the Airbnb rates would be around 66/70 US$ my sense is it wouldnt cover the construction costs？

[@mivacalola]

I believe in your project, good luck!

[@XCALIBURSHOES]

Gotta know your break even budget for rehab. And assume 50% occupancy at 20% lower than average rates. You could get killed on a deal like this. The downside is tremendous.

[@ThePeterDislikeShow]

I'm surprised it doesn't have squatters. It looks too nice.

[@KOHLKANE]

Are you still open and do you do any kind of long term stays???

[@michelle.B612]

Where can i find abandoned motels ?

[@alexanderorban8971]

I was gonna say this looks like the hotel from the show outer banks.

[@xBangBangChuChuTrain]

Does the 50% rule work in summation over multiple owners or years?

[@liasummers1824]

You're in great shape

[@landlord5552]

Careful, meaby it is a reason why house is emty in the first place.

[@aquarius9491]

Is that structure on a concrete foundation or posts ? It looks scary !! Sorry to say.

[@ChrisView777]

Awesome!

[@AR-zf7wu]

Where are all the numbers at? Just a bunch of talking

[@gonzocom]

VERY COOL

[@jvazquez_jjv]

love it

[@write2dawn]

Did the pandemic kill this project?

[@yourmastanalahqueen]

Most hotels are owned by foreigners

[@mystorymylife9998]

I only see a money pit. Even if you tear it down and rebuild, money pit. I just don't see people wanting to stay at that location.

[@imrichardfertig]

We ultimately decided against it for those reasons, but worth a shot! The zoning was beneficial to the area.

[@RubberWilbur]

exactly, money doesn't lie. If it were profitable, it never would have gone out of business in the first place.

[@Yourlife_94a]

@@imrichardfertig everything has be built on faith.

[@JamieTransNyc]

@@RubberWilbur Businesses fail all the time because of mismanagement, then someone else comes along and makes it succeed.

[@jimmyjo1998]

He looks like the dude from no country for old men, where’s your air compressor 😂

[@q.tips6981]

💠

[@Blog.annath]

Yeah it's haunted I bet

[@Tagg25]

Not liking the dog and thong slippers