Not only do I rarely post on Sundays, but I’m guessing you weren’t expecting the title of this post either! Surprise! So I’ll get right to it: I bought a house this week.
Now, a little back story.
It’s been a dream of mine for a few years to have a “Life On Virginia Street” house on a beach somewhere. A place I could rent out as an Airbnb to my blog readers as well as other travelers, and even use personally for vacations. It was always a big dream that was likely going to cost a lot of money (as beach homes usually do). It was also going to be a bit of a logistical nightmare renovating a house (likely the only way I could afford one), furnishing it, then managing a short-term rental from afar. But, I still started saving for a down payment in hopes it could someday become a reality.
Over the past few months, I’ve really spent a lot more time thinking about this idea. I still want the “big” version of the dream to happen. But, I also knew that I’d probably be a lot more comfortable with the idea, if I had a chance to practice first on a smaller scale. We started talking about the idea of a local short-term rental and starting small to get the ball rolling.
After doing some research, we narrowed down the area of town where we would ideally like to buy a property. I let our realtor know to keep an eye out for something that could be a good option. If you’re local, Megan Owens is a total dream and we’ve used her for the past eight or so years. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a realtor!
Things really snowballed this week. I texted Megan and set up an appointment to see a really cute brick Tudor she had found to see if it could be a possibility. We had a meeting scheduled for the next afternoon, but she texted me that morning that it was already under contract. The joys of a hot real estate market 😉 She texted an hour or so later with another option she found and we made plans to see it that night.
Wednesday night after teaching confirmation class, I met Megan in midtown to take a look at the house. Kurtis was actually in Dallas for a conference, so I had warned him ahead of time I may have to make an offer if I thought it could work out. He obviously understands just how quick things are moving and gave me the green light.
When we got to the house, there were two other couples looking at it at the same time us. It was the first property I had even looked at but, I still decided to make an offer. I didn’t actually have a ton of faith that it would be accepted, given the activity level and current market. However, I got a call on Thursday that my offer was accepted! Talk about a shock. I bought a house that Kurtis had never even seen (and maybe only briefly looked at online ahead of time). I texted him like, “Surprise! We have a house!”
We met our realtor yesterday afternoon to look at the house together. It was the first time I saw it in daylight and the first time Kurtis ever saw it. Probably a bit unusual, but we’ve found that with investment properties, it has to be a lot more about making the numbers work rather than emotional attachment to the actual house. We’ve been disappointed too many times before to know that!
We don’t have the inspection until the end of next week. So, technically nothing is final until that is done and we actually close on the property at the end of the month. But, I still wanted to share with you because if this one doesn’t go through for any reason, we’ll be aggressively pursuing another one shortly. So it’s happening either way (my words, not Kurtis’ 😉 ).
And here’s a little peek at the house. I’m calling it a “cottage” and I think I could bring a lot of really great curb appeal to it down the road (although I think it’s already adorable). It has about 750 square feet on the main floor, with a full basement that is only about half finished. It needs a little bit of cosmetic work, but is actually pretty turnkey given it’s age (it was built in 1942).
Because I’m the crazy person that I am, I’ve already created six design boards for the house, have built out a separate website, had several conversations with our property managers, stalked other local listings, etc. I’m hoping to share more details soon once things feel a bit more final (perhaps after the inspection).
I’m excited about the challenge of furnishing an entire house on an extremely limited budget (as in, under $4k). I’m also considering designing this house completely different than my current design style to try something new!
I would love to make a lot of really great improvements to the home, but the reality is, it’s already in good shape so I have to weigh my cosmetic updates carefully. My goal is to have it up and running by mid-April so that we will be ready for the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, College World Series and Olympic Swim trials! If you’re local, the house is a few blocks away from the the Nebraska Med Center for reference, so it’s convenient to a lot of popular spots in town!
So, what does this mean going forward? Ideally, if it goes well with the house, I’d like to continue to add properties down the road. And, I still want to open my branded house somewhere on a beach in the future! Basically, I want to make all the houses in all the world pretty and functional and brought back to life again.
For all you Airbnb/VRBO/short-term rental pros out there, I’d love your advice on what you look for when renting a property. What are must-haves and nice-to-haves? Give me all your thoughts!
I’m equal parts nervous and excited to tackle this new project. You guys are going to get to watch me in real-time, and I’ll plan to share all the ups an downs. I’m sure I will make more than one mistake along the way, but I’m excited to get started and learn about this whole new venture!
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I bought a house when my husband was out of town for work, we still laugh about it and tell the story often. We lived in the home for 11 years, we bought it right after I had my last daughter.
Congratulations! I just met a Realtor from Omaha at a National SRES designation course in Denver. Both our daughters went to Creighton. Cute house. Happy to hear Omaha has similar market as Denver. It’s crazy! laura
I will have to admit after reading just the first few sentences of your post my heart was exploding because I was so focused on the “big dream”! I could hardly wait to respond “sign me up, I’d love to go stay in one of your homes at the beach! ” But your reasoning to do this project first makes sense! Wish you nothing but good luck and fun with this veture!
I’m duper excited to follow your progress with this little gem~congratulations!
I stay in a number of rentals . I travel with my dog so it needs to be dog friendly. The places I rent are different than this because I always have a pool. A grill outside is nice. Non smoking house. Best of luck
Congratulations!!
We have an Airbnb in the Blue Ridge Mountains. https://abnb.me/OM8KTyZOG4
I try to make it feel like a home away from home…. everything you would need. We like to provide plenty of recommendations for places and things to do for our guests!
I hope you enjoy this next chapter! It’s so fun to learn all the things and make your dreams come true!
I love the cottage, can we click on to the real estate listing to see the inside?
ps
To Christi,
This sounds like a wonderful location in Georgia, would love to get more info. Have not done any abnb domestically, only in Europe and it worked out great. Can you send me your email? cazzie52@gmail.com
We have a condo on a mountain in Vermont and should probably abnb it also. Would love your input and maybe do an exchange?
I’ll be sharing a lot more about it (and tons of photos) once it’s all finalized and we officially own it! I just don’t want to share too much now out of respect to the current owners.
Congratulations! Several years ago I bought a rental home in Lincoln Ne. I have a question for you please. Is the zoning ok for short term rentals? Do you feel you will make way more money on short term rental ( after considering cleaning, marketing etc) than on long term rental? I have considered buying an air b&b myself but have these huge questions preventing me from it just yet! I would love to know your thoughts!
Congrats. I’m excited to watch your progress on this project.
I bought a house 4 months ago without my husband seeing it! People thought we were crazy. It’s been a huge renovation and we are set to move in next week. He was totally onboard knowing how fast things sell in our market. Best of luck, Sarah! I know it’s going to be fabulous!
Congrats! My husband and I travel 30-35 weeks a year for fine art shows, and stay in many air b-n-b’s. Our must haves: a full-length mirror (often overlooked) and iron. Good space to hang clothes, comfy bed, pillows, and bedding. We prefer furniture without upholstery…you never know what germs lurk there. 😉 Also, enough comfortable seating for the number of people that can sleep there. (This, too, is often overlooked.) Good WiFi.
Kitchen plates, bowls, coffee cups, glasses, silverware, and other utensils: saucepan, cooking sheet, blender for smoothies, decent chef’s knife, basic seasonings. (We cook most of our meals at the rental, so we appreciate a well-stocked kitchen.) More than one bath towel per person if staying three or more days, and basic toiletries. Outside space and a grill is a bonus.
A booklet with TV instructions and heating/cooling instructions is nice, along with area attractions and suggestions.
Good luck! How exciting!
Yes on the non fabric couch. We stayed at a condo in NC on the beach and the couch was so stinky (think 20 years of sweat and body odor) we literally could not sit on it without putting a blanket over it.
Have you heard of the show in Netflix, called, Stay Here? It’s hosted by Genevieve Gorder….it’s excellent….it’s about her advising ppl in how to market, and renovate their rental property…so informative!!!!
Yes! We love it! It’s one of the main reasons I think I started going down this path 🙂
Congrats! So excited for you! I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures with your rental.
When we use short-term rentals, what draws me in is the design aesthetic (which I know you’ll have no problem with!). I wouldn’t dream of renting a place with terrible interior design just because it’s cheap. LOL.
Next, I check the size of the beds in the rooms. A big plush king bed gets the high marks, but if pickings are slim a queen will do. Bonus points for a ceiling fan, and if not, a portable fan works too.
After that then it comes down to the kitchen. Coffee maker, (coffee grinder if you’re offering up a French press or chemex), decent knives and cutting board, wine bottle opener, a sponge that doesn’t look 5 years old for washing dishes even if you have a dishwasher (you’d be surprised how many places have gross sponges, yuck). And of course pots, pans, colander, plates, bowls, silverware…all that good stuff.
The outdoor space is next on the list. Seating is a must have and the rest of these are just nice to have: grill, firepit, pool, covered patio.
Also, depending on where we’re vacationing I check to make sure the place has central a/c and heating. We’ve stayed a few places that didn’t have it but it wasn’t a big deal because they were in Cali and close to the ocean.
Hope this helps a bit!
I immediately thought I would love to do something like this and then I looked up a similar property in the greater Seattle area for that square footage and it would run me an average of $450k and I would be up against multiple offers. Investing in Omaha is a lot more within reach but unfortunately feels too far away to make it work for me.
Congratulations on your new cottage. I purchased a vacation home in Maui, Hawaii that I have had listed on VRBO for 8 years. (My husband wasn’t with me either). It’s really fun to be able to offer your happy place to others to vacation in as well.
The important things for folks I have found are:
– Duel Keurig coffee pot that brews drip and pods
– Comfortable beds
– Good A/C
– Clean
– Beach towels and chairs
– Washer & Dryer
Most importantly good communication with your upcoming guests.
Good luck – I look forward to seeing your progress.
I’ll be watching this project closely! Not that I want an Airbnb but you will be doing a very stylish cosmetic design.
Oh boy! This will be fun to follow!!!
Excited for your new adventure.
I love it!! Can’t wait to see the transformation, looks like there is a lot of potential just from the outside. Going to be so cute when you are done with it! Congrats!
From one Nebraskan to another – YAY! I’m so excited to watch this new adventure unfold. We also bought a small house (in Pawhuska, Okla.) and share it with others through Airbnb when we’re traveling and blogging about it at postcardjar.com. We’ve written a few posts there about our experiences and amenities that will impress your guests (like shaving cream, stamped postcards, and TV remote instructions). Wishing you all the best! Let us know if you have any questions or if we can do anything to help.
Congrats to you! Can’t wait to follow along on your journey! Homes are just flying here! They are on the market for less than a day in our neighborhood.
I have a group (5) of girlfriends that do a week somewhere every summer. We love to stay in home rentals rather than a hotel. Not all short term rentals are created equally.
Of course comfy beds and great linens are a must. Many have only Queen or King beds. It is always appreciated when there are twin beds (for girlfriends traveling together). Two twins can be pushed together if needed for a couple.
One other reader mentioned enough comfortable seating in living room. We have rented places where the seating was attractive, but not comfortable. You need a place to relax in after a day of sightseeing.
A well stocked kitchen is a plus. Wine glasses are a must.
A grill and some outdoor seating is always a welcome thing.