Chris & John
- Jan 28, 2021
- 3 min read

Ep 121: Mastering Short Term Rentals with Avery Carl

Since the emergence of companies like Airbnb and Vrbo, short-term rental properties have become a popular choice for real estate investors, but how do you know if vacation rentals are a good investment decision? Today’s guest, Avery Carl, is the authority in this area. She is a top one percent agent, short-term and vacation rental expert, and CEO of The Short Term Shop, a team that specializes in short-term rental and vacation rental investment real estate. Avery has connected investors with over $150 million in cash flowing short-term rental and vacation rental investments in the past two years, and her expertise could help you do the same. Tuning in, you will learn some of the pros and cons of short-term rentals, how Avery manages vacation properties in more remote locations, and the roles that tourism, occupancy rates, and property size play in short-term rental investments. Avery also talks candidly about bad guests and screening methods to minimize those issues, and she shares some tips and tricks for navigating legal difficulties and local regulations. You’ll also find out how she has adapted her business during COVID, why she cautions against shiny object syndrome, and the reason she is scaling into multifamily, so make sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Avery shares a bit about herself, her background, and what she does..
How Avery manages vacation properties in more remote areas like the Smoky Mountains.
The role that tourism plays in market assessments and how COVID has affected various vacation rentals.
Vacancy versus gross annual income; why Avery chooses an income-based approach.
The impact that property size has on annual returns versus expenses.
Some common misconceptions about short-term rentals, like having to invest locally.
Avery talks about common issues with bad guests, which don’t usually involve damage.
Screening methods for minimizing bad guests, including doorbell or floodlight cameras.
Why setting the deposit depends on the platform you’re using; they are often guest-centric.
Hear about the demographics of typical users of Airbnb and Vrbo.
Tips and tricks for navigating the ever-changing legal side of short-term rentals: stay out of metro markets altogether!
Reasonable expectations for debt or reserves when analyzing short-term rental deals.
Using her real estate platform to get good deals or make the most out of a listing.
Avery’s predictions for future markets post-COVID and how she has adapted in her business.
Avery talks about the risk, reward, and steep learning curve of going into a new asset class.
From short term to multifamily; how Avery aims to generate more cashflow, more quickly, and scale her portfolio.
The major pros and cons of short-term rentals: cash flow and dealing with guests.
Avery addresses debt in short-term investments and getting loans on vacation rental deals.

Tweetables:

“We manage ours remotely from wherever we are. You don’t actually need an on-site property manager to manage a short term rental.” — @ShortTermShop [0:06:11]

“We invest based on what is going to happen 99% of the time rather than what could happen 1% of the time.” — @ShortTermShop [0:13:46]

“People read a lot of horror stories about owning Airbnbs online, but people aren’t going to post blogs about every great guest that they have had.” — @ShortTermShop [0:21:59]

“Multi is a completely different beast than short term, and single-family long term is a completely different beast than those other two assets classes. It’s definitely good [not to] get that shiny object syndrome and think you’re going to go buy the world [in] every asset class because you had success with one property on the first go.” — @ShortTermShop [0:36:27]