Time Flies – Update on Our Progress

Well, time certainly does fly. Especially when you have been working on big goals and changes! I have lots to tell you, I will probably break it into several posts.

When we last left off, we had purchased the 5th Wheel that will be our home soon. This was at the end of August 2020. We were also in contract to purchase a duplex that will help us fund our son’s living expenses as he leaves for college in 2021. It was crucial to house hack something that paid his rent and he needs year round living (eliminating dorms/student housing).

We have finalized the renovation on his side of the duplex, and are quite pleased with the results:

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Here are the Before Pictures. This place hadn’t been touched much since it was built in 1982.

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We are so pleased with the transformation! Keep in mind, this is not our son’s furniture. We furnished it to be an Airbnb until he moves there August 2021. If it does well as an Airbnb, then we will move the furniture to the opposite side of the duplex. It’s our hope that this Airbnb performs like our other and we yield twice the market rent. If so, that will not only cover our son’s rent, but also his utilities and groceries and other miscellaneous expenses.

We are thrilled to have this piece completed, there is so much more to go! We are wanting to put our home on the market in May. So, right now, we are working on downsizing. I have to tell you, this is a very overwhelming process. It’s our plan to get rid of everything – sell what we can, give-a-way or throw-a-way what we can’t.

With our son moving, and our Airbnb’s opening, we think we have a place for most of our furniture. But, clothing, personal belongings, tools, household items, that RV is a big RV but still only 400 or so square feet of living space. We live in a 3,500 square foot house with a 3 car garage and a pretty big basement area. In an upcoming post, I will talk a little more about this process.

So, with this we now have two Airbnb units. The first one we opened was in a townhouse in a apartment complex we own. We were so skeptical this would work in the area it is in. Not that it’s a bad location overall, but it’s definitely out from Charleston, WV in a little town called Nitro. Everyone we told that we were opening one there thought it was crazy. We opened it the week after thanksgiving, and it’s been booked every single day so far through March (with the exception of 2 nights).

Since our other business owns it, we still pay that entity market rent. So far, we are making about $1,200 monthly in profit there. Our son’s duplex has had a slower start but we have certainly broken even on market rent it’s first 20 days of operation. The location is great on that one – near major hospitals and walking distance to the football stadium.

We have located our 3rd Airbnb, and hope to have that completed in the upcoming month.