Can You Achieve Financial Freedom with Short-Term Rentals? – With Syed Lateef
There are risks associated with running short-term rentals, especially when your Airbnb units are in a multifamily building.
But Syed Lateef has found a way to scale a STR business in apartment buildings.
And the landlords don’t just ALLOW Syed to rent their units, they WELCOME it.
Syed stands out in the world of short-term rentals, currently managing a portfolio of 300 units with a dedicated team of 50-plus employees.
Syed’s business earns over $30,000 a day, allowing him to give back by providing clean water wells to communities in need.
On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Syed joins us to explain how he replaced his W-2 income with short-term rentals.
Syed discusses his rental arbitrage business model, describing what he does to mitigate the risks of renting multifamily units on Airbnb and how he helps landlords solve vacancy issues.
Listen in for insight into the risks of running a STR business and learn how Syed achieved financial freedom with Airbnbs in apartments.
Key Takeaways
How Syed got into short-term rentals- Wanted out of job in corporate finance
- House hacked 4-unit and moved out after year
- Put furnished unit on Airbnb and made 3X rent
- Friends and family thought he was crazy
- Bet on himself to prove them wrong
- Can’t relate to friends or family the same way
- Joining entrepreneur groups like EO
- Go to motivated multifamily landlords
- Pay market rent, solve vacancy issues
- Less likely to disrupt onsite culture
- High demand for STRs in urban markets
- Screens guests and uses noise monitors
- Staff available to address issues
- Builds relationships with neighbors
- Using reserves to scale business
- Didn’t forecast slow season correctly
- Regulations
- Seasonality
- Relationships with landlords
- Can automate parts but it’s not passive income
- Hospitality business rather than real estate
- Ups and downs of lawsuits, cashflow issues
- Focus on managing stress
