Tristan

Texas. Investing in STRs & CRE. Hook em'. [email protected]

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

I spoke with 153 hard money lenders over 2 months trying to find acquisition debt on my latest deal. I naively thought most were actually "private" lenders, and therefore capable of getting creative and competitive.

Wrong.

Here's everything I wish I would've known beforehand.

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@meyer995 @DFWscanner Two over my house in East Dallas. Nothing on Flightradar though..

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@TheREDevGUY These prices are seasonal. Calendar strategy would be different and market specific for year round

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

Calendar management on an Airbnb in a summer market is make or break. 3 months are your entire year, so planning starts in December. Minimum nightly stay rules are key.

No Saturday check-in/out

Dec - 5 nights

Mar/Apr - Su/Mo: 3 nights. Tu: 4. Thu: 3

Apr/May - Adjust for gaps

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@TBitTwo Yep 80% and rural

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

Spent the last few weeks looking for a DSCR loan for a rate/term refi on the river house. Tough to find lenders willing to go to 80% LTV in a small seasonal market, especially on an Airbnb.

Best term sheet I've gotten so far. No escrow. Not terrible!

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@ddraghinas Yep, gonna see if I can negotiate some IO

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@vannman26 Ghibli asparagus

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@farango77 Yep, kept the PM on when I bought in 2023. Didn't go into the deal thinking of it as a true STR investment so I was happy to be hands off. I wasn't as happy after reviewing 2024 YE numbers tho

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

June & July 2025 (so far) vs. 2024. Pretty crazy.

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

I own an STR in a small summer town with avg. occupancy of 33%. We did 16% in 2023. 14% YTD.

PM charges 35% of revenue. Last week I proposed 15%. I'll handle calendar. Win-win! They said no.

I launched on Friday. 14 nights booked for October. 0 in 2023. Self-management is key.

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@geoff_l Year round occupancy is ~30%. Everyone does well in the summer, so it's really about maximizing those months with length of stay changes and pricing. Otherwise, big focus on listing differentiation during the offseason because the town is absolutely dead

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@geoff_l Same. It only looks low because occupancy was like 18% lol

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@unforgivnbastrd They did about $33k at 95% occupancy for the same months. We're at $38k at 64% occupancy right now. Just better calendar management and pricing!

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@EddieCoates Hospitable. Decent reports, integrates with Quickbooks. Big fan of the simple UX. Other platforms I've used tend to overcomplicate and overcharge with lots of useless features

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

Less than 40% of these listings were purchased in or after 2022. Less than 20% were purchased to Airbnb.

No, seriously.

[Amy Nixon @texasrunnerDFW]

No, Seriously.

Every silly person who bought an Airbnb in Galveston, TX is trying to dump it

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@Kinner Thanks brotha

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

Plans for Longhorn Lodge just about done.

- 7,499 sqft w/ pool & hot tub
- 4 bedrooms + bunk & theater room
- 2nd floor bar + game room + rooftop patios
- 5 cabins each w/ barrel sauna
- Pickleball courts, par-3, turf area w/ projector
- Sleeps 30

🤠🤤

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@ddraghinas Thanks! Only renting it as a whole.

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@DMAC_19 @DallasAptGP Didn’t use a broker. I was under contract for a few months with multiple extensions before I felt like I was wasting time interpreting how to permit or plan development of a parcel with title, appraisal, city, & geo referencing diff legal descriptions across different rec instr.

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@TaylerWTibbitts The frustrating part is that they’re great attorneys. Big firm. I worked with them on several deals at my last dev job. Good enough that I reached when I went solo.

This is a “residential” deal so it’s almost like someone said whatever just bill it. Pretty disappointing.

[Tristan @TXStrGuy]

@RyanDanz Wait holy shit this is exactly where I recognize you from outside of X lol