How to Build a Profitable Short-Term Rental With Data, Design and Amenities

Dashia LoCoco (00:00)
They underestimate design and amenities ⁓ most of the time. I think that that’s my main focus because short-term rentals are evolving out of the regular short-term rental space that we’ve known for so long. And so I think that they’re going more towards experience based, they’re going towards the stop the scroll is what they call it. So

You know, in a market like mine where we don’t have a lot of competition versus a place, you know, like Gatlinburg or Orlando where everybody has a super property, we don’t really have that here. So it’s easy to come in and say, all right, if you do this design and you do this amenity, then you’re gonna be so much more successful than everybody else that’s playing the game right now.

Scott Bursey (02:17)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros podcast, powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey And today we are joined by a pro in the short term rental market, Dashia LoCoco of Savvy Realty. Dashia is a master when it comes to navigating the STR space, helping both first time buyers and seasoned veterans maximize their portfolios. She specializes in local market data to build incredibly accurate proformas, taking the guesswork out of the

equation for pros looking to scale. Dashia, welcome to the show.

Dashia LoCoco (02:53)
Hi, thanks so much for having me, Scott.

Scott Bursey (02:55)
It is just awesome having you here, Dashia, and to help our listeners get up to speed. Please give us the front row seat if you will, on how your career ignited and where you’re pouring your fuel now.

Dashia LoCoco (03:10)
So ⁓ I was a nurse for many years, still am, and we moved to Jacksonville, Florida, ⁓ a little over two years ago and started getting into real estate investing ourselves personally. And ⁓ I also got my license ⁓ in Florida and so started working with Savvy Realty with ⁓ short term rentals. And I work with investors all over the country and just try to help bring value to

Mainly the short terminal loophole process is what they’re interested in. So a lot of high income earners looking to offset their W two.

Scott Bursey (03:47)
That is that is awesome. That is ⁓ that is fascinating. So you’re still a nurse?

Dashia LoCoco (03:54)
Yes, yeah, yeah. I still work ⁓ couple days a month just to keep my license up. Never want to lose that. That’s important to me, so I make room for it.

Scott Bursey (04:05)
Awesome. So what really caught my attention about you, Dashia, was the way you’ve been able to use local market data to build proformas that cut through the noise, if you will, showing investors exactly where the true upside is or where a deal just doesn’t make sense, where it doesn’t add up. That takes precision.

Dashia LoCoco (04:28)
Yeah, definitely. I mean, Duval County, Jacksonville is the biggest ⁓ city in the nation. A lot of people don’t know that, but per square foot we’re big. So there’s a lot of different pockets. So we have our downtown area where there’s seven billion dollars in development that’s happening. So it’s changing rapidly. ⁓ and then just keeping up on, you know, regulations and how everything is evolving there.

It’s changing very quickly. So it’s a great market to be in for appreciation and ⁓ for short term rentals. But you’re right, just like getting it really like knowing street by street which area is the best and just by living here, you know, getting out and seeing it and then where all the developments are happening, that’s another big one, like which areas are going to experience that appreciation and that that boom the most ⁓ so I can bring that value to my clients.

Scott Bursey (06:13)
I love that. What an excellent ⁓ framing of that. Awesome. And Dashia, looking at the current landscape, what do you see as the greatest strength for an investor who leans heavily into data-driven proformas versus the traditional gut feel method?

Dashia LoCoco (06:34)
Well, most of my investors are new to short-term rentals and so they’re a little bit nervous. ⁓ they really kind of need their handheld, which is what I’m here for. ⁓ and that’s kind of where I come in with my expertise and being able to know like which streets, which neighborhoods, which areas, which regulations, which properties are gonna do the best. there’s a lot that goes into it. So

We don’t have regulations here anymore after SB280, at least for minimums, but it’s not to say that the city can’t slap you with assist and decease if you’re not performing at a high level. So you can’t come in and just be like a willy-nilly operator. You have to make sure that you’re vetting the people who are staying there. They’re not having parties late at night, they’re not parking in the neighbor’s front house. Like there’s a lot of different ways that you can go about running those in a professional manner.

⁓ so you know, you have to watch out with that with the city, but having that expertise, I think, brings another level. Like I’m not looking for a property that’s in a single family neighborhood that your neighbors are gonna get upset. I’m looking in a more transient area, and that’s definitely street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood. ⁓ so I think that that’s important to work with somebody who knows those things and also knows how to run performas and understands the regulations and

There’s just a lot of different levels that a regular realtor doesn’t understand that a short term rental realtor does. So it’s that’s the benefit of working with us.

Scott Bursey (08:07)
How does that data shift the way you negotiate the initial purchase?

Dashia LoCoco (08:13)
gosh. ⁓ our properties are early 1900s builds. So they require a lot of ⁓ a lot of love from the get-go. ⁓ some of these have been renovated already and they’re on the market. I usually try to look for those because the value for you know the short terminal loophole is more in like the value adds, your design, your amenities, what can you add to it? So you kind of want a place that’s already

done in that way. And if you’re a first-term, first time, you know, short-term rental investor, then sometimes you’re a little bit nervous to do all of that work up front. So, you know, we like to negotiate depending on the house. So I like to come in a little bit higher. and then we get our inspection reports back and we see really what’s wrong and what’s going on, what’s deferred maintenance, what are major systems, what really has to be taken care of right now.

⁓ we love to do big seller credits. So we do ⁓ these large seller credits that if we do come back and we have something wrong with the property, we can get those seller credits and then we can use that towards ⁓ you know, some of the renovations and design and on the back end.

Scott Bursey (09:31)
Thank you for highlighting that. Dashia, where do you see the biggest weakness in the average STR investor’s current strategy? Is it in underestimating expenses or misjudging seasonality, perhaps?

Dashia LoCoco (09:45)
It’s a lot. I mean, there are lots of different factors. Our shoulder season is January, February. So if you’re gonna be having a short-term rental here in this market, then you wanna have a hot tub. So and that will increase your value during that time because January, February does get cold here, surprisingly. A lot of people think of Florida, they don’t realize, but that’s one thing that when they’re coming to stay, they want the hot tub in the winter time and they want the pool in the summertime.

So ⁓ those are those are definitely things that we’re looking at.

Scott Bursey (10:52)
Just curious about ⁓ you know, underestimating expenses ⁓ from an investor’s ⁓ standpoint and your strategy that you employ to give them the best knowledge possible.

Dashia LoCoco (11:06)
Yeah, so I think that they underestimate design and amenities ⁓ most of the time. I think that that’s my main focus because short-term rentals are evolving out of the regular short-term rental space that we’ve known for so long. And so I think that they’re going more towards experience based, they’re going towards the stop the scroll is what they call it. So

You know, in a market like mine where we don’t have a lot of competition versus a place, you know, like Gatlinburg or Orlando where everybody has a super property, we don’t really have that here. So it’s easy to come in and say, all right, if you do this design and you do this amenity, then you’re gonna be so much more successful than everybody else that’s playing the game right now.

So I think that a lot of people need to focus their money into design and amenities right now. That’s the most important thing.

Scott Bursey (11:59)
And that’s a massive point right there, Dashia. Now let’s talk about the upside of things. What is the biggest opportunity right now for an investor who wants to pivot from long-term rentals into the STR space using your Savvy Realty methods?

Dashia LoCoco (12:18)
Yeah, well, I mean, it depends on if you want to stick with your long-term rentals or you’re looking to 1031. ⁓ you can always 1031. A lot of people are doing this to offset their taxes. So the high income, you know, over 200k W2 income earners, they’re finding the most benefit from this short term rental, the 100% bonus depreciation. So they’re looking for these tax savings, but you get tax savings.

You get appreciation in this market and you get cash flow. And that’s gonna change along the way as the city changes and the guest avatar changes and all of these developments complete. So ⁓ it’s an exciting time right now to be here specifically. But I think that investors are, you know, transitioning over because they wanna they wanna get that that tax savings.

Scott Bursey (13:13)
Appreciate that insight. And we can’t talk STRs without talking about regulation. What do you view as the primary threat to the short-term rental model in the next 24 months? And how are you future proofing your performance against it?

Dashia LoCoco (13:31)
That’s a great question. I actually just got back from the IMN conference and this was a big topic. the hotels are lobbying hard against short term rentals. You know, they’re really trying their best with the cities. They have more money, they have more pull, they have the ability to lobby against this. So a lot of cities are experiencing that. However, for us here in Florida.

⁓ SB two eighty was passed ⁓ a few years ago. And that pretty much says that unless you had something before 2011, I believe, in place, those rules and regulations are not really enforceable at this time. So will that change? There’s a possibility. But right now, while there aren’t any regulations and restrictions in this area per se, I think getting those licenses and having those licenses in place.

will be easier for you to be grandfathered in later if they do decide that they’re gonna do that. I know when I was in San Diego, they only have 500 more short-term rental permits to give out and then they’re done giving them out forever. So if that does happen and you’re already functioning here, then good for you. You’ve made it made it ahead of that. Where it’s gonna go, I think that regulations are good. I think that you want regulations because you want high performers. It pushes people to be better.

⁓ and I think, you know, here it’s not to say they don’t have regulations, but they have permitting. So they want the fire marshal to come in. They want to make sure that you’re running it properly. They make you put your ⁓ license out front so you can see ⁓ that it that’s what it is. And, you know, they want people to be performing the right way. That’s not a bad thing.

Scott Bursey (15:55)
Not at all. And on that note, do you suggest a plan B like long term rental exit for every STR deal you analyze?

Dashia LoCoco (16:04)
Yeah, we always talk about the exit strategies. So what does that look like for them? Are they gonna what, you know, do they just want the one to offset the taxes? Do they want to grow that portfolio into several properties? it’s interesting. I was having a conversation yesterday with a GC about this. ⁓ you know, they were they were asking at the conference, well, where do you see short terminals going? And I was like, I see them going straight to boutique hotels because it’s really happening right now.

But once you get one, two, three, four, five properties, it becomes a lot to manage. And so sometimes that’s easier to 1031 into a bigger property, which would be your boutique hotel, which is all under one roof. So I think eventually that’s where it’s gonna go. but the exit strategy depends on where you’re entering from. Like what are you what are you wanting to get out of it?

Scott Bursey (16:55)
That’s a huge distinction right there. Absolutely. And Desha, if you had to identify the ultimate competitive advantage for a savvy investor, is it the technology they use or the local relationships they build?

Dashia LoCoco (17:11)
it’s everything. It’s a little bit of all of it. ⁓ you know, you’re hiring local people in this network to be ⁓ helping you run at your highest level. So your cleaners, your handyman, your ⁓ local GC, all of these people are being employed by your business, which is great for the local economy. but it’s also like your bread and butter, like your cleaners are it. If you have bad cleaners, you’re not gonna be running a successful short-term rental.

Not just because it’s cleaning, but because they’re your eyes and ears. So if they’re not looking to say, ⁓ this was stolen or this was broken or, you know, whatever it might be that they’re looking for, you’re not going to be successful because most of my investors are out of state. So they’re not some of them don’t even step foot on the property ever. So, you know, it’s ⁓ you’re relying heavily on your network of people in that market.

Scott Bursey (18:10)
You really are and curious, how do you balance the hard data with the boots on the ground reality?

Dashia LoCoco (18:19)
The hard data as in what exactly

Scott Bursey (18:22)
There in the Jacksonville area.

Dashia LoCoco (18:26)
Yeah, so the boots on the ground is your bread and butter. Like those are your people that are that are taking care of your property while you’re not able to. I mean, that people get into this and they say, ⁓ I want this passive income. Well, it’s not really passive. This is this is a job. And to be able to get those tax benefits in the first year, you have to show material participation. That means that you’re working on the property more than anybody else is working on the property in that first year.

Second year, hire a property management company, take it off your plate, do whatever you want with it, turn it into midterm rentals, turn it into long-term rentals, you know, like you have the flexibility after you get that. But, you know, as far as data, as far as like AI systems, it’s wonderful now. I mean, a lot of people don’t need to hire those property management companies so much because you can get HostBuddy AI, Breezeway, Turno.

⁓ OwnerRez, Guesty, Hospitable. I mean, you find which platforms work best for you and you figure it out. But it is a business, you know, like you’re not you’re gonna be involved in it, that’s for sure.

Scott Bursey (19:34)
I’m curious about the circle you keep to stay at the top of your game. What does your professional network look like right now?

Dashia LoCoco (19:44)
my gosh. So this is why I love Savvy. Savvy has one agent in every single city, and that’s it. You just have the one agent. So we have to get really granular in our markets. We have to know it really well because we’re the only one. And they’re growing right now exponentially. So Tyler Coon is our CEO and he’s amazing. He’s just adding so many resources. Since I started in October, like it’s just exploded.

We have our own ⁓ network of everyone, Cost Seg people, CPAs, ⁓ designers, our vendor network, GCs, just anything that you need for short-term rental, he’s building it out in the his network of savvy agents. So, but to that point, we have to be the local expert in our market. So I have my vendors that I have to vet. And I do that through going to like Jax REIA and establishing, you know.

the ⁓ the partnerships with the people in the community there.

Scott Bursey (20:46)
Love it. Dashia, let’s talk capital. If you were handed an extra five hundred thousand dollars, ⁓ half a mil in investment capital this afternoon, and you had to deploy it within 30 days into the STR market, what specific criteria would that property have to meet?

Dashia LoCoco (21:06)
Ooh, 500K. I would be buying a beachfront property. Just because one of the biggest takeaways from the INM was that the luxury market has not gone down at all. So that has remained completely stable throughout the entire economy ⁓ decline, if you will.

So I would say that I would purchase a property on the beach because our beachfront properties are making with the right amenities, are making 500K beachfront or more. And so that’s your biggest bang for your buck, your biggest return. Now I will say for cost egg purposes, your land is going to be higher beachfront, but for the long term of your investment, I would definitely be looking at that.

Scott Bursey (22:00)
That’s powerful. Thank you for highlighting that for our pros here today. And it’s been incredible having you on, Dashia. Your ability to turn raw data into a roadmap for success is exactly why you’re crushing it at Savvy Realty. For those of our listeners that would like to keep this conversation moving, you know, stay in your lane or collaborate with you. What’s the best way for them to reach you?

Dashia LoCoco (22:26)
Yeah, my phone number is 904-625-0546. My email is [email protected]. You can ⁓ email me anytime, call me anytime. I’m happy to discuss it. @the_savvy_wellness_agent is my Instagram handle as well.

Scott Bursey (22:47)
Awesome. Dashia, this has been an absolute masterclass. Thank you for joining us today.

Dashia LoCoco (22:54)
You’re welcome. Thank you for having me.

Scott Bursey (22:56)
And to our listeners, we appreciate you. If you receive value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be fueling your tanks with elite guests, just like Dashia LoCoco, who are accelerating and setting the pace for the rest of the industry. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you in the next episode, everyone.