In 2020, after representing clients in commercial real estate for 7+ years at the time, I thought to myself, why can’t I own properties too? I negotiate on behalf of my clients for living? Why can’t I also enjoy the benefits of real estate investing just like them?
This question led me to read Rich Dad Poor Dad and many other amazing real estate books and resources. One of my strIQ co founders, Tamer, and I had also been meeting for a few years talking about the idea of investing in real estate and how we can help each other. Finally in 2020, I decided to take the leap of faith. The insights in that book allowed me to see STRs with new eyes.
The name was a blend of personal significance and motivation. "Ag" represented my wife's alma mater, Texas A&M University, while "Cat" signified my affiliation with Wildcats. Additionally, it paid homage to my father's connection to aviation through his AgCat airplane. Creating the LLC was more than a legal step; it was a symbolic commitment to move from idea to action.
I wanted to create a symbolic moment that might be the motivation to actually get me off zero. So I started this LLC, named it and then even created a logo with hats. As I had no rentals at the time, my friends often teased, “oh awesome! How many assets do you own?” And I would respond with, “the only asset I own is this cool hat.” But that was the motivation I needed. I needed to speak it into existence and believe that I was going to invest in real estate.
From that day, I would talk about real estate almost daily with my wife about this dream. We were constantly looking. Constantly searching for deals. And finally, when my wife was conveniently 38 weeks pregnant with our daughter, we found the perfect home in Fredericksburg TX. Amanda found it on Zillow, I ran the numbers on our spreadsheet, and determined it was going to be about a 60% cash on cash return.
We were so excited about it, we got in the car the next day, drove to Fredericksburg, toured 3 homes, put in a contract that night, and with a miracle, we ended up winning the contract despite being at a lower price than 2 other offers that came in that day (thank you Lord).
That was the beginning of my journey into STR’s and I haven’t looked back. I’ll never forget the fear that I faced jumping in on this first property. I would think, “What if the house burns down? What if the pipes burst and flood the house? What if a tornado hits the house?” All these crazy things that are extremely rare (I’m sure I’m the only investor who ever had such thoughts.)
I was even too scared to manage the property myself, and the seller of the home was the one who actually convinced me to manage it. She said it was the easiest thing in the world. And because of her “nudge”, I decided to give it a go. And she wasn’t lying. It was easier than I expected. And in fact, I discovered that the property was underperforming- 1)They weren’t using dynamic pricing like PriceLabs. They were applying random fixed pricing that they manually put on the calendar. 2) They were only using airbnb instead of listing on multiple OTAs. We took revenue estimates from $50K up to $70-75K by just managing the property with the right tools and systems in place.
I never realized how easy it could be until experiencing it first hand. And now, my wife and I have gone “all in” and have been steadily scaling out portfolio since that day. STR’s have changed my family's life by opening my eyes to this new asset class and giving my family more financial freedom. And now, we want to help you.
strIQ was built with one purpose-to serve STR investors with the tools they need to have confidence in their Short Term Rental investment. I know it can be challenging to get your first, second (or tenth) property. Let strIQ eliminate the headaches of STR investing so that you don’t waste valuable time. Scale your portfolio with the help of the short term rental investors best in-class tool for finding profitable properties.
Do you have an STR story to share? I would love to hear it! Send me a DM on instagram at @striq.app and tell me your STR journey.