Park City UT

Costa Rica is not our first resort rental adventure. The first one did pretty well, and taught many lessons.

Situation

In 2000, Silicon Valley cratered, and it seemed wise to invest somewhere else. Given the hellish traffic to Tahoe, the closest major ski resort by air seemed a good bet – Park City, UT. Besides, the Olympics were coming!

Aproach

We started with “home base”, a multi-level top-floor condo surrounded by whispering pines on all 4 sides, but just 150 yards from where the Giant Slalom & Snowboard races would occur. We redecorated every inch of the condo with local log furniture.

As we visited our awesome getaway to transform it and ski, we became as local as we could in terms of friends and connections, and then acquired additional properties:

• A 5,000 square foot mansion overlooking The Canyons resort, because it was underpriced. And so gorgeous we nearly moved there. It came with ski lessons from a National Downhill Champion. Made ~300%.
• A brand new 2,000 ft rental house, because it capped out nicely. Made ~200%.
• Two more rental condos, again for cap rate. Made ~100%.
• A 40 AC ranch lot, which we pre-developed with road access, power, and build pad. Made ~100%.

Results

We made a lot of money, and also learned a lot about how to run resort rentals, and how not to. We saw everything from 18 people trying to share a 2-bedroom unit to pictures gone from walls. In a couple cases, we changed short-term rental units to long-term to improve yield. Ultimately we decided that higher-end resort product is better.

Ok, so we also had a GREAT time at the Olympics with lots of friends. Sometimes it is worth walking away from a six-figure month’s rent, because after all, a lifetime of amazing memories is the best form of wealth.