59. Pivoting into Real Estate, Vacation Rentals 101, and the Power of Airbnb Co-hosting with Lauren Piller

The Fiscal Feminist

Building a real estate business can be much easier than many of us realize; in some cases, you don’t even need to own the property! In this episode, Kimberlee talks with Airbnb investor and educator Lauren Piller about her journey from nursing to working in real estate full time. Lauren explains how co-hosting helped her make the transition, and she shares some of her top tips for buying your first investment property, maximizing the value of your Airbnb, setting pricing, and more. Whether you’re completely new to real estate or want to learn more about the vacation rental space, Lauren has so much wisdom to share!

Episode Recap:

• Today we’re talking with Lauren Piller about building a real estate business (1:02)
• How did you end up doing real estate? (2:04)
• Basics you need to know when buying your first investment property (9:10)
• How does co-hosting work? (16:21)
• How to work with Lauren (20:58)
• Tips for choosing an Airbnb location (28:20)
• What can you do to set your listing apart, and what amenities are essential? (31:58)
• How does insurance work for vacation rentals? (36:17)
• What factors do you consider when setting your pricing? (37:55)
• Where to learn more from Lauren (42:27)

Resources:

• Find every episode of the Fiscal Feminist podcast
• “The Fiscal Feminist” book
• Follow Lauren on Instagram and TikTok
• Learn more from Lauren

Quotes:
“No one knows anything about finances, investing and loans. I barely do, and I know more than most people. So it’s just crazy to me that we’re supposed to go out here and buy houses and do all these things, but I’m a millennial, so I have to learn as I go. So it’s interesting to see the lack of knowledge.”

“Tell me a little bit about cohosting. Because I think a lot of people would be really interested in that because it has a low barrier to entry, right? You don’t have to buy a

house, right? Yeah the most cost effective way to get your start and to learn, for sure.

So what exactly does somebody do? How do they get involved with this, how do they find out about it, how do they find someone to cohost with, how does that work?

The easiest way that I always recommend to my followers is to just ask a friend or a family member. You’d be surprised how many people have rental properties or already have Airbnbs that are either empty or not making as much as they could with their tenants. It’s an easy way to go in, that’s what I did with my parents, they were my first cohosting client. I was like ‘Let me take your rental property and throw it on Airbnb. I will definitely increase profits, I will do all the work, it’s a win-win here.’ I like it because it's another pivot for people, too. You can do it while you’re still working other jobs and just branch out to see if it’s even worth taking the jump for.”