Avery: Hey everybody, welcome back to The Short Term Show! I am so excited to interview some of my favorite podcast hosts today. We have Sarah and Annette from Thanks for Visiting and I’m really excited to interview them because they have a different strategy and approach than what I typically do. I like to focus on interviewing people who do things differently than me because I want you guys to take away from this podcast that there’s more than one way to skin this cat, which is actually a terrible metaphor, but you caught yourself, Avery, you caught yourself!

Avery: It’s a metaphor, and I’m just going to roll with it. There’s more than one way to do this, and there are a lot of ways to succeed in this business. I want to make sure we don’t take up too much time with me obsessing over what I’ve already said. Let’s go ahead and talk to the girls! Hey guys, why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about yourselves. I’m sure most of our listeners probably listen to your podcast too, but for those who may not, let’s start at the beginning.

Sarah: Sure, go ahead, Annette.

Annette: My name is Annette Grant and together we are Thanks for Visiting. Sarah and I met about three years ago at a city council meeting. I had just moved from New York City, where I started my short-term rental journey in 2010, in Queens. I wanted to get a move on my portfolio, but New York was proving to be difficult. It was very popular, but there was a lot of red tape that slowed me down.

Annette: Everything in New York is fast except when you’re an actor and you’re trying to buy property! So, I moved here with some proceeds from a sale that I did really well on, and I met Sarah because the city of Columbus was imposing regulations. We’re all about regulations, but there were some that we felt were unjust, so she sat next to me, and the rest is history!

Sarah: Yes! I want to let listeners know that Annette actually sold her property in Queens as a short-term rental, and not just any single-family home. She sold all the furniture and gave them all the prior numbers, too! So, if you’re just getting started, keep all those records! You cannot sell a business and your home at the same time without keeping those details.

Annette: The second thing I want to say is to show up at city council meetings! Your voice matters. That was my first one, and I will always show up whenever meetings impact our income. I sat down next to Sarah at that council meeting, and I had been following her on Instagram—I’m a stalker! I’d wanted to start a podcast because it gets lonely being a host, and I wanted to find a host bestie to talk about laundry, guests, and pricing!

Sarah: And what her next move was! Because I have a very different background, I started my short-term rental career partnering with a real estate developer and rented out small apartments. They weren’t the big homes you often think of with short-term rentals—they were tiny apartments, and we co-hosted. We did a profit share, so I want to let everyone know out there: You don’t have to own any real estate to do this. I partnered with someone, co-hosted, and we did a profit share!