Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Diakoff.
Hi Taylor, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a well-rounded real estate professional with seven years of experience working with real estate investors and landlords on many levels – property management, rent collection, evictions, low-income housing, long-term, mid-term, and short-term rental (STR) management, and contractor relations. I have assisted real estate businesses with many factors, including but not limited to the following: administrative, team building, marketing, wholesaling, construction, and Airbnb hospitality. Let’s just say I get “it” done.
I am a disciplined entrepreneur and real estate professional that specializes in asset management and business development. I enjoy building relationships, developing processes, and automating systems – bringing the businesses I work with more efficiency.
While attending college for my degree in business management, I became well versed in acquisitions, recruitment, and team management door-knocking for at&t uverse. Slingin’ cable as we used to say. I have always been highly esteemed in creating trusting short-term relationships with people, overcoming objections with grace, and moving with integrity in everything I do.
After graduating college, I went on to work directly with Facebook, where I optimized the proficiency of search engines, consistently exceeding expectations, resulting in early contact developments for the social media giant. That was a really fun job – I can’t say too much else about it though considering my NDA 😉
In 2016, I left my hometown and moved from Knoxville, Tennessee to Los Angeles, California where I worked in a blended executive assistant/marketing role to a real estate investor and educator that sparked my interest in real estate investing. My primary focus in this role was social media management and event marketing – I transformed my client into an “influencer” in their respective area of real estate investing.
Subsequently, I contracted with various real estate professionals, providing innovative business practices and marketing strategies tailored to produce leads in their respective industry – education, house flipping, wholesaling, note investing, selling homes, and raising private money. My real estate marketing business was born through genuine relationship building and referrals. I have had the opportunity to partner with a wide variety of small business owners throughout California, Texas, and other parts of the nation while working remotely from coffee shops in LA.
In late 2019 I felt like I was spinning my wheels – making all of these real estate guys rich – making their phones ring, filling their inboxes and event halls full of leads to close, making thousands on their joint ventures, workshop sales, and equity! And I felt like it was my turn! I had learned so much sitting at the back of those real estate meetups and writing thousands of words of content.
In February 2020, I moved to Houston, Texas on the pursuit to acquire real estate of my own and to create a growth and retirement plan for myself and my family. No covid in sight – I was determined to come to Houston and hit the ground running to buy and hold properties!
I was making $96,000 a year in “semi-passive” money from my six marketing clients from LA, a 700+ credit score, and was grateful to move to Houston with a lease in place and a job offer from a real estate investor with a mindset of abundance. My cost of living would go down and my opportunities would increase here in Texas.
And then BOOM a month later, covid hit, and it’s a state of emergency – all of my real estate marketing clients back in LA are terrified and when you’re paused from hosting events and unsure about what the future holds, you cut your slack – and the marketing VA was the first to get cut. I took a massive pay cut during the pandemic as most folks experienced, but I was grateful for God’s divine timing and getting me out of Los Angeles when He did. The Lord had something greater lined up for me here in Houston, Texas.
Life isn’t fair. But, you choose whether unfair situations steal your joy or make you work even harder to improve your life.
During the first part of the pandemic, I found myself back in a part-time real estate marketing position for the time being, putting my own real estate investing goals on hold for now… “I could use the w2 income for the loans anyways”, is what I thought to myself to justify the insult to my bank account. I was a production and marketing manager for a Texas real estate “guru” who continued to buy houses like crazy during the pandemic. But then some of his contractors started taking that unemployment check and the stimmy and stopped showing up to work – Airbnb guests checking in to unturned properties.
This particular landlord had several businesses, a couple of hundred rental properties, and just a handful of short-term rentals at the time that were being neglected, he saw the need for a property manager that could give dedicated attention to these short-term rentals apart from his regular long term and low-income rentals – and he had the perfect person on his team ready to transition into that role.
In June of 2020, I began managing short-term rentals in Texas full-time. I am a disciplined real estate professional and Short Term Rental Specialist Improving Guest Experiences and Home Rankings for Higher Returns on Investment Properties.
The amount of education, experience, and practical application that I have acquired in the past 30 months – WOW – I am inspired by and admiring my damn self right now! Do not let me sound arrogant, I have overcome many obstacles and worked very hard to be where I am now, and don’t get it twisted, still nowhere near where I want to be yet but I do believe in celebrating my journey!
I own and operate Roost, a one-stop boutique firm specializing in short-term and vacation rentals. I cover all aspects of the process including getting your home ready, traveler marketing, and guest experience. There are so many property benefits and owner advantages to working with a great host. I am passionately focused on providing memorable stays in remarkable homes. It’s the mantra that drives me and my decisions. It leads to five-star reviews, which leads to a better search rank position for your home, which leads to more bookings. But getting five-star reviews? That takes knowledge, skill, expertise, patience, software, and the right people. That’s me!
What am I doing today to further my own personal goals of buying and holding a real estate portfolio in Texas?! Well… since you asked… I am currently partnering with private lenders, submitting my time to find deals on discounted fixer-upper properties that I think would be good to rehab as airbnbs! I just submitted my first two offers on investment properties in San Antonio, Texas and Corpus Christi, Texas!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Major obstacles
– Door-knocking commission-only and creating the foundation of my entrepreneurial career in college.
– Laid off from Facebook in 2016 and left my hometown.
– 2016 Started my own marketing business in LA consulting with real estate professionals.
– Feb2020 moved to Houston with goals of buying real estate then COVID hit a month after.
– June2020-June2022 acquired knowledge in the Short Term Rental Industry as a contractor/solopreneur.
– Overcame learning curves in real estate through practical application.
– Worked for several real estate investors and landlords – managing up to 15 Airbnb listings at a time.
– June 2022 ROOST STR is born, branding myself as a professional in my industry.
Success is not a linear road!
We’ve been impressed with Roost, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Roost is a one-stop boutique firm specializing in short-term and vacation rentals. We cover all aspects of the process including getting your home ready, traveler marketing, and guest experience. There are so many property benefits and owner advantages to working with a great host. I am passionately focused on providing memorable stays in remarkable homes. It’s the mantra that drives me and my decisions. It leads to five-star reviews, which leads to a better search rank position for your home, which leads to more bookings. But getting five-star reviews? That takes knowledge, skill, expertise, patience, software, and the right people. That’s Roost!
We personally do everything that we can to help our clients generate as much revenue as possible from their rental and save them time by doing most/all of the work for them. This includes arranging the cleaning; calling in the handyman, plumber, electrician, and landscaper when needed; restocking household items; special amenities and concierge service; taking care of trash and recycling, and so much more.
The appreciation rates are still high in Texas, and there are still loads of distressed properties to buy with equity built in. Many people had dreams of becoming real estate investors during the pandemic, some came with just pennies in their pocket and now own apartments, hotels, and STRs across multiple markets. Many investors I know personally made money when others were scared during the pandemic and I think now is the time to rinse and repeat.
Real Estate is the most secure form of investment. Sure, I might be biased, but I think real estate beats stocks and crypto in a down market. As long as you buy for cash flow and leave plenty of room for market fluxes, you can still collect revenue regardless of whether your property value drops overnight. Scared of being a landlord? If you’re a private money lender, you can even get return on your investment at 6-12% annually, secured by real estate, without lifting a finger! If you’re interested in this hands-off way to make money by playing private lender, let’s have a conversation.
Do you currently own a rental property in Texas? As a short-term rental expert, I optimize your listing and pricing, generating between 10% – 40% more in revenue and occupancy than owner-managed homes in Texas.
Contact me today for a free consultation, Taylor Diakoff, Roost STR.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Leaving my hometown in 2016 to move to Los Angeles was a huge risk for me – I had no plan, just a business degree and a great resume. I was really fortunate to fall into real estate the way that I did.
I think that if you’re uncomfortable, you must be doing something right! The growth I experienced by stepping outside of my comfort zone and betting it all on myself was incredible. I highly encourage leaving your hometown in your 20s.
And then again – leaving LA for Houston in 2020 – with no actual plan, just a lot of determination to actually own real estate… and then covid was the most unexpected thing, it was a huge stick in my wheel that I DID NOT plan for… but when you take huge risks you HAVE to keep rolling with the punches. I think that fear is 90% of what you think may go wrong and then none of that stuff actually comes into fruition and you’re just forced to pivot another way that you didn’t even think of…
Every risk I have taken in life – even if it wasn’t a success, it was a lesson. I think that without risk, there is no reward and being an entrepreneur is the ultimate risk – being financially independent and not relying on a J-O-B but your G-D-SELF to obtain clients/income is challenging but the most rewarding feeling when my success is all because of my own effort and my output. The value I bring myself is more than any hourly job would assign to my role. Being a business owner is not easy, but 10 years now of being an entrepreneur has made me resilient.
Pricing:
We use a dynamic management fee structure, our rate starts at 33%, but then drops for longer stays or higher priced bookings.
- Long Term Stays – 22-28%
For reservations that are 30, 60, 90 days or longer - Luxe – 30%
For bookings starting at $500/night (or more) - Standard Full Service – 33%
High Income
– Marketing & Advertising Property
– Multiple Listings Set-up and Management
– Dynamic Pricing
– Professional Photography
– Luxury Amenities - Flexibility & No Stress
– Unlimited Owner Use
– Post Stay Incident Evaluation
– Damage Claim Filing
– Onboarding Support - Home & Guest Care
– Local Staff
– 24/7 Guest and Property Availability
– Inquiry Response and Communication
– Guest Verification - – Contracts, Deposits, and Fee Collection
– Household Supplies Puchased & Stocked
– Maintenance Oversight and Management
– Cleaning Oversight and Management - Services for an Extra Fee
– Investment Consulting - – New Property Set-up
– Interior Design Service
– Seasonal Home Inspection
– Seasonal Deep Cleaning
– Trash Take in/out - – Alarm Activate/Deactivate
- – Wireless Entry Keypad Reset
- – Noise Monitoring
- – Licensing, Permitting, Insurance
*Some costs described above, including but not limited to, purchase of household supplies, costs of maintenance and repairs, eg, are those in which Roost may pay up front and seek reimbursement from gross revenues. In addition, some services above may require additional approval, information, or are the partial, or full responsibility of the Property Owner unless otherwise agreed upon. Please review our terms of use.
If you are a landlord or real estate investor in Texas who is looking to turn your properties cashflow positive through STR, contact me today to start a conversation!
Growing my network of private lenders, as I am constantly passing on great BRRRR opportunities to partner on here in Texas.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: RoostSTR
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rooststr
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roost-str
Image Credits
Interior home images are by spacejoy from unsplash all other images are my own. Last image of client Giovanni Escobar Client Spotlight: Giovanni Escobar “I have had the pleasure of working with Taylor Diakoff in the same real estate investing group. She has personally hosted and gone above and beyond to service my short-term rental properties and guests. Taylor is reliable and professional during stressful times, has a knack for finding great contractors, and keeps our team organized and well informed. I would recommend her services to other investors looking for a great Airbnb host.” https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylordiakoff/details/recommendations/?fbclid=IwAR2nbOqtil2-_1Try79LNpPBZLRvrk-FWvO0KhedOoEzQKCaJa-nmmg2IWo
