VaultSTRWhy the best buyers decide before they shop
Ask a disciplined investor what they’re looking for and you get numbers; ask everyone else and you get “something that cash flows.” A buy box is the numbers version: written criteria that let you evaluate any listing in five minutes and commit to the right one in a day — speed that matters, because the properties that clear every screen are the ones with competing offers. It’s also armor against the two classic mistakes: falling for a beautiful property in a broken market, and analysis-paralysis on a good one.
The six lines of an STR buy box
1) Market: 1–3 named markets you’ve actually researched — regulations stable, demand drivers durable, supply not exploding (our market-selection guide covers the how). 2) Price band: tied to your capital — at 10–20% down plus furnishing and reserves, work backward from cash available. 3) Property spec: minimum beds/baths and the amenity potential the market pays for — hot-tub-able in the mountains, poolable in the heat. 4) Revenue multiple: projected gross revenue ÷ purchase price — leisure-market deals worth underwriting typically clear 12–15%+; our published inventory shows the live spread. 5) Return floor: the cash-on-cash number below which you walk (see the CoC guide). 6) Dealbreakers: HOA short-stay bans, permit moratoria, flood zones, shared wells — the list that saves you from “but it’s so cute.”
Calibrate it against real deals
A buy box built from wishes screens out everything. Calibrate against actual inventory: run ten listings from your target market through the revenue calculator and pro forma builder and see where the multiples actually land. If nothing clears your floor, your floor is fantasy or your market is wrong — adjust the box, not your standards mid-offer. Our underwriting guide is the long-form method.
Use it as a filter, not a cage
The box screens; judgment decides. A property that misses one line for a reason you can price (fixable fifth bedroom, seller-financed rate) deserves a look — that’s an exception you chose, not a standard you abandoned. Rewrite the box when facts change: rate moves, a regulation shift, a market graduating off your list. And write it down — an unwritten buy box is a mood.
Put this to work
Three ways to move from reading to doing: browse today’s underwritten deals and get three more in your inbox every morning via the Daily Deal newsletter below; run your own numbers in the free pro forma builder or revenue calculator (unlocking the full report creates your free VaultSTR account); or tell our desk what you’re looking for and we’ll point you to a vetted agent and the right tools for your situation.
Bottom line
“How do I find the right investment property” has a boring, powerful answer: decide what right means before you look. Six written lines turn a firehose of listings into a shortlist — and turn you into the buyer who moves first when the right one appears.