Short-Term Rental Investment Deals, Underwritten and Ranked Daily

What is a good cash-on-cash return for a short-term rental?

A good cash-on-cash return for a short-term rental is generally 8% or higher, with strong deals in top STR markets often reaching 12-20%. Cash-on-cash return is calculated by dividing your annual pre-tax net cash flow by your total cash invested, including down payment, closing costs, and furnishing budget. Every VaultSTR deal shows this number calculated against a 20% down DSCR loan at current market rates.

What is VaultSTR Daily Deal?

VaultSTR Daily Deal is a database of pre-underwritten short-term rental investment properties updated daily. Every listing includes projected gross revenue, estimated cash flow, cash-on-cash return, and a market-adjusted rating based on real comparable data from AirDNA and Rabbu. You can filter by market, price, bedroom count, and projected return to find STR investment deals that match your strategy.

How do you underwrite a short-term rental investment property?

To underwrite a short-term rental, you estimate gross annual revenue using comparable STR data (occupancy rate x ADR x 365), then subtract operating expenses including management fees (20-30%), cleaning, supplies, insurance, maintenance reserves, and property taxes. Apply those net cash flows against your actual mortgage payment (typically a 20% down DSCR loan) to get net annual cash flow, then divide by total cash invested to get cash-on-cash return. VaultSTR applies this exact methodology to every deal in the database.

What is a DSCR loan and how does it work for STR investors?

A DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loan qualifies borrowers based on the income the property generates rather than the investor's personal income or W-2 employment. Lenders typically require a DSCR of 1.0 or higher, meaning the property's projected rental income covers the mortgage payment. DSCR loans are the most common financing tool for short-term rental investors because they allow qualification based on STR revenue projections. Most require 20-25% down and rates typically run 1-2% above conventional mortgage rates.

What are the best markets for short-term rental investing in 2025?

The best STR investment markets in 2025 are generally those with strong tourism demand, favorable regulations, and reasonable purchase prices relative to rental revenue. Top performers include the Smoky Mountains (Tennessee), Gulf Coast markets (Florida panhandle, Crystal Beach TX), the Poconos (Pennsylvania), Desert Southwest (Scottsdale, Joshua Tree, Sedona), and mountain markets like Big Bear, Lake Tahoe, and Blue Ridge. VaultSTR Daily Deal tracks active listings across 30+ of these markets with real underwriting data.

How are STR investment deals selected for Daily Deal?

Each property is sourced from active MLS listings and run through VaultSTR's underwriting model. We pull comparable revenue data from AirDNA and Rabbu, estimate annual gross revenue based on local occupancy and ADR, subtract a standard expense load, and model cash flow against current DSCR loan rates. Deals are rated on a 1-3 scale based on how their cash-on-cash return compares to our market-specific return thresholds.

What expenses should I budget for when investing in a short-term rental?

Short-term rental operating expenses typically include property management (20-30% of revenue if using a manager), cleaning fees (often passed to guests but factor into occupancy), platform fees (3% for Airbnb hosts), supplies and consumables (1-2% of revenue), maintenance and repairs (1-2% of property value annually), insurance (STR-specific policy, typically 2-3x standard homeowner rates), and reserves for capital expenditures. VaultSTR's underwriting model applies a conservative expense load to every deal so you see realistic net returns, not best-case projections.

Can I filter STR deals by market, price, or projected return?

Yes. The Daily Deal explorer lets you filter by state and market, listing price range, bedroom count, projected gross revenue, and cash-on-cash return. You can sort by any column to surface the highest-returning STR investment properties in your target market. Each deal links directly to the active Zillow listing.

How is short-term rental revenue projected?

STR revenue is projected by analyzing comparable active listings in the same market using data from platforms like AirDNA and Rabbu. These tools track actual occupancy rates and average daily rates (ADR) for similar properties by bedroom count, amenities, and location. VaultSTR uses this comparable data to estimate annual gross revenue for each deal, then applies realistic expense loads to calculate net cash flow and cash-on-cash return.

How do I get started investing in short-term rentals?

To get started with short-term rental investing: first, identify 2-3 target markets with strong STR demand and favorable regulations. Second, understand your financing options, specifically DSCR loans, which qualify based on property income rather than personal W-2. Third, run real underwriting on prospective deals using comparable revenue data, not Airbnb host estimates or listing-agent projections. VaultSTR Daily Deal gives you pre-underwritten deals so you can evaluate real cash-on-cash returns across active listings without building your own underwriting model from scratch.