Representative photoNashville, Tennessee
RecommendedTownhouse near downtown
4 bedrooms · 4 baths · 2,201 sq ft · built 2023
- Price
- $899,900
- Bookings, 2025
- $156,000
- First-year depreciation
- $241,800
- Tax savings at 37%
- $89,500
Short-term rental investment and management
Vacation homes that pay their way, and lower your tax bill.
We find, buy, furnish and manage short-term rental homes for high-income clients. Set up with your CPA, the depreciation from the purchase can offset income in the year the home opens. The home is yours. Run it yourself for the year one write off, or have us run it.
100%
bonus depreciation
Permanent for homes bought after January 19, 2025
500+
short-term rentals set up
300+
homes operated
$20M+
in rental revenue
20+
team members
4.9
average guest rating
Most tax strategies end once the return is filed. A property doesn't, so we stay with the home after closing and run it for you.
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Week 1
Call and search
We review your tax picture, then search anywhere in the U.S. where the numbers work, with the lenders, agents and cost segregation firms we work with.
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Weeks 2 to 3
Underwrite and offer
Each candidate is tested on real booking data. We recommend the few that hold up and give your agent a target price.
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Weeks 4 to 6
Close and prepare
Closing, design, furnishing and photography, timed so the home opens when your tax plan needs it to.
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About 10 days later
Open for guests
Listed, priced and bookable, with your hours log already running.
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Ongoing
We run it
Guests, cleaning, pricing and upkeep, with a monthly statement and the year-end records your CPA will ask for.
Typical timing, not a promise. First call to first guest usually takes six to eight weeks.
Management
We don't hand over the keys and leave.
Between our two principals, we have set up more than 500 short-term rentals, operated more than 300 and generated over $20 million in rental revenue, supported by a team of more than 20 people. We look for homes anywhere in the country, wherever the numbers hold up. The team that underwrites your home is the team that manages it, so the revenue estimate you buy on is one we're accountable for.
There are two ways to work with us. Owner-led: you run the home day to day in the first year, with our setup, systems and support behind you, because your own involvement is what can make the deduction work. Talk to your CPA about material participation. Fully managed: our team runs everything at 20% of net rent, for owners who care more about a well run home than the first-year write off.
We set that plan with your CPA before you close.
500+
short-term rentals set up
300+
homes operated
$20M+
in rental revenue
8 years
operating short-term rentals
4.9
average guest rating
82%
average occupancy
Combined track record of our principals. Guest rating and occupancy are for homes under our management today.
Included in management
- Guest communication, day and night
- A team of 20+ people behind every home
- AI-driven analytics, monitoring and guest messaging that keep every stay consistent
- A dedicated revenue manager pricing every night to reach the home's full potential
- Listings across the major booking platforms
- Professional cleaning and inspections between stays
- Repairs, upkeep and trusted local vendors
- A clear owner statement every month
- Stay and activity records ready for tax time
Homes our team operates today
A few of the homes we furnished and manage now. Your home gets the same design standard and the same team.
Three recent standouts
We reviewed more than 200 properties this month alone. These three stood out, and below them is one we turned down.
And what a no looks like
Flagstaff, Arizona
4 bedrooms on 2.4 acres with a guest house, listed at $1,195,000
Bookings needed to break even
$144,043
What similar homes earn
$69,800
A beautiful home, and the tax savings would have been real. It still would have lost money every month. We passed.
Each recommended home is projected to cash flow after the mortgage, operating costs and full management. Depreciation assumes 20% of the price is land, a cost segregation study placing 33% of the building in shorter-life assets, 100% bonus depreciation and a December opening. Tax savings are depreciation times the bracket, federal only. Photos are representative. Listings change; addresses are shared on a call.
How the tax benefit works
When guests stay seven nights or fewer on average and the owner is materially involved, the rental counts as an active business. A cost segregation study then lets a large share of the purchase be depreciated in the first year.
$197,000
Land
Land never depreciates.
$260,040
Shorter-life assets
Fixtures, finishes and site work. With 100% bonus depreciation, these can be written off in the first year.
$527,960
The rest of the building
Depreciated over 27.5 or 39 years, as your CPA decides.
Short stays
An average guest stay of seven nights or fewer, so the home isn't treated as a passive rental.
Your involvement
Enough documented time on the property for the loss to offset your salary or business income. We help you keep the log.
Open by December 31
The home has to be ready for guests in the tax year. 100% bonus depreciation is now permanent for homes bought after January 19, 2025.
Estimate your first-year deduction
Move the price and bracket to see a rough figure. We'll run the real numbers on a specific home with you.
$985,000
$400,000$5,000,000
Buying with partners? Enter the combined price, then apply your ownership share to the result.
Estimated first-year depreciation
$264,000
Estimated federal tax savings at 37%
$97,700
Cash in, before our fee
$283,000
Savings as a share of cash in
35%
Assumes 20% land, 33% of the building in shorter-life assets and 100% bonus depreciation. Cash in covers 20% down, 3% closing costs, the cost segregation study, and furnishing ($12,000 per bedroom plus $5,000). Our fee is not included. Federal only; some states, including California, don't follow bonus depreciation. Whether you can use the loss depends on your situation. Not tax advice.
Fees
Every engagement is different, so we go over our fee with you on the first call. It never depends on how the home performs, and you'll see it in your numbers before you decide, next to every outside cost.
Acquisition and setup
Depends on the home and what you need from us. We go over it with you on the first call.
- Management
- 20% of net rent
- Cost segregation study
- About $3,000 to $3,500
- Design and furniture
- Paid to the vendor
- Inspection, loan, closing
- Paid to the vendor
Net rent is bookings minus cleaning, platform and card fees.
Who we work with
We work mainly with physicians, founders, executives and business owners. It tends to fit when:
- Your federal tax bill is around $100,000 a year or more
- You can set aside roughly $250,000 without touching your reserves
- You already work with a CPA, or are happy to
- You'd rather own a real home outright than buy into a fund
The founders
Derek Cheung
Co-founder, Aurelian
Serial entrepreneur in short-term rentals, with full-stack STR tools and services that help owners launch and run Airbnbs. Finds and launches every home with his team.
500+ Airbnbs set up300+ operated$15M+ Airbnb revenue
Tiffany Le, CPA
Co-founder, Aurelian
Serial entrepreneur behind Aurelian and Stay Regis. Spent 14 years in financial services at EY. Finance exec turned real estate investor and Airbnb operator, helping clients build wealth through real estate.
$5M+ Airbnb revenueMarket and deal analysisSTR tax strategy
Common questions
Can this still count for this year's taxes?
Only if the home closes and is ready for guests before December 31. We'll tell you on the first call whether that's realistic. If it isn't, the home opens next year and the deduction moves with it.
How much of my time does it take?
In the first year, usually a few hours a week, logged as you go, because your involvement is part of what makes the deduction work. Your CPA sets the standard and we plan around it. We handle the rest.
Who owns the home?
You do, in your name or your own company. We don't take a stake in it.
What if none of the homes work?
Then we keep looking, or we tell you to wait. A tax saving doesn't make up for a home that loses money every month.
Can I buy with partners?
Yes, and it's a good way into a larger home. How the depreciation is shared depends on how you set up ownership, so bring your CPA into that conversation early.
Where does my CPA come in?
Your CPA confirms you qualify, signs off on the depreciation and agrees the participation plan. We send them our projections ahead of time and can join a call.
Talk with us
A 45-minute call with Derek and Tiffany. Bring a rough idea of last year's federal tax and the cash you'd set aside. We'll walk through a real home with every cost included. If it doesn't work for you, we'll say so.
Prefer email? derek@aurelianstr.com