Sief Khafagi

Sief Khafagi

Published on 17, Feb 2023

After raising $37MM for Fund 1, Techvestor launches Fund 2 to do it all over again 

Is success in real estate as mysterious as it seems? To the outsider, it can certainly appear that way. Markets rise and fall, and areas that were red hot one day can see investors fleeing in droves the next. “We wanted to find a way to take the uncertainty out of where to invest in short-term rentals, and today’s technology gave us that ability,” says Sief Khafagi, the CEO and co-founder of Techvestor. “We created an institutional grade rental platform that assesses 18MM data points each month, and that data allows us to decide who, what, where, when, how, and if an investment should occur after. With that ability, Techvestor has grown one of the largest portfolios of STRs across the United States, and in 2023, we plan to expand even further with Fund 2.”

At Techvestor, Khafagi works with co-founder/COO Sabrina Guler to create a new asset class for passive investors: short-term rentals. Since its inception, Techvestor has raised over $37MM, has more than 75 properties in its portfolio, and its platform underwrites 100K properties each month. 

“We have created Techvestor to handle everything an STR investment needs: we source properties, design them, manage them, and sell them when it makes sense, ultimately helping busy professionals to make passive income and some great memories along the way,” says Khafagi.

What is Techvestor’s background?

The Techvestor story begins at Apple and Facebook, where Guler and Khafagi were independently working and scaling other tech products. 

As an Engineering Project Manager, Guler worked hard to advance Apple’s Airpods product line into a multibillion-dollar revenue stream. She was known for her work ethic and drive, but what was not known was that she had a profitable hobby: she was building her own STR portfolio. 

“I became good at identifying and investing in single-family homes and then transforming them into Airbnb rental properties,” she says. “I realized that it could be a great passive investment for people who were too busy to manage their own STRs.”

Guler and Khafagi envisioned a company that would utilize technology to simplify and democratize investing in short-term rentals. “Our research showed that Techvestor was the right company for the times because 34% of people preferred short-term rentals, up from 10% in 2011,” says Khafagi. “That interest increased with COVID and remote work for sure. But it was still hard to invest in this space. We wanted to solve that.” 

Why is Techvestor set up for success in STRs?

Guler says Techvestor owes its success to its people and its software platform. The procedure of acquiring a property, designing it, and operating it is hard to do at scale, so she and Khafagi created a plan for how short-term rental properties are identified, managed, and can exit.

“We made a 16-point strategy for analyzing the potential of both a property and its location,” Khafagi states. “It includes uniqueness, seasonality, tax benefits, diversification, and STR-friendly states, as well as other crucial factors. We look at millions of data points and 250+ markets monthly.”

Guler and Khafagi vertically integrated Techvestor, controlling the acquisition, design, property, revenue management, and operations.

The Techvestor software was designed to identify which properties would be added to the company’s portfolio. Khafagi explains that its algorithms help them know what to buy, where to buy it, how to finance it, how to operate it, if the property is in a sustainable market, and what realistic growth looks like.

Guler adds that Techvestor also offers a perk for investors. “As an investor, you can stay at any property, at any time, for 10-30% off normal rates. We appreciate our investors and want them to have fun at our properties around the United States.”

What have been the results of Techvestor’s data-driven approach to STRs?

The company has successfully exited eight times, with an average IRR of 42%. With over $37MM from hundreds of investors and 75+ properties across 10+ markets, Techvestor is meeting the milestones that Guler and Khafagi have set for it.

“We are beating our revenue projections 96% of the time and have 52% more revenue than our competitors across our portfolio,” the both claim. “With a 38% higher occupancy rate for our properties, we are optimistic about Techvestor’s impact on the short-term rental industry.”

The two founders want Techvestor to become the largest institutional STR operator in the world: a $1B aggregate fund.

Why should passive investors consider STRs and Techvestor?

The founders state that STRs represent an intriguing passive investment opportunity. “There are never any guarantees, of course, but when you look at the market and our society, you can see the potential of STRs. The pandemic fundamentally changed our culture, with more people now working at home and seeking longer vacation stays. We are at the beginning of an exciting new asset class, one that has already given Techvestor seven and eight figures in LOIs and commitments. Now is the right time for people to learn about passively investing in STRs and to decide if it is right for their portfolios.”

Techvestor is a real estate investment company that helps busy professionals invest short-term rentals. The company decides how to invest by analyzing over 18MM data points each month. You can learn more about Techvestor by visiting http://techvestor.com.

Sief Khafagi
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