When Darrel and Patrice Maxam moved Connecticut in Georgia, they bought a 1956 bungalow for $ 249,400. Because they had used most of their money to buy the house, they had a hard time allowing themselves the monthly mortgage payments of $ 1,400.
“When we moved to Atlanta, we were really broke,” Darrel Maxam told Business Insider. “We literally spent all our money on a deposit – we had $ 1,000 in our bank accounts.”
They decided to list a room in the three -bedroom bungalow on Airbnb. Then they rented the whole house. Later, they started renting a small house on the property. Finally, the maxams filled their two and a half acres with nine different short -term rental units: the main house, a small house, a converted barn, a triplex and three “huts”.
The maxams have built “huts” on the country of their property in Atlanta to rent on Airbnb. Darrel Maxam.
Now the maxams build and operate for short -term full -term rentals. They sold Atlanta’s property in September 2024; Fulton County’s ownership files show that it has sold $ 655,000. Their goal is a village of 13 tailor -made cabins and properties in New York which reports between $ 30,000 and $ 60,000 per month.
Read the rest to see how the Maxams have built their Airbnb Empire.
They have evolved from the rental of a unique room for renting the whole house
The rental of rooms brought in about $ 1,000 per month of profits, said Maxam, and the rental of the whole house has doubled this amount.
Maxam remembered his luggage every weekend during the summer and left the premises while the guests of Airbnb stayed in their Atlanta house.
He said that the couple would take 10% of his weekly pay check, 10% of his wife’s weekly payroll and 10% of the amount they made of Airbnb and used it to find a hotel within 300 miles that operated in this budget.
“If we only had $ 400, we were going to plan a trip for $ 400,” he said. “We would go so far south As fate, in Florida, as far in the east as the Mississippi, and as far north as the Carolines and the Tennessee region. “”
Maxam thought that the more they put units on the property of Atlanta, the more money they would earn.
First of all, the Maxams joined the HGTV program “Tiny House, Big Living” to build a small house on their property, which, according to Maxam, earned them $ 2,500 of additional profit per month.
“I was addicted at that time,” said Maxam. “We had a barn in the backyard. I converted this barn into another living space. Then, another year after that, I ended up building three other units. After the fifth property unit, we generate about $ 15,000 per month.”
At one point, the maxams had their main house, a small house, a barn, a triplex with three laudable units and three huts of trees on the property. They brought the little home with them when they left.
The interior of one of Atlanta’s trees huts. Patrice Maxam and Darrel Maxam
Maxam resigned from his full -time job working for the Ministry of Aviation and has made hospitality his career.
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They built a village of cabins in New York State
In 2022, the main Maxams project became Finger Lakes Treehouses in Sodus, New York, a small town 33 miles east of Rochester.
The development of the cabin in Sodus, New York. With the kind authorization of Darrel Maxam.
They have teamed up with Red Falls Timber, a company based in New York which supplies in wood from Finland, to build Five cabins in A.
Everyone has a kitchenette, a bathroom, air conditioning and a private hot tub. The night rates are around $ 250, according to the Maxam Hotels website.
Each The structure of the A framework has cost him about $ 65,000, said Maxam. Since its launch in 2023, the five cabins have brought $ 30,000 to $ 60,000 per month, he added.
The interior of one of the A of Sodus, New York. With the kind authorization of Darrel Maxam.
“We do not touch a project unless we can be positive in cash flow within 18 months,” he said.
The maxams are planning to build five non -frame cabins with red wood on the sodus ground this year.
The two cabin styles are prefabricated, which means that they can be assembled quickly, reducing time and cost per unit.
“It will take about three days to have them erected,” said Maxam.
“You, right now, can come on site, look at my plans and be able to assemble my building,” he added. “It’s how easy they are – they are like Lego.”
Maxams have other dreams for the development of sodus.
“We have three airstreams on the property right now, so at the start of the season, we will have 13 units in total,” said Maxam. “Next year, we are going to enter phase three. We have these really luxury style safari tents, and we will also build a bath for them.”
The plan is to have 19 units in total in Sodus by next year, he added.
Another view of the five cabins in Sodus, New York. With the kind authorization of Darrel Maxam.
The couple also bought land in Belize with plans for an adventure centered on the beach in 2026 or 2027.
They believe slow and regular is the best growth
The maxams humbly entered the world of short -term rental, but now have the impression of prospering.
Maxam said that I arrive here, they took their time, using a unit product to build the next one.
“Everyone wants to rush and rush and run to do the biggest project – and they don’t know what they get started,” said Maxam.
“The only advice I have to someone that starts like me is to stay quite small, long enough, because quite early you will be quite tall,” he added.
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