Motels

Best Motel Broker in WA - Lucas Roth

Here's What Makes Lucas the Best:

- Financial Insight
      - Lucas is a Chartered Financial Analyst and inactive CPA
      - He works with owners to get the financial info buyers & lenders need

- Repairs & Renovations
      - Past motel renovations give perspective on cost-effective solutions

- Operations
      - Having managed his own motels, he understands the operations
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- Marketing
      - Professional Offering Memorandums
      - Click the link to see his OM

View OM

Lucas' Personal Motel Experience

2022 January

Lucas purchase the Selkirk Motel in Colville, WA. Here's the details:

- $700,000 purchase price
- 18 rooms
- 2 bed/1 bath manager's apartment
- 14,200 sq ft motel parcel
- 7,200 sq ft adjacent lot included in the sale
- Prior year tax return showed $119k NOI
- 17% in-place cap rate
- 25% down payment
- $525,000 loan @ 4.5% interest, fixed 5 years
- One manager & 1 cleaner, both plan to stay

Here's a video Lucas made on-site shortly after purchasing. Lots of details!

2022 July

The Selkirk Motel has been making about $10k/mo in cash flow. Lucas has feeling good about that and decides to double down. So, he buys the Village Inn Motel in Cashmere, WA and renames it the Cashmere Inn. Here's the details:

- $1,000,000 purchase price
- 20 rooms
- 2 bed/1 bath manager's apartment
- Close proximity to Leavenworth (vacation destination)
- 25% down payment
- $750,000 loan @ 6.5% interest, fixed 5 years
- Owner managed, they want out

The investment rationale for this second motel is much different than the first. This motel has no online presence and bookings are by phone only. The past financials are unclear because they have been taking cash payment and not reporting it. This is common, but makes it difficult to evaluate and finance the property. Tax returns show less than 300k in annual revenue - very low. Ultimately, Lucas decides to make the purchase because he believes they can add value in two ways:
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1. Operationally - Put the motel on Expedia and other online channels to increase visibility & bookings.
2. Physically - Spend $300-400k renovating the exterior and interior to increase rates.

2023 - 2024 Capital Improvements

$50k is spent on Selkirk (water heaters, windows, plumbing and electrical upgrades)

$300k is spent on Cashmere (roof, windows, plumbing & electrical, drywall, lighting fixtures, paint interior & exterior, office remodel, manager apartment remodel, etc, etc)

Here's what Cashmere Inn looks like before and after:
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Before

After

2025 April

Lucas sells the Cashmere Inn for $1.9m.

It feels great to look back on all the improvements that made the Cashmere Inn successful & profitable:

1. Increased revenue from $230k to $511k in three years
2. Increased NOI from $0 to $124k in three years
3. Listed the motel on Expedia, Booking.com, and affiliated sites
4. Integrated with Google Hotel Ads to advertise directly on google searches/maps
5. Executed a killer renovation of the physical building
6. Set up remote access to enable guests to check themselves in & out
7. Brought Google Review score from 3.8 up to 4.3 stars
8. Built a doggy park in the back corner of the property for pet owners

Today

Lucas continues to own and run the Selkirk Motel. It has a great location in a rural area with a strong base of repeat customers. Lisa and Mark are the managers, Jan and Rebecca clean, and they all do a fantastic job of maintaining the property, give great customer service, and supply guests with a steady supply of homemade baked treats! Cookies at check-in and pastries, coffee cake, and crumbles in the morning!