Ground-up Airbnb development.
Design-led short-term rentals near national parks, built from the land up and operated for the investors who fund them.
Find it. Build it. Operate it.
One team handles the entire life of each property, from the first look at the land to the monthly distribution, so investors are never handed off between a developer, a designer and a manager.
Blue Key Builds finds the opportunity
We source and underwrite ground-up development opportunities in markets where tourism drives the local economy, and we only present projects that clear our criteria for land cost, build cost and completed value.
Blue Key Builds designs and builds it
Every home is designed for the short-term rental guest from the start, with the architecture, amenities and furnishing that earn top-of-market nightly rates and the reviews that keep calendars full.
Blue Key Builds operates it and pays
Our in-house operations team runs each property with a focus on revenue and expenses, and profits are distributed to investors every month from the owner statement, alongside a 550-door management portfolio.
Built from the ground up, operated for the long run.
Every Blue Key Builds project follows the same model, and every one is published with its numbers. Here are the properties investors are paid from today.
Three Rivers A-Frame
Three Rivers Main House + ADU
Blue Ridge A-Frame
Campanula
Purpose-built homes outperform the market.
The average listing in our markets is an ordinary house someone decided to rent. Ours are designed, furnished and priced for the guest from day one, and the gap shows up in the nightly rate, the occupancy and the owner statement.
Performance-focused returns
Compared with many traditional real estate strategies, well-operated short-term rentals can generate higher cash-on-cash potential. We underwrite each project to a minimum of 10 to 20 percent.
Strategic markets
We build where tourism is the core of the local economy and high-quality inventory is scarce, next to national parks and in drive-to mountain towns with year-round demand.
Designed for cash flow
Each project is built to move straight from construction to revenue, with equity created at completion and distributions beginning once the property is operating.
From first conversation to first distribution.
Investor questionnaire
A short questionnaire tells us about your background as an investor, your goals and whether our opportunities are a fit.
Discovery call
A one-on-one conversation with our team where you can ask about the properties, the process and the structure, and we learn what you are looking for.
Project opportunity
New projects open periodically through the year. Investors who have expressed interest see the project summary, timeline and numbers first.
Build, launch, distribute
We acquire the land, build and furnish the home and open it as a short-term rental. Once it is producing revenue, distributions are paid monthly.
Operators first, developers second.
Tom Kadar
A real estate broker for more than ten years across residential and commercial transactions, Tom runs a team of six acquiring off-market deals nationwide for himself and his investors, and is an owner of a property management company with more than 550 doors across Southern California.
Johnny Martinez
A former software engineer turned real estate investor, designer and Airbnb coach. Johnny has worked alongside some of the top operators in short-term rentals and designs the spaces that stop the scroll, attract guests and stay booked from check-in to check-out.
Drew Woods
Drew oversees the design, setup and execution of each property, making sure every home is thoughtfully designed, fully equipped and ready to operate as a high-performing short-term rental on opening day.
Frequently asked questions.
What is Blue Key Builds?
Blue Key Builds is a boutique real estate development company that specializes in ground-up construction of purpose-built short-term rental homes. We focus on select markets and design each property to operate as a high-performing Airbnb-style rental from day one.
What am I investing in?
A specific, ground-up development project. Each investment is tied to the construction, setup and operation of one purpose-built short-term rental home in a carefully selected market, and each offering spells out the structure and the underlying asset.
How and when do I get paid?
Distributions are paid monthly from the property's owner statement once it is operating. Investors also receive monthly reporting on income, expenses and property updates.
Do I have to be an accredited investor?
No. Our opportunities are currently open to both accredited and non-accredited investors.
Can I invest through my IRA?
Yes. We can process funds through a variety of self-directed retirement accounts.
What tax documents will I receive?
Investors receive a Schedule K-1 each year reflecting their proportionate share of depreciation and taxable income or loss. Our goal is to deliver K-1s on or before March 15. The actual tax impact depends on your individual circumstances.
Ready to start investing?
Tell us a little about yourself and we will send the current project summary, the timeline and the numbers, then set up a call with Tom.
Request the investor summary
Takes about a minute. Tom replies personally.