Meet The Property Sistas, aka Melanie Jacobs and Haven Tibbitts, best friends who started buying and renovating real estate to Airbnb as a pivot during the pandemic.
Also owners of the uber-successful Deep Roots Salons since 2018, Melanie told Austin Lifestyle, “Our salons shut down temporarily in 2020 so we thought it was time to expand our portfolios a little and have always enjoyed real estate and design. Purchasing short-term rentals seemed to be the perfect solution.”
When choosing the location for the location Melanie said, “We knew we wanted something close to Lake Travis, in a neighborhood that had a lot of amenities. We had a home previously in Lago Vista and knew Point Venture had a golf course, amazing beach, park, pool, restaurants, wildlife, trails, and so much more. It was going to be the perfect spot for an Airbnb.”
Melanie and Haven started with four properties and themed them after the Golden Girls. “We knew we wanted the decor to be very different from one another and when brainstorming different ways to easily label the properties to make it easier for guests to book, we thought the Golden Girls were the perfect fit with their eclectic personalities.”
They sold ‘Blanche’ in 2022 and said Dorothy and Sophia, which are joined by an interior door that makes for a perfect rental for multiple families and groups of people, are rented the most often. When rented together the two consist of two kitchens, two living rooms, six bedrooms, four baths and balconies.
They have plans to add to the portfolio and you can often find them in Round Top or collecting pieces from vintage stores to customize the properties. “ We already had a storage unit full of a lot of things we wanted to use,” Melanie says.
In the meantime, they’re focusing on designing their newest location of Deep Roots, which will be complete by July 2023. Melanie says, “The design there is going to be like nothing you have ever seen, “ adding, “We're also renovating and building a new residential home. We have interviewed for a few design networks, so that may be something to look for in the future and we're always up for doing design for friends and clients.”
