Julie Gates
Founder, Sid Was Here · RE/MAX Broker · Forbes Business Council · Co-Author, The 30 Day Stay
Julie Gates founded Sid Was Here in Savannah after years of buying, renovating, and operating short-term rentals across the Coastal Empire. She is a licensed RE/MAX broker, a member of the Forbes Business Council, and co-author of The 30 Day Stay — BiggerPockets’ guide to medium-term rentals. She hosts the Cashflow Savannah Podcast and writes about real estate, operations, and the unglamorous math of running a 100+ unit STR portfolio. She does not do guru content.
Credentials
Forbes Business Council
Member, invitation-only community of business owners and executives.
Co-Author, The 30 Day Stay
BiggerPockets Publishing, 2023. The guide to medium-term rental investing.
Licensed RE/MAX Broker
RE/MAX Accent, Richmond Hill, GA. Active real estate license in Georgia.
Host, Cashflow Savannah Podcast
Conversations with Savannah operators on real estate, STRs, and small business.
Background
Julie did not grow up planning to manage 100+ vacation rentals. She started by buying one short-term rental in Savannah, then another, then a fourplex she renovated herself. The portfolio grew faster than the systems, which is how Sid Was Here started — not as a property management company first, but as the operations layer for her own properties.
The business has since grown to manage over 100 short-term rental units across Savannah, Tybee Island, Pooler, Richmond Hill, and Wilmington Island, completing more than 50,000 guest stays. Owners who hire Sid Was Here typically come from one of three places: they own a Savannah property they cannot self-manage from out of state, they bought a property they thought would cash flow and need to fix the operations, or they are scaling a portfolio and need a partner who actually understands the math.
Julie’s writing — in The 30 Day Stay, on BiggerPockets, and on Easy Street Capital — focuses on what most real estate content avoids: real numbers, real problems, and what does not work. She has been quoted on STR market dynamics in Savannah by industry publications and speaks regularly to investor groups about medium-term rentals, permit compliance, and operational discipline at scale.
Selected Writing and Appearances
- The 30 Day Stay — Co-author, BiggerPockets Publishing, 2023
- 10 Things to Know About Buying Short-Term Rentals in Savannah, GA — Easy Street Capital
- Julie Gates – Forbes Business Council — Member profile and articles
- Cashflow Savannah Podcast — Host
- Julie Gates on LinkedIn
- Julie Gates – RE/MAX
Selected Podcast Appearances
Building a Property Management Business That Runs Without You — Julie Gates
Living Off Rentals with Kirby Atwell · February 2025
The 30-Day Stay: Medium-Term Rentals with Julie Gates
Real Estate Rookie / BiggerPockets
Service Area and Licensing
- Active service area: Savannah, Tybee Island, Pooler, Richmond Hill, Wilmington Island
- Real estate license: Georgia, RE/MAX Accent (Richmond Hill office)
- Property management focus: Short-term rentals, mid-term rentals (30+ day stays)
