Hello everyone! I am new to BP and currently looking for expert advice from local investors as a first time investor unfamiliar with the St Pete/ St Pete Beach real estate. My husband and I are looking for a vacation home we can partially use for personal enjoyment and partially as a vacation rental. We would like a property with water access. We are currently looking at real estate in three areas with our understanding of pros and cons: St Pete Beach Pass-A-Grille (pros: popular and high-end; cons: expensive and no short-term rental allowed); Tierra Verde (pros: unincorporated Pinellas, short term should be allowed; cons: isolated); St Pete Shore Acres/Venetian Isles (pros: proximity to downtown St Pete; cons: short-term rental not allowed). Shore Acres/Venetian Isles look very attractive on paper, but i’d appreciate some insights from locals as why it doesn’t seem like a sought after location to home buyers and mid-term renters (30+ days).
Realtor · PInellas County Largo, FL · Member since 2016 · 902 posts · 810 votes
3y
Shore Acres floods. A lot. It goes under a few inches when we get a day of rain. Check for how it looks during the storm (Ian) we are getting -- it will be pretty bad. It's under mandatory evacuation right now. More and more people are looking at the flood data and the insurance rates are getting pretty high.
Water access/waterfront property does very well and will be considered a luxury rental in most cases. You will have the downsides of the flood / evacuation zones but you will get the higher returns of a luxury rental on the water which "should" balance it out! Tierra Verde is a nice area -- it's not in the thick of things but it's not too far to downtown ST Pete or beautiful beaches so it will get the same occupancy I would expect in other nice areas.
Thanks for the tips, Dan! I'll keep an eye out for the post-storm conditions. My big conundrum is if there is demand for mid-term (30+ days) rental in the St Pete Beach area... I know a lot of owners Airbnb their properties for STR, but I fear the rules will be more strictly enforced eventually...
Lender · Miami, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 797 votes
3y
Hello @Elisabetta Gar, @Nicole Shaw helps quite a few people in the areas that you've mentioned with their short-term rental needs and am sure she can assist you with your questions. Feel free to reach out to her! I hope this recommendation helps.