What to do about "Local Agent" requirements in STR markets?

Question

I've been researching STR regulations is various markets and many areas require a "local agent" that lives within 10-45 miles of the village. For those who intend to self-manage from afar, what do you do about these local agent requirements? Are you forced to hire a property manager? Or are there "local agents" for hire at a lesser fee? Are there folks who can take phone calls in case of an emergency but they do not manage the STR overall?

Luke Carl · Answer

Ask your cleaner or hire someone. There are places that will do it cheap. No one will ever call them.

John Underwood · Answer

How about a neighbor?

Will Fraser · Answer

Everyone seems to be motivated by different things, and this thread shows that very well.

If you're looking for cheap, then your using your cleaner and giving them a gift or pay on an as-needed basis should do the trick.

if you work with a PM company that thrives with STRs then you SHOULD be offloading ALL of the operations to them.  Finding one that charges between 20 and 10% of revenue is not unusual and it's also not uncommon to see your profits be comparable to pre-management except with significantly less toil.

However, which of the many solutions is right for you really comes down to what you want to get out of it.  Remember, anything is possibly, but not everything.

Drew Sygit · Answer

You could also use an agent

Michael Baum · Answer

Soda Stays looks interesting at the 15%, but they have a very limited area of management. Just 7 cities listed on one part of the site, then another area lists more.

What's interesting is the "Lease to Us" tab. This makes it look like some kind of arbitrage play. After reading the FAQ, it is very much an arbitrage play. They do master leases, take over utilities etc. They are only interested in areas with 100,000 or more people. That leaves out a lot of vacation spots.

Victoria C. · Answer

Airbnb Property Management with Soda Stays or the Hub as Property Manager. Soda Stays or The Hub if you care about profits and low 15% split in commission. VC backed by Airbnb and I made twice the amount I did since they get preferred placement in search. Plus no work or hassle with legalities as they’re changing constantly.

Lauren Kormylo · Answer

My area doesn't have that requirement, but my HOA does.  I have a local friend as my emergency contact, and my cleaner as a backup.  I suggest you ask your cleaner if she/he would be willing, and set a fee per occurance if she needs to show up at the house in an emergency.  No need for a monthly fee, because it's going to be rare that that happens.

Michael Baum · Answer

Hey @Julie Lin, like others have said, a good cleaner should suffice but a neighbor could work as well.

We have no requirement where we are at, but I know I could rely on my neighbor to help out. He keeps an eye on the place and lets us know if there are any problems right away.

What to do about "Local Agent" requirements in STR markets?

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