New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2022 · 3 posts · 0 votes
Hi y'all new investor here and looking to get a small STR in Cape Cod (preferably in the West Yarmouth area), what do I need to know about the area and STRs? Are there local regulations, is it easy to find cleaners/handymen/contracts/etc.? Any barriers to entry or things you wished you knew for your first property in the area?
Hey @Dominic Litz, have you called the city and county to find out the regulations? That is where I would start. You don't want to buy in an area where it isn't legal.
Read this forum and you will find a lot of info. Do a search on your specific area here on BP as well.
The biggest loss I ever took was on a property that an old business partner bought when I was out of town. It was in a flood zone, which you might run into in Cape Cod. At that time, I didn't know about the FEMA 50% Rule. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's where you can't renovate an old property by more than 50% of the value of the STRUCTURE ONLY...without land/lot. Most jurisdictions apply this to the Tax Assessed Value of the structure. In many cases, that doesn't leave you with a lot of room to renovate. If you can't do that, you have to rebuilt it to current code...with living quarters elevated. In retrospect, we should have torn it down and built it back. I thought I would throw an obscure "I wish I knew" out there as I'm sure others will come back with many nuggets of wisdom. Good luck!
Short term regulations on cape are pretty lenient and none of the towns have banned them. Right now only some towns require a registration and small fee. Plenty of cleaners, etc. Keep up to date on the new title V regulations coming and the impact they may have. The other comment about flood zones is very appropriate for this area. I have seen a few folks get really fouled up with the FEMA regs.