STR beginner here looking at PCB

[Clinton Davis]

I have been a LTR landlord for 20 years now but I've been recently wanting to expand my strategy and possibly looking at trying out the short term rental scene. I normally vacation along the Florida panhandle like Perdido key, Panama city beach etc. and so naturally, as a real estate investor my antennae go up when I travel there and my curiosity starts to tug at me wondering if this is something viable for me. I would love it if you could give me some idea on what kind of expenses I would be running into. I am looking at doing a condo and perhaps managing remotely myself and listing on airbnb and/or vrbo. But I know Florida is very seasonal. How much Occupancy do you have through the seasons? Peak seasons and down seasons what can I expect? HOA fees, insurance, property tax etc etc. What should I expect? With a condo do you need hazard insurance still? Sorry but this is like a whole new chapter that I want get the first hand details from experienced STR owners. Thank you

[January Johnson]

Quote from @Clinton Davis:

I have been a LTR landlord for 20 years now but I've been recently wanting to expand my strategy and possibly looking at trying out the short term rental scene. I normally vacation along the Florida panhandle like Perdido key, Panama city beach etc. and so naturally, as a real estate investor my antennae go up when I travel there and my curiosity starts to tug at me wondering if this is something viable for me. I would love it if you could give me some idea on what kind of expenses I would be running into. I am looking at doing a condo and perhaps managing remotely myself and listing on airbnb and/or vrbo. But I know Florida is very seasonal. How much Occupancy do you have through the seasons? Peak seasons and down seasons what can I expect? HOA fees, insurance, property tax etc etc. What should I expect? With a condo do you need hazard insurance still? Sorry but this is like a whole new chapter that I want get the first hand details from experienced STR owners. Thank you

Thanks,@Michael Baum!

Clinton, I work for The Short Term Shop (Avery Carl). We ONLY work with STR investors, and I also own and operate my own STRs in this market (for 10 years).

Property tax will run you slightly over 1% of the purchase price annually. Insurance on condos is an HO6 policy, and that will cost about $1,500 (+/-) per year. Other insurance is included in the HOA fee. You will also need to pay your own electricity, but all other items are included (water/sewer/trash, upkeep of amenities and grounds, security, exterior insurance, and Internet/basic cable).

Peak season is March 1 - Labor Day with bookings running into October (still great time to be at the beach).  Nov - Feb is slow, but Jan - March is Snowbird season, so you can still get some rentals in these months but they will not cover ALL your expenses. (Some money > no money.)

Happy to speak to you more about this.  Here's my calendar to schedule a call if you'd like:

https://calendly.com/talktojanuary/emeraldcoast

PS:  I'm from Panama City, and my territory runs from Destin to Cape San Blas, so I'm intimately familiar with STRs all along the coast.