Branson, MO · Member since 2014 · 27 posts · 28 votes
Who else has been able to leave their job and have freedom in their life from owning vacation rentals listing on Airbnb and Homeaway? I live in Branson, MO and love my business. Who else is out there?
I'll do $500k gross in vacation rents this year, and $1mil next, averaging more then $150k/door/year. No problem leaving my day job, but in the short term I have definitely created another one!
hi! I'm very new to this! We are currently purchasing a second vacation home but have goals to purchase more and have thought about making this business our sole income but don't know if that's possible without sacrificing a certain lifestyle we have now with two full time jobs. I'm so glad to hear there are people out there who's living the dream! We will have 2 homes in PA but we live in NY. I've also thought about owning/renting in FL but don't know how to manage it.
I would definitely go the short term rental route. Your income and profit will be so much more. The key will be purchasing the right vacation home in the right vacation home community.
Regarding the screening of tenants - There are certain practices you can follow to minimize your chances of renting to a bad tenant. One example is having a minimum rental of 3 nights. Another is holding a damage deposit. Also, a good property manager will check on a property during a rental and can take steps if a tenant is abusing your home.
Regarding managing a property in Florida - the key is having a good, honest property manager. Both of those adjectives are critical. The property manager has to be good at maintaining your home and good at handling problems with your home and your renters. The property manager also has to be honest. There are many ways a property manager can take advantage of you.
I work with a really good and honest property manager here in Central Florida. I will be happy to introduce you to him if you buy a vacation home here. He and his wife have been property managers for 10 years. I encourage every buyer that I help buy a vacation home to use them.
I am looking in Sun valley Idaho, Whitefish Montana and Mammoth for a VR condo. Goal is to rent it out 120-140 days per year and use it myself 3-4 weeks per year. I would self manage but live in SoCal so Mammoth might be easier but prefer Sun Valley. Any advice in these areas? My budget is 300k for the purchase price.
@Keith Courtney Could you introduce me to your PM in Orlando? It's a market I definitely plan on getting active in regardless if it's a vacation rental or annual rental so I'll need one either way.
@Keith Courtney Please also provide me w info on your PM in FL. I was recently looking for some possible vacation rentals in the orlando area just a couple months ago but thinking of getting a reliable PM is what deterred me for the time being.
@Dan Chapman I am fairly knowledgeable on Whitefish, Montana. The cost of ownership in relation to the rental rates/income makes it difficult unless you are looking to park more than 20% into a property. More than happy to answer more questions if you want to PM me directly.
Also, how are you planning on self managing a vacation rental from a distance? Just hiring a cleaning company?
What is your insight on 1) SFH neighborhoods without HOA's compared with 2) SFH with HOA's compared with 3) Condo/townhouses? I'm considering your area next month for a short term vacation rental purchase. I currently have a SFH in a terrific neighborhood without HOA's in NE FL and like the advantages of that.
In terms of demand from vacationer's, which property type is higher?
Most of the HOAs of vacation home communities include for each home basic cable, phone, internet, lawn maintenance, garbage pickup and exterior pest control in their HOA monthly fees. A good example of this is ChampionsGate and more specifically The Retreat in ChampionsGate, which is the vacation home community part of the development. The monthly HOA fee is around $345/month. That covers all of the above plus a guard gated entry, roaming security and The Oasis, which is a huge water park with clubhouse within the community. Owners and their guests have unlimited use of The Oasis. All for $345. The basic cable, phone, internet, lawn maintenance, garbage pickup and exterior pest control would cost a homeowner at least $250 if paying himself. So for $95/month ($345-$250) you are getting the guard gate, roaming security and unlimited use of The Oasis for you and your guests. Pretty good deal!
I handle the buying/selling of vacation homes and the short term rentals of them. From that experience, I can confidently say that vacation homes in gated communities with HOAs that offer amenities (pool, clubhouse, etc.) bring a higher purchase price and generally rent better*. When an HOA is in charge of landscape maintenance, those communities are more eye appealing and better maintained.
* There are a couple of communities that are very close to Disney that don't have HOAs that also rent well.
We manage our own vacation rentals in Orlando as well as a couple of our friends rentals and have had a good experiences so far with the systems we have put in place. And any short term rental management company that charges over 25% is basically damaging the market.
Thank you both. @Juan Duque and @Keith Courtney I am familiar with both models of management. Right now, I'm interested in the acquisition costs:potenetial income. And of course, the expenses.
Husband and I just entered escrow on our first vacation rental!! This is a house in Big Bear Lake, CA that has already been successful solely using VRBO. Really excited to learn from you all as we intend this to be the first of many. Would love to join your group @Michael Greenberg
Do you all use VRBO? Airbnb? Flipkey? Other? Opinions on why you chose the one you did?
I travel often and use vrbo and Airbnb personally. As a user, the new service fee on vrbo was really upsetting me and now I'm viewing that as an owner negatively as well. Has that affected your rentals?
How do you all manage the occupancy taxes on your VR? I work for a company who's core product is payroll. Because of this I'm all about paying someone else to file my taxes. I've seen the company Avalara and for $20/month to help me with registration for my new VR and ongoing tax payments - I feel like it's a no brainer but would love your opinions...
@Dan Chapman I know I've probably posted about this a hundred times already, so sorry if it's old information, but I really love Mammoth for STRs because of it's proximity to Yosemite. We gross about the same during the summer as we do the winter, which is really hard to do in most other ski towns. (Plus that LAX -MMH flight is really convenient if you plan on self managing!) You can easily cash flow with that budget, especially if you self-manage and price yourself appropriately.
@Alyssa Golden congrats on your new property! That's fabulous!! I personally use Airbnb because it seems to be more prevalent with international users, who are a staple for my VR during the summer months, but I know different sites cater to different crowds.
Our town makes it pretty easy to calculate and pay the occupancy tax online each month, so I don't bother with a service.
Brad Moncado I am learning all I can currently about short term vacation rentals and am considering just diving right in and going for Maui. I've run the current air bnb numbers and the ppl who own and rent short term there clean house! I'd love to further discuss your success and learn a bit from you if you ever had the time! I live in STL and have visited Branson on a few occasions it's a great spot!
@Nancy Bachety Jenson Beach area is starting to grow with vacation rentals, particularly for the snow bird season. Prices aren't as high as other areas like Palm Beach, FT Lauderdale, Miami.
@Jorge Magana I always thought Jensen Beach was more expensive but I never really looked into it. I'd rather be in an area where it's not dependent too heavily on snow bird season. That's why I like NE FL and the Orlando areas. Do you have SFH or condo's in Jensen Beach?
It is good to see so much activity on this thread. Sorry I have been away, we enjoyed CA at Yosemite and San Fransisco, then came home, and headed to St. Petersburg Beach, Florida, and Universal Studios in Orlando. We got to experience the grand opening of Volcano Bay, the new Universal Orlando water theme park. It was great! Now back in Branson, MO acting like I am working again. :-) One last thing, there is a new Vacation Nightly Rental Community that we just launched that you can find at iOwnVR - search and find it. Connect with us there too...
Hello all and I hope this forum is still being looked at! I just joined and was hoping to connect to some people and start my research on making passive income with vacation rentals. Anybody have some advice for a noob that's in the military and a mid 600 credit score? Thanks in advance!
@Carrie Giordano Other than distance from LA, what criteria are you considering for your vacation rental? Like you, my wife and I own long-term rentals (in San Francisco) and are considering investing in a short-term rental within a few hours' drive for our next purchase. I would love to find an area with good cash flow on a vacation rental in Northern/Central California.
You can certainly self-manage a vacation rental from 2 hours away with a cleaning person and a handyman. Technology makes this fairly easy. AirBnB automates the booking, the home guide, cancellations, etc. You can use a keypad lock for guest access and email the combination to your guests, etc. Check out the June 1 BiggerPockets podcast "Early Retirement Through Short-Term Rental Properties." Great coverage on this topic!
@Nancy Bachety can't speak to Jensen Beach but in Melbourne Beach, regarding snow bird season, we see a healthy local uptick in the summer when the snow birds have gone home. Floridians that want to escape the heat look to the beaches and we tend to book our highest Airbnb percentage during that time, vs. VRBO that tends to book months in advance.
@Peter R. Interesting thought. The VR manager in my area in St. Augustine, FL is head over heels for weekly summer rentals only and using VRBO. I don't have nearly as much experience with those 2 so I have to see how time plays that out. What you're saying then is VRBO users book the snow bird season using VRBO months in advance in Melbourne? Do you rent a SFH this way?
Peter R. How long have you been investing in the Melbourne market? Would love to connect and chat about the area; I have been contemplating purchasing a property there.