Investor · Fishersville, VA · Member since 2017 · 8 posts · 2 votes
Hi my name is Brian Almy from Waynesboro Virginia. My wife and I Own a few rental properties locally but we want to get in on a vacation home on the ocean in Florida looking for some advice and pros and cons we also have a property management company here but we can't do it there thanks
Investor · Fredericksburg, VA · Member since 2014 · 123 posts · 65 votes
9y
Cousin Brian, greetings from Fredericksburg, VA! I have a vacation property in Sandbridge (near VA Beach) and we have a great property management group there. This has made all the difference. We pay a premium for their services but it worth it to us. They market the property, handle inquiries and rental contracts, repairs, and upkeep. If you can find someone to do that for you I think it is worth it. Best wishes!
Investor · South Lake Tahoe, CA · Member since 2017 · 78 posts · 42 votes
9y
Hello Brian! I agree with Robb, a professional local vacation rental management company is the way to go. They are expensive (mine takes 35% of the gross, plus the work they do on property), but I find them instrumental in maintaining and filling my South Lake Tahoe vacation rental house. IMHO, just letting them run the property without regular owner participation is a mistake. You are now running a mini hotel that is either 100% full or empty and have to bring the creativity of Walt Disney into play.
One early lesson I learned is to constantly keep improving and updating the place. While on property with family and friends, one friend shared that he and his buddies used to rent a certain vacation home every year. On year four, they noticed that they had been drinking from the same coffee cups that they had used when they first rented the place. I'm sure that this was indicative that nothing else had been changed or improved in the last 4 years either, but the result was that they never came back.
During the July 4th period - when I go up with family and friends to "hot test" the property under full guest load, (remember, you're a hotelier now), I replaced the master bedroom furniture, (with the bed to follow later), removing an entertainment center that could have fallen if a child climbed it. Just today, I ordered a new 65" TV for the living room. It will replace the 52" TV (that was gigantic when I bought it), which I will install in the master bedroom. It all happens later this month, when I make my next maintenance visit.
Vacation home rentals can be great business, but you have to actively participate.
Property Manager · Aurora, CO · Member since 2014 · 221 posts · 210 votes
9y
There are alternatives to hiring a full-service property management company. It just depends on what your motivations are.
Do you want to be completely hands off? Then a full-service property manager is the way to go.
Do you want to do everything possible yourself to keep more of the revenue? You'll have to hire a local team to take care of the housekeeping and maintenance, and you will take care of the rest. But you also won't be paying out a large % to a PM.
Or you can go the middle route and hire a marketing & booking service to take care of the advertisements, inquiries & bookings and pay a smaller % commission than what you would have to pay to a full-service PM. Of course, you'd still need to hire a local team to take care of the housekeeping and maintenance.