Looking for some feedback/advice on a STR in the Lake Arrowhead area. My husband and I love the area and for our long-term use would prefer this area over Big Bear. My question is can anyone provide info on how many days per year I can estimate it will be rented? We plan on buying something close to the village, upgrading it nicely, etc.
Thank you all for any information you can provide!
Crestline, CA · Member since 2018 · 63 posts · 70 votes
7y
Crestline resident here. Prices are lower in Crestline than Lake Arrowhead, and in my humble opinion, Crestline is easier to get to and has more potential for appreciation, especially if you buy something with a view.
Lots of cool things happening in this town. Check out "incorporate Lake Gregory" for info about the current movement to incorporate the Crestline area into a town and possible even rename it after its beloved lake.
@Denise H. I'm looking at properties in the area as well, and it's difficult to get a solid idea for those numbers. It seems like general data from Airdna would suggest a 40% occupancy rate, but Airdna also says that the occupancy rate for big bear is about 30%, which seems strange. I know that top listings can generate a nice annual revenue year round (winter months obviously being the best), but it seems like competition is also pretty high.
Thank you! I will look at Airdna. @Jonathan Guzi, any areas in particular your are narrowing down your search to? Just curious if you think it is important to be near the village, you do pay quite a premium for that.
I'm keeping my options open, so I'm looking at nearby towns like Running Springs as well. I just don't know if the higher prices closer to the village make it that much more worth it. I wish we had some input from people who actually own there, haha.
Glad to hear you all are investing in the Lake Arrowhead to Running Springs area. I have lived here since 1979 and have a long term rental in the Crestline area "west of Lake Arrowhead". Please feel free to ask any questions about the Crestline to Big Bear areas as each area have their good and bad points. Lake Arrowhead is the quieter of the resort towns " Crestline, Running Springs, Big Bear". Short term rentals aka str's, although popular in all areas are still growing in the Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs areas. Big Bear is easily the most popular str area of the four.
The communities are still getting used to the str growth and it is usually one of the top five topics of the community meetings. The communities had enough of a concern about str's and ltr.'s " long term rentals" that San Bernardino County created a license "$50.00 a year" but allowed them to track rentals. They also created a 24 hour reporting number for people who had complaints. This all said I just heard that there are only five hundred str's in the Lake Arrowhead area. I am not sure how much in the Big Bear area but I would think it is quiet a bit more. Hope this helps.
@Brian Grant Thanks for the input! I thought there was a one time permit fee of $599 for STR in San bernardino county + 7% of gross, is this correct?
Also, just wondering if the 40% occupancy throughout the year sounds about right to you? I love the area too and would probably be just as happy to live there full time (currently living in LA) regardless. Just have to figure out a way to increase my income doing more remote work, haha.
Fairfax, Virginia (VA) · Member since 2017 · 47 posts · 47 votes
8y
One great way to find out occupancy is to talk with a local Airbnb superhost. Sometimes the occupancy rates are artificially low on Airdna.co since Airdna.co looks at all listings, but some people only rent out their home part of the year. Likely you will achieve a higher occupancy and nightly rate during the summer peak season. Some people live in their vacation property during the offseason, and rent it out during the peak season. You might want to time the launch of your vacation home based on the season. You could buy a home in the winter or spring so that you are all ready for the summer peak season. A good way to judge occupancy is to look at competitors calendars on Airbnb. When you open up their calendar, you can see how many days they have booked in advanced. Also, keep in mind that most vacation homes have a higher occupancy during weekends.
Rental Property Investor · La Quinta, CA · Member since 2018 · 263 posts · 95 votes
8y
@Brian Grant
Hello, I’ve been looking into Lake Arrowhead and the surrounding areas as well. Brian, would you happen to know anything about the Crestline area? I saw you mentioned a LTR in that area. I’m thanking about a STR to diversify my portfolio. I assume you’ll need a permit and pay any TOT to the city. How’s the occupancy in that area? Weekends busy, summers and winters? I have an STR in the desert area of La Quinta. Thank you!
On the permit fee and 7% of gross, sounds like you are more up to speed on the situation and are probably right. For the 40% occupancy rate I really like what @Daniel Kauffman said about calling and Airbnb superhost. I have not done STR's but I have been told that there are local STR and LTR business that will do everything for you too.
Crestline is doing more and more community activities; concerts on the lake, dinner on the lake, fireworks, Corks & Hops, July 4th parade, farmers market, and I am sure there is more. The LTR are getting more dollars in the Arrowhead area but not sure on the STR. On LTR occupancy, from talking with my property manager it seems as though there is a shortage of LTRs. She has also mentioned that the majority of people are falling out of the application process due to low credit score or unable to show adequate income to rent amount. This leaves the landlord either waiting longer for a qualified renter or having to take a risk and lower the application process standards. But from looking at Zillow, Trulia, and Rim Rentals on Facebook it seems at prices are a bit higher than what people are able to pay. Please PM me if you would like her contact info.
I am really interested in the STR for these areas and hope that when or if you all or anybody, do purchase you will post your experience and findings so that we all can follow.
Rental Property Investor · La Quinta, CA · Member since 2018 · 263 posts · 95 votes
8y
@Brian Grant
Thanks for the information Brian. I will definitely know or post to the forum if there are any new developments. As far as your LTR is concerned, have you seen stable renters with your property?
Rental Property Investor · Lake Arrowhead, CA · Member since 2016 · 43 posts · 23 votes
8y
@Mark Futalan Hard to say, have only had it for a year and the renter has been in it for ten months. In general the mountains loose families after a bad winter "not to often anymore", when kids hit the intermediate and high school age, eg. we have 3 grade schools, 1 intermediate school, and 1 high school in the Lake Arrowhead area " Rim of the World School District", and during times of economy trouble. Other than that I would say overall the area is pretty stable.
Rental Property Investor · TN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
Hello,
I lived in Crestline from 1999 until I retired in 2017 and moved to TN. I also was in Crestline as a child as a weekender/vacation home user, my parents, aunt and grandparents all had vacation homes there.
Short term rentals generally are booked on holiday weekends and for a week at a time during regular school break holidays and the Summer. Non-Summer/non holiday weekday rentals are rare.
STR's can be difficult to manage. MANY 'groups' come up to celebrate and are rough on the homes. One friend had a winning youth soccer team rent their home. They popped the beer bottles top first into the drywall throughout the living room. It looked like a bottle house. The had to replace all the drywall in the living room, loose the rental use for a month...and try to prove who damaged the house---actual renter on the paperwork was not even there. Youth were underage. Did they drink the beer? wine? Judge wanted information the owners did not have, not even the names of all occupants as the rental company did not collect it. Renters who were there were not identified to the owners.
Most of the homes that were STR that I know of have been turned into LTR. There are a handful of scammer renters that never pay rents and trash the LTR houses. They are locally known. Most of the renters are just lower income, but nice people who work hard at lower paying jobs. They move to Crestline for the lower housing costs and safer community.
I sold my home when I moved because I do not want to manage a rental from 2100 miles away. I am now fixing an inherited house there and selling it shortly for the same reason. But if I was closer, I'd have kept both homes as rentals.
There are a lot of activities in the community and at the lake, as stated by others above.
Real Estate Investor · Chico, CA · Member since 2016 · 248 posts · 105 votes
7y
So we ended up buying in Rimforest! Right between arrowhead and Crestline. There is definitely a shortage of LTR in the area and it’s good to know we could pay our mortgage with one if we needed to.
But from what I am seeing, STR are very competitive, and inexpensive. I was hoping to rent every other weekend, but after talking to the county today and hearing about the $600 2-year permit fee, I'm less inclined to deal with Airbnb. We'll see
Still, excited to build some sweat equity in the place and enjoy it.
So we ended up buying a place in Arrowhead, spent more than we had planned but really love the cabin. We are going to use the seller to manage for us for a while to get our feet wet, they do a great business and have some perks to make the property more enticing that we wouldn't be able to offer, like a dock and kayak / SUP use. Right now hoping to at least cover a good portion of the expenses, we decided we would give it a year and reevaluate. Thank you all for all the great advice so appreciate you all for taking the time to reply.
Crestline, CA · Member since 2018 · 63 posts · 70 votes
7y
Crestline resident here. Prices are lower in Crestline than Lake Arrowhead, and in my humble opinion, Crestline is easier to get to and has more potential for appreciation, especially if you buy something with a view.
Lots of cool things happening in this town. Check out "incorporate Lake Gregory" for info about the current movement to incorporate the Crestline area into a town and possible even rename it after its beloved lake.
Rental Property Investor · Venice, CA · Member since 2016 · 42 posts · 32 votes
7y
I have an Airbnb in Crestline and Big Bear. Big Bear gets more traffic, rents every weekend at a higher rental rate and Crestline is popular in the summer but on average is rented 3 out of 4 weekends in a month. Renting for 1 night minimums helps, just make sure you have the support needed to accommodate same day check in, check out.
I agree with @John Sharpe Crestline is easier to get to! only 15 miles of mountain driving compared to 34 miles of mountain driving to Big Bear.
Thanks for sharing the great news about incorporating Lake Gregory..
Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 13 posts · 3 votes
7y
@Lisa Lincoln I'm late to the conversation, but I'm considering buying in the mountains. What's the occupancy in Lake Arrowhead? I have my eye on a place, but I'm being cautious in setting expectations for Airbnb income.
@Jennifer Carter, So I'm happy to report our only problem has been that our cabin is always booked and we have only been able to use it 5 days since we bought it. We are at 100% occupancy for August and only had 2 days not booked in July and have had every weekend booked since October. I really attribute this to a few factors; 1. our location, it's only about a 5 minute walk to the lake and village, 2. our management company is seriously top notch and provides a dock with kayaks and SUP's, and 3. our home is very nicely updated with everything you could need. With that being said we are making a profit but not it's not a lot, making money wasn't the goal, just to cover the costs and be able to use it occasionally. What neighborhood are you looking at? We are off Mittry.
Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2017 · 31 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Jennifer Carter I have data on booking occupancy, nightly rates, etc. for the US. Feel free to PM if you would like more info. Besides hosting my own STR places, I've been building some side data analytics apps to answer these exact type of questions. I'd love any feedback you (or anyone else might have) on it and can get you access to some of the data you might be interested in.