Short term rental 4 hours away, How to manage?

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Short term rental 4 hours away, How to manage?

Ashley Wolfe
Realtor · Bedford, TX · Member since 2015 · 172 posts · 55 votes

My husband and I are about to purchase a log cabin in the Austin, TX area that has been in my family since it was built in 2005.  We are four hours away in the DFW area.  We have two options as I see it (since I want to keep this in the family).  

1) Find a long-term tenant or 

2) fix it up a bit more and do the short term tenant thing that is exploding right now.  

The cabin has great features for both. 2/2 (no garage) on a man made lake, private HOA community, on a bus route for the local schools.

I have no idea about any type of property management company in the area.  Its pretty rural with the closest city of ~5,000 being 15 minutes away.  

My hunch is to start it as a long-term rental.  Then, after either my husband or I goes part time with our W2 jobs, begin the short term rental conversion.  If we are to manage a short term rental ourselves, we'll be driving down there nearly every week to prep it for the next set of guests if the calendar is completely full.  Right?  That's something we can't do with full time jobs and a young kiddo.

Thanks in advance for weighing in and telling me your opinions!

Ashley

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John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
8y

VRBO and Airbnb make it pretty easy to manage calendars and accept payments. The key in my opnion is a great dependable support staff, namely your cleaning service. Get these in place and it is easy to remote manage.

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  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    8y

    VRBO and Airbnb make it pretty easy to manage calendars and accept payments. The key in my opnion is a great dependable support staff, namely your cleaning service. Get these in place and it is easy to remote manage.

    3Reply
  • Jordan MoorheadBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    8y
    @Ashley Wolfe getting an Airbnb license as a non owner occupant can be really tough. I’d look into it before you try to use it as a short term rental. It may not even be an option.
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  • Luke CarlPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    8y
    @Ashley Wolfe. @Jordan Moorhead is correct Austin, like most cities, is NOT short term friendly. It likely can not be done. If you do decide to go the self management rought you’ll want to get me on the phone for an hour.
    Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills
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  • Sam Shueh
    Real Estate Agent · Cupertino, CA · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    1.  Long term.  Short term is really not worth the risk and vacancy involved. 

    Good luck,

    Sam


    0Reply
  • Natalie Schanne
    Real Estate Agent · Princeton, NJ · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y
    Ashley Wolfe John Underwood - John’s right. If you have a great cleaner, you can do short term without many issues. You use your Airbnb / vrbo apps to accept the bookings, communicate, get paid, and schedule your cleaner team to change linens and check on damage. Check both websites to see what type of price others are charging (sec dep? Cleaning fee? Night minimums?) and how booked their calendars are. I have a rental in Virginia and I’m in New Jersey. My cleaner charges $20 to turnover a room (since there are other roommates in the house). I’m actively trying to get 1 year leases on any listing I’m Airbnbing though. In my market, a security deposit or cleaning fee on my rental would result in almost no bookings. Hop on craigslist and/or Zillow or call a local real estate agent to get data on actual long term rental prices others have paid or are currently offering in the area. It’s nice to have a security deposit. Compare the two. Maybe you’ll want to rent from now until May on a longer term lease, then switch to Airbnb type short term rentals so you can enjoy the cabin personally too. I also look at craigslist roommate / sublet prices to see if I can make more money renting the house furnished, by the room, to working professionals on 6-12+ month leases. (House might rent for $1800 but roommates might pay $600-700/mo each x 4, or whatever).
    0Reply
  • Luke CarlPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    8y

    @Sam Shueh Is way off theres no vacancy in my market. As far as risk.... well thats subject to change per person but I concider mine next to nothing. In fact I don’t even concider it. 

    @Natalie Schanne has good advice my properties are vacation homes. People coming to the mountains to hike. Whole different vibe than a hotel alternative. Cleaners in my market charge around $75 for a 2 bedroom.

    Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills
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  • Doug Pintarch
    Rental Property Investor · Harrisburg, PA · Member since 2018 · 369 posts · 406 votes
    8y

    Ashley -

    Our partners (Husband & Wife team also) bought and manage an STR in Rehoboth Beach DE, 3 hours away from us (With light traffic and making all the lights!) We go there after every renter leaves to clean it completely and change over for the next renter. Weekends are easy (Our change day is Sunday) and in season you have to rent the week from Sunday to Sunday. Out of the summer season we have a 2 night minimum, and the ones that end on the odd days like Thursday my partner handles, because his work schedule is extremely flexible and he can just take off a Thursday if he needs to. I realize you said your situation is different and it's just you and your husband...we have a cleaning crew ready if needed but we like seeing our investment every week ourselves! When we add a few more properties we'll have to use the cleaning crew, but we'll still rotate cleaning one unit ourselves just to get there every week and see what's up.

      I think if you interview a few Property Management companies you may find one that you both like and can trust with your cabin...and hopefully they'll be affordable and attentive enough to make you feel better about letting someone else handle your family cabin.  Perhaps you and your husband could make the trip and clean it for the changeover once a month?  Save you the cleaning fee that visit and you'd still get eyes-on!

    Hope this helped   :)

    -Doug

    0Reply
  • Krishna Chava
    Specialist · Carrollton, TX · Member since 2016 · 145 posts · 100 votes
    8y
    @Ashley Wolfe STR is very difficult to manage remotely. One irate guest can sink your business by writing a nasty review. That said, its worth trying if you are getting 2x to 3x of Long term. I would automate everything: keyless check-in, remote video moniotoring (outside the property), automated HVAC controls etc. Also automate your response emails to guests with software like Airgms.
    1Reply
  • Rhonda Blue
    Real Estate Broker · East TN Loudon/Lenoir City/Tellico Village · Member since 2014 · 363 posts · 222 votes
    8y

    @Sam Shueh

    I usually don't address statements I dont agree with and just let them go but Sam I need to say as a fellow Real Estate Agent from SOCAL that your Short Term analysis is way off. We have owned Long Term rentals and currently have both Long and Short term rentals. I have my long term rentals with a management company and have self managed my STR from day one with little to no risk and zero vacancy issue with the short term rentals bringing in about 5 times the net. Easily verifiable via my online calendars. If you would ever like to chat about my experience and maybe I could help change your mind. Message me anytime

    0Reply
  • Benjamin Vail
    Real Estate Broker · Columbus, OH · Member since 2016 · 181 posts · 244 votes
    8y

    I echo what everyone else said. STR is a good option, but I would find a good local support staff.

    One thing I want to point out is you said it is in an HOA. Read the rules of the HOA before trying short term rental. Most HOA's won't allow rentals of less than 30 days. If you are not in Austin proper, you should not need to worry about STR rules of Austin.

    0Reply
  • Luke CarlPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    8y
    Other than @John Underwood @Rhonda Blue and myself - there’s no way any of these comments were made by VR/STR self managing hosts. My best advice to OP is don’t listen to anyone that’s not having success in the field you’re looking to enter. Never buy a steak from a vegan.
    Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills
    2Reply
  • Mark Wood
    Flipper/Rehabber · Cleburne, TX · Member since 2017 · 29 posts · 9 votes
    8y

    Start calling some of the larger property management companies in the area and plan on using it as a long-term rental.  The Austin area is getting pretty stupid on the short-term rental sector.  Check up to see what the municipal rules are in the area.  NIMBY (Not in my back yard) crowd is pretty strong around there.  

    0Reply
  • Mark S.
    Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2016 · 142 posts · 79 votes
    8y

    @Ashley Wolfe  We self-manage a property in Wimberley from three hours away in Houston and we've had good success.  The above comments about a good housekeeping and handyman situation are important.  Find good ones and treat them well.  Send me a note if you have any specific questions.

    1Reply
  • Eric A.
    Rental Property Investor · St. Augustine, FL · Member since 2017 · 189 posts · 127 votes
    8y
    @Ashley Wolfe it is very possible to manage several STR’s remotely. We do it in several states and others who say you cannot have never done it. @Lucas Carl is right on with his assessment. The key ingredient to long distance management is having a team locally with 3 backups minimum. Ask questions about response times and guarantees. Send me a PM and I can help you out. It’s amazing how many people with no experience care to respond and have no earthly idea what they are talking about.
    1Reply
  • Paul Sandhu
    Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    8y

    Listen to @Luke Carl  

    Forget about trying to make this property a profitable STR. Go with a LTR. If you try to make a go with this as an STR, you're going to have more problems that you can manage from 4 hours away. I have 24 STRs, the furthest one is 7 minutes away. No way I could do this if they were 4 hours away.

    0Reply
  • Mark Kappelman
    Developer · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 31 posts · 34 votes
    8y

    @Ashley Wolfe Like anything in life, there are pros and cons to ST and LT rental investing. We do both and have a 3 unit STR property in Tampa that we 'manage' from Chicago, which means we use a third party property manager to handle guest communications and turnovers (e.g. cleanings). If you go on Google and search for 'AirBnB property manager', a number of different groups will come up, including (but not limited to) Evole and Turnkey. You can also look at each of your AirBnB 'comps' in your area and see if there is a commonality among the property 'hosts' or 'co-hosts', and if there is, I'd suggest you reach out to that person to learn more about your local market. We did this and ended up using a local property manager.

    If you're interested in trying STR, I'd recommend you go for it. We've had great results in Tampa and are about to bring two units online in Chicago. The downside to trying is limited to the cost of furnishing the property, and even then, you may be able to rent it out furnished on a long-term basis if the ST stragtegy doesn't work out, or sell the furniture for that matter.

    We started STRing back in January 2018 and are documenting our learnings (which are growing :) ) at our blog here (http://www.trihomestoday.com/blog/) if you're interested.

    Good luck and feel free to reach out with any other questions!

    1Reply
  • Ashley Wolfe
    OP
    Realtor · Bedford, TX · Member since 2015 · 172 posts · 55 votes
    8y

    Thank you @Mark Kappelman for your insight!  I'll read your blog and bookmark for future posts!  

    0Reply
  • Ashley Wolfe
    OP
    Realtor · Bedford, TX · Member since 2015 · 172 posts · 55 votes
    8y

    Thank you @Mark S.! We love Wimberley.  I grew up going to Rocky River Ranch in the summers (off Flite Acres Rd, owners of the Corral Theater).  

    0Reply
  • Scott Ellis
    Investor · Spokane, WA · Member since 2015 · 86 posts · 68 votes
    8y

    @Ashley Wolfe, Do you and your family still want to use the cabin personally for vacationing and weekends away?

    If so, short-term renting lets you still block out any nights that you/family want to use it. While you could definitely handle the communication and management from home; you DON'T want to be driving to clean.  You'll hate your life very quickly. =)

    Are there other houses around the lake that are on Airbnb?  What do their calendars look like? 

    Being far from large cities means less access to property management companies, 24-plumbers, etc.  However, from my experience, small towns often have locals that love the remoteness but have to piece together 2-3 part time jobs to make it.  You might very easily find someone nearby who'd love the extra side income of coming by for a couple hours 2-3 times a week to clean. 

    I'd also throw out that our STR's earn between 2-3 times what a long term lease would bring in; so playing devil's advocate to your original post—getting your systems in place to manage it as a STR now could actually move you closer to your goal of getting away from full-time W2 income.

    0Reply
  • Charles Kao
    Specialist · Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 611 votes
    8y
    @Ashley Wolfe We have our cleaning lady take care of everything as a flat fee 60 dollars, and tenants self checkin with lockbox We habe two onsite one as emergency and one that gets changed after every tenant. If the place requires little to no cleaning they get paid pretty well. If its more than 3 hours of cleaning then we pay them still but then we go after the guest. If you are only booking a few times a month going to be hard to get somebody to work with you unless you pay them more. The cleaning and management fee we then past onto the guest.
    0Reply
  • Julia Parslow
    Richfield, UT · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 8 votes
    8y

    We have an STR 4 hours away. We have a great housekeeper and we keep the supply cabinet well stocked for her to replace consumables and store cleaning supplies. If something needs fixing or replacing, we have a list of reliable service people to call. The service providers let themselves in with a door code. Our experience has been that If you have a team and a plan for contingencies, it's totally doable and profitable.





































































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