Rental Property Investor · Wilmington · Member since 2018 · 27 posts · 6 votes
So we originally planned to move into the home then decided to keep our daughter in her current school. We have renovated this beautiful 4 bed, 3 bath Pool home on Amelia Island, it's a bike ride away to the beach, 7 minutes by car. Hence we do not want to sell it because even with the renovations, it is a great value with equity already.
We are furnishing it with a beachy theme with the intent to airbnb the place to cover some of the costs. Now I am thinking twice especially since we reside 6 hrs away in another state.
I see fractional ownership advertised on realtor.com and thought that a family who also have a vested interest in the property would take better care of the home than the occasional vacation tenant.
If you have any experience ( with fractional ownership - or airbnb remotely) that you wouldn't mind sharing with us - we would greatly appreciate it.
Don't really like the concept of fractional ownership. It's like 2 coyotes and 1 sheep voting on what to have for dinner, and you're the sheep.
Airbnb can be done from a distance. The main things are housekeeping/restocking between vacancies and having a handyman/repair guy. The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla Reverend @Luke Carl is authoring a book about this, but not right now. He's drinking beer before seeing Iron Maiden at Bridgestone Arena. I'm getting ready to run my paper route. 3 new stops today.
I would pay a PM to rent it before selling off a portion and I hate the thought of giving away money to a PM when it is easy to remotely manage a property with the tools that VRBO and Airbnb provide.
How would the numbers look if you sold it 100%? Do you make a profit? If so, then you can take that money to buy something that generates more and use that money to rent a hotel by the beach. You don't have real estate to cover most costs, you do it to make money
I like the idea of having a second home that pays for itself, yet vacation tenants may not have the properties' best interest in mind. Which is the reason I am giving fractional ownership a consideration. I would also like to recoup some of the costs without fully giving up our interests.
Would you be renting to a high-end clientele, with a high nightly rate? If you’ve done a really nice renovation and it’s a big home, it’s likely. I found that this type of short term renter is very respectful of the property. And it can really generate a significant amount of income. You can always try it and then stop if you don’t like it. I would recommend using HomeAway/VRBO not AirB&B.
I've had good results with Craigslist. Those sites like Airbnb VRBO and HomeAway get me about 6 phone calls a year. I turn those rentals away. But my renters are refinery contractors. Big burly guys that chew tobacco and drive jacked up 4 wheel drives, smell like diesel fuel and have neck tats. They work on those large erections of steel you see at a petrochemical refinery. Fitters, welders, boilermakers, sparkies, spectors, and other people in this field.
I would skip fractional ownership for several reasons. They are hard to sell. If I need to replace a coffee pot, I wouldn't want to have to consult anyone else about that expense or the brand or size or style etc. How do you agree on big expenses like roof redos? The fractional ownerships I'm familiar with allow any owner to rent their weeks. So now you would REALLY have no idea who's in your house. Even if you agree as owners to not rent doesn't mean that they don't have family members who are careless good balls. I shudder at the thought of "who shot John" conversations over wear and tear damages.
But Amelia Island is a nice residential beach area with a classy reputation I agree with @Sarah Lorenz that better houses get better clients. If I wanted to get income on a house I was fussy about and used alot, I would find some snowbirds who to rent 2 months minimum. Be at the house to give them a personal tour and check them out. By putting eyes on, you develop a cordial personal relationship. Many retirees have pets though. Through the years I've had less trouble from furry guests than the juice box or solo cup crowd.
Bottom line if finding your kitchen stuff or furniture rearranged every time you go to the house bugs you, then STR is not for you for that house.
Ok we need to educate ourselves about short term rentals. We have long term rentals but this is a different beast. If you have a book or podcast to recommend that speaks of protecting your interest and tips we would greatly appreciate it!!
@Sandy Sciales Running a STR is like running a resort. You are the concierge, housekeeping, maintenance, repairman, marketing executive, tour guide, accountant, and host; to name a few things. I've been a first responder too, had to call 911 on an unconscious and unresponsive drug overdosed tenant.
The paperwork wouldn't be that different. Use a state agency or Board of Realtors lease with several month terms instead instead of year long. I've had great luck with repeat snowbirds renting my personal beach house. No agents involved. If something breaks just call your usual repair people. As home owners themselves they know "things happen". Their mindset is enjoy a restful winter in a nice house in a sunny clime not party hearty for a weekend.
Depending your personal use, another rental source is to rent a month or longer in the summer. Most beach areas are rented by the week only during June-Sept. Anyone staying longer pays week x # of weeks. Rent it for a month+ at 3/4ths the x weekly rate.
The income helps pay the insurance, taxes and a month or two of the mortgage perhaps. For tax purposes you'll need to split personal versus rental use for your expenses. This is not a max investment cash flow strategy but a peace of mind, take care of my house, and help me pay the costs while building my equity.
Supposing I would use several sites to advertise my short term rental, would someone recommend software to keep all of the bookings on one calendar that does so in real time?
Airbnb and VRBO both have tools where you can sync the calendars pretty easily. This way you wont have to pay for another company to manage it. I vehemently agree with the consensus from most above. Amelia Island is a great vacation spot with a loyal population of tourists that dont want to go anywhere else. I feel like you owe it to yourself to at least try out the vacation rental market. It could be a game changer for you!
Hi @Sandy Sciales! I would keep that all yours. No fractional ownership like the others have said. It sounds like it should be easy to rent and to manage. I am 375 miles from our vacation rental and so far so good. I have had to make an emergency trip to have the A/C checked but that is it in 2 years. Planned visits of course.
The vast majority of places seem to be condo's or townhomes. I think if you priced it correctly, you can weed out the low end guests. Managing from a distance is not a huge issue. You need to get a good cleaner and handyperson to be your boots on the ground. Once those are in place, you should be golden.
we are in the process of replacing the carpeted bedrooms for waterproof vinyl plank flooring (I have it in my own home love its quietness and soft walkability)
we are thinking of furnishing it with high-end leather living room furniture? I thought it would be the most sustainable for the beach.
A large dining table and the mattresses are the only items we have furnished the home with thus far I really would love your thoughts and your suggestions and of course welcome your advice thank you so much Michael!