STR Capital Short term rental in Columbus Ohio

[Curt Bixel]

I listed one of my Duplexes on Zillow as being for rent and available. Shortly after that, I was contacted by a representative from STR Capital, a property management company in Columbus, Ohio. She sent the following message:

"Hello! My name is Chloe, I work with STR Capital, have you considered listing your units as a short term/corporate rental? If you are free I would like to come see the property and tell you more about how our company can help fill vacancy and increase revenue."

I figured I would ask a bit more about what they have to offer, and she replied:

"I pulled your property on our pricing algorithm and it looks like it would make an annual revenue of $26,157 with an average daily rate of $154, and an occupancy rate of 47%. Our system does lean on the more conservative side when it comes to numbers, and we have the capability to adjust daily/monthly rates when it seems fit to do so"

Currently, the gross rent for one side of the property is about $18,000 per year.  The idea that I could raise that to $26,000 seems absolutely amazing.  Even if they charged 20% for their services, this is a huge leap in profit.  Even if they charged 30%, it would be like getting property management services for free.  

Am I missing something here?  It seems to easy.

[Collin Hays]

Several thoughts here:

1. Your duplex very well could yield more income as a STR than a LTR.

2.  You probably don't need the management company to accomplish that.

3.  It is true, however, that a good property management co. can often "net out yield" what you can on your own - my experiences have proven it.

4. It is highly unlikely that local zoning allows your duplex to be utilized as a STR. Sorry to be a wet blanket. The management co. doesn't care about this because they aren't the ones on the hook for citations and the flack from your neighbors. You are.