Cocoa Beach Canal/Pool Home - Mgmt Co or Self for Short Term Rent

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Cocoa Beach Canal/Pool Home - Mgmt Co or Self for Short Term Rent

Daniel Domer
Investor · Prior Lake, MN · Member since 2016 · 34 posts · 6 votes

Hello all,

Looking for some general advice here, we are closing on a 4BR/2BA Canal/Pool home in Cocoa Beach next month. We have to furnish it all and from there are looking to use it for short term rentals (Air BNB, VRBO, etc). Some of the Mgmt companies down there want 25% which would essentially kill profit margins, was looking at Evolve this morning (they say they take only 10%) and going to research some others. The big issue is we are out of state, so getting it off the ground is what concerns us right now.

I have friends who rent out their cabins in the midwest using Air BNB and doing it themselves. But those are cabins they have vacationed in for a while, not exactly starting from scratch in furnishing it and marketing it from day one.

One thought we had was pay someone to help us furnish it and use Mgmt company for a year or so to help get it off the ground. Then take it over ourselves using Guestly or some other software. I've heard the cleaning company is the biggest piece in doing it yourself and this piece is a MUST have if you are going to do it on your own and are not in the state.

We plan to install all smart devices, keypad, thermostat, cameras, etc to help monitoring it and managing it a little easier.

Anyone have any advice on using management companies and how did that turn out, especially in this part of FL?

Thanks in advance!

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Lisa Graesser
Rental Property Investor · The Villages, FL · Member since 2017 · 341 posts · 398 votes
6y

I would highly recommend doing it on your own. You seem to have a good idea of what you need as far as cleaners and smart devices.

Go there for a week or two after your purchase and get the furniture and all household items you need. You can order some nice furnishings from places like Wayfair if you are short on time, coordinate other deliveries for when you are there. If you are planning on driving there, start buying household items now to bring with you.  Check out consignment stores, Facebook market place and places like goodwill for some great finds as far a kitchen wares or decor, either where you live now or in coca beach. Once you have the house set up,  find a couple of cleaners, handyman, list of who to call for repairs like appliances or AC. Join the NextDoor and Facebook group in that area to get recommendations for all your service needs. 

We live in Buffalo, New York and manage 3 STR's in The Villages, FL, it is worth it to us to handle the issues ourselves than to pay a management team, but that all depends on how much time you have to deal with any issues.

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  • Lisa Graesser
    Rental Property Investor · The Villages, FL · Member since 2017 · 341 posts · 398 votes
    6y

    I would highly recommend doing it on your own. You seem to have a good idea of what you need as far as cleaners and smart devices.

    Go there for a week or two after your purchase and get the furniture and all household items you need. You can order some nice furnishings from places like Wayfair if you are short on time, coordinate other deliveries for when you are there. If you are planning on driving there, start buying household items now to bring with you.  Check out consignment stores, Facebook market place and places like goodwill for some great finds as far a kitchen wares or decor, either where you live now or in coca beach. Once you have the house set up,  find a couple of cleaners, handyman, list of who to call for repairs like appliances or AC. Join the NextDoor and Facebook group in that area to get recommendations for all your service needs. 

    We live in Buffalo, New York and manage 3 STR's in The Villages, FL, it is worth it to us to handle the issues ourselves than to pay a management team, but that all depends on how much time you have to deal with any issues.

    1Reply
  • Marcello Di Gerlando
    Investor · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2011 · 322 posts · 238 votes
    6y

    I don't self manage so I can't speak to the pros and cons. I can only share my experience using Evolve.

    We opened our 1st STR in Dec 2019. And chose Evolve for many of the same reasons you outlined. According to Airdna data our STR is the highest grossing STR in our market. I suspect that Evolves dynamic pricing algorithm is partly responsible. We are doing well and I anticipate continuing with Evolve for now. Things may change. By now you should understand what Evolve can and cannot do for you.

    Evolve got us off the ground up and running hassle free. Their user friendly app and messaging service is my main interface with our STR.

    What they can't do well is support our ground services. We used their network of supposedly vetted cleaners and it was a **** show each time. We now manage our own cleaners and maintenance. We furnished and rehabbed our place top to bottom. Both my wife and I have backgrounds in flipping single family homes and furnishing high end retail fashion stores so we never considered having a third party furnish our place. 

    Use the Evolve network of services at your own risk. Good Luck.

    0Reply
  • Nancy Bachety
    Rental Property Investor · North Fork, NY · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 631 votes
    6y

    Congratulations on your pending purchase. I agree with Lisa on this but it does depend on your tolerance, goals and time. We also lived in NY when we closed on our (brand new -no renovating) St. Augustine 4/3 house. We furnished it top to bottom in six days and handed it over to our first guests on the 7th day. Self-managed from that day. 
    That said, 1) do you have the time to be there (receive packages, shop) for that or would you rather oversee it?
    2) do you know exactly what you’ll need to furnish it with? We hired a local interior designer to walk through the empty house on day 1 and make a list of everything needed, right down to size of area rugs, wall hangings, placements, window treatment specifics, everything I could have done, in time, but didn’t want to. That was money well spent. I can do this myself now but didn’t want to then. 
    Call a property manager and pick their brains, maybe get a pdf from them, of items to furnish with, or make your own list. It will be a lot longer than you think.
    3) Do you want to fly or travel down there periodically to use, or oversee, or put your eyes on? That’ll help you decide if hiring a pm is important to you.

    That’s your primary goal right now. Also, if you have a photo representative of the house, you can make your listing “Coming soon with all new furnishings, etc.” Don’t use photos that misrepresent though.

    The self-management piece is the easiest part.
    Goo luck.

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  • Luke CarlPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    6y

    @Daniel Domer. Like mentioned already, everyone here does it themselves. It’s easy. The fact that you found this forum means that even if you use a manager you’ll just micro manage the hell out of them and do tons of work you’re not getting paid for.

    Read this forum. The whole thing. Then come back with more questions. You wont have any ;)

    Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills
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  • Paul Sandhu
    Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    6y

    I self manage my 23 properties.  The only things I hire out are cleaning out main sewer lines (don't want poo on my hands) and anything electric between the fuse panel and weather head. 

    0Reply
  • Michael BaumPro Member
    Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    6y

    Hey @Daniel Domer, welcome to the STR fray! I would stay away from Evolve. I looked at them closely when we bought out lake house. On the surface it seems like a decent way to go, but in the end it is not worth it.

    The biggest issue is they own your listings. The photos, the reviews, everything. They don't transfer over when you drop them for management. 

    1Reply
  • Sofia Sharkey
    Property Manager · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2018 · 280 posts · 221 votes
    6y

    @Daniel Domer

    As people mentioned already Evolve will do management and guest communications but that’s the easy part. What actually requires coordination is the cleaning and maintenance which they don’t cover.

    You can manage one property yourself but note that if there are damages, you won’t be there to take pictures and inspect. This is vital for reimbursement with Airbnb for instance. You also mentioned leveraging something like Guesty. That’s only worth it if you have 15+ properties. Guesty is expensive and in my opinion not with the money for just one unit.

    I manage my short term rentals and started managing for out of state investors 2 years ago. We spend a lot of time on pricing, SEO, guest screening, etc to make sure they are profitable and successful. This also includes making sure they are regulated with the city and not the party house in the block.

    If you hire professionals, it should increase your revenue significantly to make the 25% worth it. Do you know exactly how much your property can make?

    Many people also want to jump on STR because it's the trendy thing to do. But not all properties are worth the time of hassle. If your margins are so tight, ask yourself if STR is even a good idea for this place. Just my two cents. Best of luck!!

    0Reply
  • Timothy Church
    Real Estate Agent · Galveston, TX · Member since 2015 · 255 posts · 219 votes
    6y

    I work as a realtor and vacation rental property manager in Galveston and I still recommend to most of my clients to self manage if they can. If you are able to get systems in place, it can be rather streamlined and can obviously add to your bottom line. Here are a few main things I'd recommend.

    BeyondPricing/Wheelhouse - They are great dynamic pricing tools with some customizability. Once you have them set up, simply log in once a week or so and adjust your base price based on your occupancy. This will insure high occupancy and maximize income. For my market, I shoot to stay in the 50-60% range for the next 30 days with last minute guest filling in the gaps but every market is different. Costs 1% of booking price

    Turnoverbnb - This is a great tool for coordinating with cleaners. Simply sync up your calendars from every site you are using for bookings. It will automatically email the cleaners when there is a booking, give them updates if dates change, and even cancel the cleaning if you get a cancelation. Obviously finding reliable cleaners are a must have as they are your eyes for the property. Make sure they offer laundry services and will put out any paper goods. Cost is $8 per property

    Amazon - Create a cart with everything you use in your property from paper goods to soap to linens. Anytime your cleaners warn you that you are getting low, simply order it and have it shipped to the house itself or to the cleaners. I let the guest know if I have supplies coming in and simply ask them to set them inside for the cleaners. This way if say two coffee mugs break you can order a brand new set of the same type and have them there within a day or two. 

    Smart lock - Always use a smart lock! It makes a world of difference. If you feel like you'd like to change the code often, get one with the ability to connect to the wifi so you can do so remotely. Even if you are using a smart lock, put two wall mounted lockboxes on the property somewhere out of the way. The first one will be the guest back up in case there is any issue with the smart lock. The second is the back up of the back up that's yours as an owner. I had one time the smart lock went out on a property due to extreme humidity getting in and frying the board (Yay Galveston weather!). I was out of town at a wedding so I gave the guest the code for the back up key and made a note to change out the lock. The next day I get a call that they lost the key at the beach!! I had them take the back up back up key and make a copy and lock it back up. Saved me from having to get a locksmith out while I was 6 hours away.

    Really all you are left with after these tools is guest communication and any maintenance. If you want to automate further there are tools to automate a few messages to make sure guest get information. Any maintenance comes down to finding reliable people who are willing to send you photos before and after to show you the work completed.

    With a newly done unit, hopefully you won't have too many issues! It is definitely worth trying out just to get a feel for it. If it isn't your cup of tea you can always call a management company but you won't know unless you try!

    1Reply
  • Lance Lewton
    Investor · League City, TX · Member since 2018 · 34 posts · 12 votes
    6y

    @Timothy Church

    Good info!

    0Reply
  • Valerie Rogers
    Property Manager · Aurora, CO · Member since 2014 · 221 posts · 210 votes
    6y

    Hello @Daniel Domer and congratulations on the purchase of your new home in Cocoa Beach! It's always exciting to begin this adventure of Short Term Rentals, but nerve-wracking, too. There is so much to consider and do!

    You've received some good advice already from our forum colleagues and there is so much more available here in the Short-Term and Vacation Rental forum. 

    A few people have mentioned that self-managing is the easy part, and that is true. It is not difficult. What it is, though, is time-consuming. Depending on how busy you are and how much your time is worth self-managing might be more of a time investment than you are comfortable with.

    I've seen some people post that they've created practically an automated process to handle their bookings and while productivity tools and automation are helpful, in my experience the most successful booking experiences happen when guests feel a connection with their hosts. That personal connection is difficult to establish if your process is fully automated.

    Since you are just getting started you might find this "essentials" checklist offered by Vrbo helpful as a starting point:

    Vacation Rental Property Checklist

    This checklist is one of the resources I like to share with my new clients who are putting their property on the STR market for the first time.

    If you are going to self-manage some other things to consider are:

    • Taxes & licensing required for your location (I recommend using Avalara MyLodgetax for this)
    • Rental agreement
    • Damage deposit options
    • Cancellation policy
    • Local support: Housekeeper, handyman, plumber, AC/Heating company, etc.
    • Professional photos for your listings
    • Competitive rates for your property's location

    These are just some of the things that will need attention to get your property and its listings up and running.

    Best wishes on your new endeavour! 

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