Any Ocean City investors doing STRs?

[Stephen Ray]

Hi BP! Anyone out there own any investment properties in Ocean City MD? Specifically that you are using as a STR? Would also like to hear from Realtors in the area that may manage STR's. Looked at a few places about a year ago but the #'s didn't seem awesome. Recently searching for a place to stay for the weekend and the prices seem very high. Just curious if anyone has a vacation property down there that they rent especially if you are self-managing. Thanks in advance!

[Ray Slack]

I've analyzed the Ocean City short term rental numbers over the past five years and they've never really made sense. I own a few short-term rentals in Miami Beach and those do makes sense. But since Ocean City only has a good rental market during the summer it just doesn't work out even with the high weekly rental prices. Most of the people buy a vacation home in Ocean City and rent it out just to bring in some additional income. And a lot of people rent it out during the summer and then stayed there during the early spring and late fall

[Robert Winters]

Hi, Ray. I’m new here, and I’m not challenging your analysis. Rather, I’m attempting to glean some knowledge on why the numbers don’t work. Is there a standard formula for monthly mortgage costs/maintenance/cleaning/etc vs weekly rent that would suggest a profit over the long term? Many properties I’ve found are almost entirely booked for the 2020 Summer season, with additional rentals booked well into October, and some beyond. 

I see it as “12 weeks of prime summer rentals, and 12 months of mortgage payments”. I know literally nothing about how this works. Then again, that’s why I’m here. Thanks! 😁

[Steve Barounis]

I’d love to get more information on the original poster’s question. I have the same outlook, in terms of if I can rent it 12 weeks Then I’ve paid the mortgage and put the rest in my pocket. Anything over 12 weeks would be icing on the cake.