New Smyrna Beach, FL - Good for part-time STR Investment?

Question

I am trying to understand the New Smyrna market in terms of a short term rental investement.

I'd like to find a place in Florida that I can be there during some of the winter months, and use as a short-term rental for the rest of the year.

I'm finding all kinds of various ordinances in cities around the U.S., zoning issues, etc.

Is there an agent that understands that market? If that isn't the place, is there a more ideal place in Florida for what I'm trying to accomplish?

In terms of financing, what instruments are typically used for acquiring STR property? I currently have equity in my home. Im curious what deposit is typically required, and how loans get structured for out of state investors like myself looking to do part-time STR?

David Pierce · Answer

@Travis Richardson - they are trying to figure it out:

https://www.floridarealtors.or...

Fla. House Moves Forward on Vacation Rental Bill

The

effort to bring short-term rentals under state control could help

ensure that advertised rentals on sites like Airbnb are licensed and

collect and remit taxes.

TALLAHASSEE,
 Fla. – For the first time, online platforms such as Airbnb would have 
to collect and remit taxes on vacation rental properties, ensure that 
only properly licensed rentals are advertised and provide the state with
 specific information about the rentals, under a proposal headed to the 
House floor.

In exchange, short-term rental regulation would be 
“pre-empted” to the state, largely preventing local governments from 
regulating vacation rentals. Local governments could only regulate the 
rentals in the same way as other properties in neighborhoods, a 
restriction that cities and counties oppose.

The House Commerce Committee on Thursday approved the proposal (HB 1011),
 with Democrats objecting that decisions about vacation rentals – which 
have sparked backlash from some homeowners who complain about raucous 
parties, parking issues and a steady stream of strangers in 
neighborhoods – are best left up to local officials.

Despite the objections of local government officials, 
House and Senate leaders brought together a host of affected parties, 
including Realtors®, hotel operators and advertising platforms, to 
strike a deal that has eluded the Legislature for years.

“This feels like groundhog day,” Florida Association of 
Counties legislative director Eric Poole told the committee before 
Thursday’s vote. Florida already has “a very broad and very deep 
pre-emption on vacation rentals,” he said.

Poole cited one report that found the vacation-rental 
industry generated $1.2 billion in revenue through rentals to 6.6 
million guests in Florida last year. The numbers demonstrate that “the 
local and state regulatory environment remains friendly to short-term 
rentals” and that local regulations have “helped the industry flourish,”
 he added. “We are not stifling commerce. We are pro-vacation rentals. 
We just would like to have a little bit of home rule authority to 
address some of the local needs,” Poole said.

Under current law, cities and counties cannot prohibit 
vacation rentals, or regulate the duration or frequency of the rentals. 
But local governments are allowed to license and inspect properties.

While the proposed changes would ban ordinances that 
specifically target vacation rentals, cities and counties would still be
 allowed to pass ordinances dealing with noise, parking and trash, so 
long as they apply to all residential properties, the bill’s supporters 
stressed Thursday.

Much of the debate on the proposal focused on the 
property rights of people and businesses that own the vacation rentals 
and the property rights of neighboring homeowners.

“Everybody who owns their property has rights to the 
property that they purchased,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, said. “This
 debate comes not from the use of property but the nuisance that results
 from the use of the property.”

Donalds said there aren’t enough hotel beds to 
accommodate all of the visitors to Naples. The vacation-rental industry 
“has been a boon to Southwest Florida,” he said.

But Rep. Javier Fernández, D-South Miami, said that, 
while he was “heartened” by some of the provisions in the measure, he 
still had concerns. For example, the proposal would carve out 
condominium and homeowner associations, but not “single-family 
neighborhoods.”

“Those owners have property-rights expectations related to their quiet enjoyment of their own property,” Fernández said.

But bill sponsor Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, said the 
bill “doesn’t prevent local governments from dealing with issues,” such 
as “the party house” and noise issues.

“Nothing in this bill encourages the situation of a party
 house. Nothing in here would stop local governments from passing, I 
don’t know, noise ordinances and enforcing those noise ordinances,” 
Fischer said. “Make no mistake, this bill doesn’t do anything to change 
the power of local governments when it comes to dealing with 
good-neighbor policies that affect the neighborhood.

Fischer said the measure was based on “common-sense” feedback from numerous “stakeholders.”

The House plan is now headed to the floor for a vote. A Senate version (SB 1128), sponsored by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, needs to clear one more committee before a full vote in the Senate.

The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association has 
opposed vacation-rental legislation in the past, but Carol Dover, the 
group’s president and chief executive officer, told The News Service of 
Florida on Thursday that she’s backing the proposals.

Dover praised House and Senate leaders for their work on 
the effort this year. While the measure does not address all of the 
association’s concerns about vacation rentals, she said she supports 
“the middle ground that’s been struck” with the proposal.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s a huge leap in the right direction,” Dover said.

Jonathan Conaghan · Answer

@David Pierce thanks for the information and lengthy write up.

Travis Richardson · Answer

This is great news!  Thank you for sharing.  Wonder when the next vote is scheduled for.