All Forum Posts by: Alice Horn

@Natalie Wright congrats on the move! "Excited" is a good place to start. You received some great advice already above. Should you also decide to investigate STR's in a stable vacation rental community, happy to help you with some data so you can compare with long term. Again, welcome!

It's official. Airbnb started filing their IPO https://news.yahoo.com/airbnb-confidentially-filed-ipo-204900179.html

@Julian Sage will look in to that!

@Heather Carrow, typically direct mail campaigns would be run by a property manager seeking existing vacation rental homeowners who are seeking a change in management. It sounds like you are a potential investor. I would suggest the following:

1. Narrow down the market you're interested in. You could use a report such as this one as a starting point:  https://www.vacasa.com/top-markets/2020-best-places-to-buy-a-vacation-home (though I would suggest a local property manager :)

2. How does this impact your personal needs? Will you be traveling/spending time in the home?  Needless to say, ease of travel and finding a place you will enjoy may impact your decision.

3. Find a local expert you trust who can assist you with the decision. This may include realtors as well as property managers who specialize in vacation rentals. 

4. As with any business investment, run projections. Better yet, ask for booking history on the home you're buying or similar homes nearby. 

For many vacation rental investors, the purchase is both personal and business. The key is balancing your objectives.

Good luck!

@Tyler Erickson just saw your earlier post:  Anyone have analytics that show market saturation numbers? something like total STR capacity, STR vacancy rates, etc.? ........or know where I could obtain something like that?

Yes. We can help with that. Just let us know exactly what you are wondering about and for which areas. 

@Chris Politylo well...if you want to consider Florida, here are the 10 best markets.  https://sports.yahoo.com/10-best-places-florida-buy-184833620.html?src=rss (And why would you even consider any other state?  Just kidding)

And if you want to consider Davenport or Kissimmee, happy to help provide insights on the market here :)

One last thought...even though you can't use them to obtain financing, you still need a simple business plan/projections to guide your investment. A vacation rental is a business.

@Erik Galway Our occupancy rates overall for July and August so far have been over 70%. Rates are a bit lower than last year, but we are now starting to nudge them back up again. We are VERY pleasantly surprised with how well the homes are performing, after a significant dip in April. Families are happy to get away after being cooped up, especially to a home with a pool where they can have a safe and socially distanced vacation. As far as home prices, I defer to the realtors in this group who have a better handle on market fluctuations. However, I can certainly confirm that the demand for vacation rentals with guests remains strong in most communities near Disney. Orange County near the Convention Center is the exception.  That behaves more like an urban vacation rental market and is taking longer to bounce back.

Windsor Hills has kept their amenities up to date.  Some of the older communities have great buys and these homes can book well also, if they are renovated to a high standard. But WH has the whole package, nice amenities with a waterslide and plenty of play areas for the kids, lovely landscaping and top-notch security at the gate. Happy to provide some community comparisons if you're interested!

@Kyle Mccaw you are absolutely on the right track with Windsor Hills. Your best bet is a well run and maintained community close in to Disney. If you can scoop up a property at a good value and renovate it to a high standard so it photographs well, you will have a very solid investment.

We have 100's of townhomes typically ranging from 3-5 bedrooms in the Orlando market.  Typically, they have a downstairs master with additional bedrooms, even a second master, located upstairs. This makes them especially popular with multigenerational travel since grandparents can stay downstairs and also have more privacy. For our market, town homes with small pools in the back outperform those with no pool, making up for the added expense. Also, having privacy in the back or even a view adds to the value.They are an economical hotel alternatives for families and especially popular now during Covid since they have private keyless entrances.