All Forum Posts by: Andy Kessler

Install a mixing valve on the hot water heater. It’s a cheap alternative to the other suggestions.  I have one on my rental and makes a big difference. 

As a DYIer, Agree that is the best way to go when you have a mentor, do your homework and have time to be addressing guest questions, tweaking rates, updating your spreadsheets, paying your various bills, etc...

We have this time and we look at this as a part time job for my stay at home wife. For the return you get, it’s definitely worth it in my opinion. Also I enjoy us being a part of someone Smoky Mountains experience. 

I’ve said when we don’t have time to do it right, that’s when I’d turn it over to someone else or potentially sell my properties. 

Find a mentor who knows the area, self manages and can spend some time talking about what you should expect on return. You really can’t rely on those estimates. If anything, I have seen the estimates fall way short of actuals. I would not do that deal of 589k for 60k. If that is a pool cabin, that estimate is low. 

My best advice is to find someone (a friend in my case) who is successful in the area you want to invest and learn from them.  There is no substitute for this although the other ideas presented here are very good as well.

Wesley, 

Before getting our STR we already had an idea of what rates we would charge because we have a friend with a similar cabin in the same development. I have used that along with what other cabins with my amenities and features charge, so yes I use a comparison method. I like being hands on with your first rental to get a feel for what is going on in the marketplace. Maybe when I get my second cabin I'll automate, but my thinking is I need to learn before I give up that control. When we do make that jump I can then look at the recommendations and decide if I agree based on experience.

You should be able to see the rates on a per night basis just by pulling up another owners property as if you were going to book to see the rates.  You need to take it one step further than where you are just looking at the front page. Understand some people may be too high and some too low, but if you are competing against other condos in your development, you probably need to be close in the pricing. 

As for how long to do it, I suggest setting for a specific number of bookings on each platform and then take it off. also these platforms have set times when they will move you to the Premier Partner or Superhost so have a goal to have the number of bookings you need by that date. That may influence your decision. 

We have used VRBOs Marketmaker to adjust prices and it has helped. 

Couldn’t agree more in the comments about going too low and getting a crowd that causes issues. At the end of the day are you happy with the amount you are getting for your property?  If the answer is “yes”, then it was a good day. 
 

This fractional situation you describe would not be desirable to me at all. Sounds more like a time share and the coordinating between the groups sounds like a hassle. Also what do you do when one of them wants to rent out their dates as a STR?

I would not be dropping 200k on a property I can only use 25% of the time and then I’d need to work out the most popular dates, create rules on use, etc. 

I’m with John. Put 200k down on a sweet cabin or other property in the area you like and make it a revenue generating asset.  You now have control of all the days and decide if you make money or just use personally. 

@Avice Liebl

“How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner” by Christine Karpinski is a good read for newbies. I’m not sure it addresses your specific question but check it out.

A friend on this forum loaned it to me before I bought my first property and I found it helpful. However, once you get the first property, the book loses its shine. You start learning from experience.

We clean the pool after each guest and they do it in the window of 11 - 4. Once or twice during peak season they were late and we just coordinated with the guests, otherwise it hasn’t been an issue doing it this way and guests appreciate knowing it has been treated/cleaned between guests. 

The big thing I’m seeing these days is our guests do not want anyone coming into the cabin while they are there, so whatever you decide make sure it happens between guests. 

Our cabin is a pool cabin and we dealt with a slow leak the first 6 months trying to get the builder out and then finding the leak, etc. However, once we got past that it’s been great. A lot of pool cabins are being built and if existing business don’t staff up or new ones come in, it’s going to be tough finding a good pool servicer. 

So you all convinced me what I was leaning to already.

We will go with the extra bedroom and will be interested to see how it produces once up and operational.

I was a little concerned about bedroom size, but think the private space with a bed (not sleeper sofa) is going to be the better play.

Thanks!

@Justin Anderson I’ll do a little research on that suggestion. The theater room has been a big hit in the past and we have had a sleeper sofa in there so you get the best of both worlds so to speak.