All Forum Posts by: Ben Szafran
Ben Szafran has started 3 posts and replied 31 times.
Post: Cash out refinance-do you pay capital gains
- Real Estate Broker
- Wilmington NC
- Posts 33
- Votes 21
I see what you are saying also
Post: Cash out refinance-do you pay capital gains
- Real Estate Broker
- Wilmington NC
- Posts 33
- Votes 21
Hi Matt,
The property was owned in individual names. The loan was in my name, I was the personal guarantor. The partner was only on the deed. I did the refinance and put the new loan into my investment LLC.
Post: Cash out refinance-do you pay capital gains
- Real Estate Broker
- Wilmington NC
- Posts 33
- Votes 21
I just cash out refinanced a rental home so I could buy a partner out of the property. I was the only person on the loan to start with, and I am the only entity on the loan now. I paid the partner out-does he pay captial gains tax on the earnings? My understanding is no taxes to pay. Any advice welcome. (by the way I wrote my CPA, but he is out of town for the long weekend)
Post: STR direct booking site needed
- Real Estate Broker
- Wilmington NC
- Posts 33
- Votes 21
Quote from @Mark Simpson:
Hey @Ben Szafran did you ever get this sorted?
Thank you Mark. We did. Hospitable finally released their direct booking widget that works well. We had a simple website frame in the widget and it is working well for us now.
Post: Wilmington NC Airbnb
- Real Estate Broker
- Wilmington NC
- Posts 33
- Votes 21
@Matthew Wilson call me 910-713-9323
Post: FIRST POST - Investment Opportunity - Please Help
- Real Estate Broker
- Wilmington NC
- Posts 33
- Votes 21
I have put a note out to one of my partners. Wilmington NC correct? If you are able to share address please do.
Post: STR direct booking site needed
- Real Estate Broker
- Wilmington NC
- Posts 33
- Votes 21
Quote from @Michael Baum:
Hey @Ben Szafran, I highly recommend Wordpress for the site. Lots of widgets and tools for STRs available and themes.
You don't really want to use WIX or something like that. They end up owning your site including the name. It's fine until you want to change providers.
Thank you. Do you have an example of one you use?
Post: STR direct booking site needed
- Real Estate Broker
- Wilmington NC
- Posts 33
- Votes 21
Quote from @Ian Tyndall:
I switched from Hospitable to Guesty for this reason. The Guesty direct booking site and the Guest Arrival form are features that Hospitable did not offer.
The direct booking site works great out of the box. The guest arrival form is great at getting guests to share their email for future marketing. The Schlage integration for automatic deadbolt integration was an added bonus. I am now switching my locks over to Schlage because they are back in stock.
This seems like a step in the right direction without spending tons of money that won't give an roi. My wife really likes Hospitable so logistically may be tough to jump platforms at this time. We can take a look at it. Thank you!
Post: STR direct booking site needed
- Real Estate Broker
- Wilmington NC
- Posts 33
- Votes 21
Quote from @Trent Reeve:
Quote from @Dave Stokley:
Quote from @Trent Reeve:
Quote from @Dave Stokley:
Quote from @Trent Reeve:
Quote from @Dave Stokley:
To preface this, we manage about 60 listings and do the vast majority of our bookings on Airbnb. We are just now considering a direct booking site.
We're on Guesty Pro, and looking into using their platform. The biggest downside for me is that if we ever leave Guesty or they go out of business or something we don't own the site. We're also looking at Boostly, which is more expensive but also more feature-rich and we own it.
The thing that has always kept me from doing it is the cost of replicating what you get from Airbnb for your 3%: payment processing (that'll cost you 3% alone), a massive marketing engine (what will it cost you in time/money to drive thousands of monthly views to your site?), AirCover (not as bad as the haters say...in fact I've never not got paid), and no guest reviews or customer support.
why cant you get what you get from Airbnb, but also have a direct booking site? great for return guests that want to save money. And with some, you can push direct booking reviews to VRBO, and you can get comparable Aircover insurance.
Like I said… “the cost of replicating what you get from Airbnb…”
Indeed. What are you spending on yours, and what have the returns been?
i use OwnerRez. we have 3 properties so under $25 each, and then under $10/month or so for the direct website.
I'd like to hear more on this..
Post: STR direct booking site needed
- Real Estate Broker
- Wilmington NC
- Posts 33
- Votes 21