All Forum Posts by: Jeff Howard

Thanks, I will take you up on this.  I have decided to pass on the vacation home and try it on something in my town, we have people in our church that do it and we plan to talk to them about it as well.  We are within 5 miles a large air force base so we get a lot of contractors coming in for weeks at a time.  One review I read from the people at the church was someone that stayed 9 months.  WOW, money.

Hey, thank you very much Villy

All,

Thanks for your replies.  After writing this post I actually discovered that I am unable to afford anything near where I would want in CO which is around the Frisco area.  Angle Fire NM is probably more affordable for me.   I hear what you are saying about being able to pay it all off at once if I had to, still curious about how you all handle maintenance and appliance replacement from hours away.

How far are you from your rentals?

Situation: Wife and I are looking at getting a vacation lodge, condo, cabin, or house in New Mexico or Colorado for skiing and summer vacation. Want to pay for it by doing a STR type thing (VRBO, AirB&B). With this post, I am trying to figure out if this is a good idea. I will not be able to afford the monthly payments (or will be very strapped) without STR.

Credentials: I own a long term rental property that we manage ourselves, wrote our own agreement, screen our tenants the right way. We have a few coaches around us including you guys. Wife stays at home and would manage the STR for us but she is a domestic engineer (stay at home mom) with 3 kids so is very busy. I work about 50 hours a week and would be unable to manage this. My role would be to find the property and set up the STR, she would run it after that.

My own research:  

1. Get technology: Get a camera of some sort, like a ring.  A wireless lock with a code that can be changed after the people leave.  Maybe some Arlo cameras in the house that you tell the guests to take down an stick in a drawer when they come in, and the cleaning staff to put back up when they leave.

2. Get a good cleaning staff:  Pay them extra every time you get a positive review about the cleaning.

3. Issue with Property Management: PM company will take 30% profit.  (I am such a huge DIY person to a fault, when looking for property to rent I see so many mismanaged properties I just want to stay away from Property Management, because of that, and the 30%, but I am teachable)

Question: With the above statements out of the way we are wondering if it is possible to manage a STR from 10 hours away. We have lots of concerns, as in, what could go wrong and what to do about it?

1. What happens when maintenance is required in the middle of the night? Like a stopped up toilet or a heater that stops working

2. What happens when a furnishing breaks like a TV?  Or someone's car keys rip a hole in the couch?  Or a bunch of dishes are broken? My concern is that I have a full time job I cannot run up there fix it and will get bad reviews from next weeks guests.

3.  What happens if I get irresponsible guests that totally trash the place beyond what the cleaning crew can handle?

4.  How much can be made practically with a rental like this?  High Winter season, low summer season.

Hey thanks in advance, I am just thinking of all the things that can go wrong and how I would deal with it.

This is all great advise.  I do have some additional question.   Am i allowed to deny a tenant based on the fact that they smoke?  In California I know you can, that law changed.   I don't want to discriminate, but I just don't want people smoking in my house.  Number 7 in this list tells me its not considered a handicap.  https://www.american-apartment-owners-association....  

Or what if I get a potential tenant that just acts very rude, can I just say no thanks?  

What about the potential tenant that has a cat, but when told they aren't permitted, says they will just give it away.  I tend not to believe someone will actually do that, pets are family to most people.  

I get all the HUD stuff, new here folks, go easy on me.

Thank you for the post and the link, very good stuff there!!

We have just started renting our first house and, like anyone, we want to get good tenants.  We have had a few leads but they have all not qualified based on what they told us.  Too many dogs, did not want to pay that much rent, etc.  What I have noticed with many of them, they say things that i want to hear, for example.  "I clean houses for my current landlord and I am so glad your house does not smell like dogs"  or "We want to reduce the rent because we are going pay to have the grass cut."  Am I just being cynical?  I feel like I probably am.  Just curious how I can spot a professional tenant.

excellent point, just texted lender, said no worries, change it.

Thanks Jeff, here are the articles of organization forms right here, don't need to google anything else right?   http://www.sos.ok.gov/forms/fm0074.pdf