All Forum Posts by: Catherine Underwood

Any one got property experience in Portugal, especially the Carvoeiro and Vilamoura areas? I’d love to hear about any pitfalls or advantages you know of, especially with apartments or houses for short stay rentals OR apartments for long term rentals. 

I’ve noticed there are a lot of properties that are advertised as offering guaranteed incomes where the seller does everything including management of the properties - any one got any views about this?

Ps: I know there are threads about Portugal but they are quite old, so I thought it would be best to start a new one.

Thanks!

Hi Does Anyone have experience in Short Stay Rentals in Flordia, especially in the Champions Gate area?

I am looking at purchasing a luxury 8-bed house in the Champions Gate area for the purpose of renting out as a short stay rental.

I have been doing research, but I would love to hear from people who are based in this area. 

Are there any pitfalls or things to avoid.

Is Champions Gate a good area, or should I be looking elsewhere, such as Davenport or a different part of Flordia?

Thanks! 

As I understand it, Short Stay Rentals in Hawaii take two forms.

1) Legal Short Stay Rentals

Legal Short Stay Rentals are only permitted in the Resort Zone area of Waikiki as shown in this map.  

2) Illegal Short Stay Rentals.

Short stay rentals are not permitted in any other part of Hawaii, so although you can find plenty of short stay rentals outside of the Resort Zone area of Waikiki, they are breaking the law, it's just that the police don't bother taking action.

Is my understanding correct?

The reason I ask, is that I have a realtor who found me potential short stay rental investments that are in the apartment zone area of Waikiki. My understanding is that these are illegal. But my realtor insists that as they are in the apartment zone they are fine. Is he telling the truth? 

I know this is a complicated subject, mainly because there are lots of investors who are happy to break the law (because the police don't enforce it) and so this has led people to have wrong opinions about what is legal. 

I don't want to do anything that is illegal (regardless of if the police enforce the law) and so would love to get some opinions from people who have experience with this. 

I am interested in investing in Short Stay Rentals (e.g. Air BNB). What’s the best way of calculating the income one can expect to get from such rentals.

Steps I have tried

1. Looking at property listings on AirBNB

As I understand it, Air BNB only lists the houses that have not been rented. The moment a house is booked it’s removed from the site. 
So while looking at listings can give a vague idea, it’s not very solid to base a decision on.

2. Using tools such as Motivator, AirDNA and Eliot and Me

These websites are very helpful, but they don’t make it very clear how they calculate their figures. I’ve also seen people on other forums complain that they aren’t very accurate.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

@Rob Moran @John D. Hi Sorry I meant Ranco Mirage and Montage Santa Rosa. Do these areas have any pitfalls or problems?

@Rob Moran @John D. Hi Do you have any knowledge or insights about Bermuda Dunes? Thanks!

@Christopher Smith @Lance Lvovsky Is there a particular term for a tax specialist who deals cross border? 

I live in the UK, but I am hoping to purchase property in California to rent out as Air BNB. What's a good place to look for tax advice? I want to pay all taxes that are legally due, so I would need advice on how to pay taxes in USA.

I also know that governments often have incentives to allow one to legally minimise tax, so I would like advice on this too.

I've tried contacting various tax specialists in the area where I am planning to purchase property but none of them deal with international customers. Any ideas?

Please note: I want to 100% pay all tax that is legally due, so I don't want any schemes that avoid this or involve breaking the law.

It seems like a popular place as it's near the festivals (especially if you rent it out as a short stay vacation rental).

However, at the same time, I notice that property there takes a long time to sell.

Any one got any experience that they would like to share?

Does the government pay the landlord directly or does the money go to the tenant who then pays the landlord.