All Forum Posts by: Collin Hays

It's a bust for most people that bought between 2021 and 2023. They paid way too much, and there's not a darn thing those people can do about it except 1) Cut their losses and get out, or 2) Ride it out for a few years and see what happens. You can list your property on every platform known and it won't matter if you paid too much.  I was flashing warnings about this scenario throughout part of 2021, and all of 2022, and was mostly lampooned for my bearishness. But things can't go up forever, and whenever things went parabolic, and your Uber driver was talking about his new vacation rental, it was time to look elsewhere for profitable investments.  

From 2008 to early 2020, there was a massive buying opportunity. Those are the people that are banking right now. That window is shut.  

 A/C.  

Just had another one star review on a property where the owner has the thermostat locked on 75 degrees.  I believe this is three such reviews. He's toast. Might as well sell and buy a bass boat.  

 Thank you for posting.  A great resource for DFW investors!  

The answer somewhat depends on what you are looking for and the size of your operation. If you have but a few properties, I really like Vacation Rental Desk.  It served me well, up to about 10 properties.

 Mike, I always love your deals!

Branson is a great area. I would contact a realtor there that has 8-10 years experience in that market.  

I own 5 properties and have never had programmable thermostats. I've never had that much of an issue. I don't really want to know what all is going on at my places - it would drive me crazy to keep an eye on all of that.

No sense buying in an area where you will be swimming upstream from the get-go. There are too many prime places to buy vacation rentals, including a wide variety of places right there in Colorado.

In today's world, the only way to drive more views to your listing is through paid ads, and it is prohibitively expensive. There are two "Amazons" in this space - VRBO and Airbnb, and if you don't play in their sandbox, you have no chance.  You could spend $1 million a year on paid advertising through FB and Instagram, and you still wouldn't drive the traffic to your property that VRBO and Airbnb do.

What that means is, if you are not getting sufficient bookings, there is an issue with your property. Guessing that would be shooting in the dark, but it is probably one or more of the following things:

- The property isn't price competitive with other, like properties.

- The property is located in an area that has little to no market demand for short term rentals.

- The property has poor reviews, or very few reviews.

- There are expected amenities that are missing.

- The property doesn't show well in photographs.

- Your reservation and/or deposit policies are more onerous than competitors.

There's a ninety-nine percent that one or more of these are affecting your property.