All Forum Posts by: Dan Maciejewski

If you are in Unincorporated county with a St Pete mailing address, you can STR by following the Pinellas County rules. Then county definitely allows it if the address is not in any city limits. You can check an address by checking it at PCPAO.org.

I am attaching below the text from the city clerk.  He goes on to say that bed and breakfasts are not allowed, but I don't see that in the code.  I also have not seen them enforce anything or a fine schedule, but that doesn't mean they can't.  I do know people that run both true STRs and bed and breakfast-type situations where they rent out a garage apartment or bedrooms.  When the people that have lived on-site have called the city, they seemed to say that it was allowed.  The others say that they'll deal with any repercussions if/when they occur!

St Petersburg Municode site

Residential uses means, for the purpose of these regulations, single‐family, child foster home, community residential home, garage apartment,
duplex, multifamily, town house, boarding and rooming house, domiciliary and retirement home, and nursing home, which are available for
occupancy on no less than a monthly basis, or for less than a monthly basis three or fewer times in any consecutive 365‐day period. A use which
meets the definition of “transient accommodation use” is not considered a residential use for the purposes of this chapter. [at 16.90.020.3. ‐
Definitions.]

Transient accommodation uses means a building containing one or more transient accommodation units, one or more of which is occupied by one
or more persons, or offered or advertised as being available for such occupancy, when the right of occupancy is for a term less than monthly, such
right of occupancy being available more than three times in any consecutive 365‐day period. The determination that a property is being used as a
transient accommodation use is made without regard to the form of ownership of the property or unit, or whether the occupant has a direct or an
indirect ownership interest in the property or unit; and without regard to whether the right of occupancy arises from a rental agreement, other
agreement, or the payment of consideration. The term “transient accommodation uses” includes but is not limited to hotels, motels, recreational
vehicle parks, tourist lodging facilities, resort condominiums, resort dwellings, vacation resorts, and dwelling units occupied or available for
occupancy on an interval ownership or “time share” basis, when any of the above are made available for occupancy more than three times in any
consecutive 365‐day period and the right of occupancy is for a term less than monthly.
The term “transient accommodation uses” does not include any of the following uses if such use otherwise complies with the applicable
requirements of the City and is licensed by the State of Florida, if such licensing is required by law: bed and breakfast homes, community residential
homes, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities for persons with drug, alcohol, or physical impairments, respite care facilities for persons with
terminal illnesses and their families, short‐term/emergency housing or long term housing where allowed by this chapter, and child foster homes.
The term “transient accommodation uses” does not include a guest house dwelling, when one or both of the sleeping rooms are located as a
permitted accessory use within and incidental to the primary residential structure and the primary residential structure is owned by a natural
person and occupied by the owner. A use which is otherwise a residential use is not considered a “transient accommodations use” solely because it
is occupied by members of the owner’s family, a housekeeper or caretaker, or guests who reside on the premises without paying rent or other
consideration for such occupancy. The term “transient accommodation uses” does not prohibit the owner of a residential dwelling unit from
occupying the dwelling unit as infrequently as the owner may desire. [ibid.]
Subsequently in the code, the only use that approximates vacation rental is a bed and breakfast, which is not permitted for a residential
neighborhood.

Not going to weigh in on the payment, but who leaves valuable stuff under a drywall hole / repair in progress?  Literally the 1st thing she should have done is move her stuff.

The 1st thing a judge would bring (not that it should get that far) up is her responsibility to mitigate damages.  Moving her shoes costs literally nothing but 90-240 seconds of time!

Depends on how your relationship is and any "grace periods," but I would at least get the "pay or quit" notice ready!

I see your update this minute -- if that works, then carry on!  Happy Holidays!

Florida is good in that we passed a law in 2011 that does not allow any municipality to make any regulations that restrict short term rentals unless they were already ion the books. In fact, if they do try, they lose ALL ability to restrict STR!

Obviously HOA and Condos can regulate what they want when they want, but there are a lot of condo buildings that were built specifically for vacation owners and short term rental owners. It's been a good business for a long long time!

As a tourist-driven area, there are several cities that have big codes regulating and restricting (some even have zones with different restrictions based on residential density), but some are very open to STR and like the business!

The ROI in the Tampa Bay area and especially Pinellas County is still there. I haven't done any long-term rental business in almost 2 years but STR is booming and most of my clients are looking for another purchase already!

There are definitely people that are doing it, but I never recommend putting yourself in a position to be called out for breaking a law, even if it's "just" a civil offence!  Most people I know doing it bought a few years ago and would still be profitable even if they converted to long-term or just sold -- we're in a different market now than 3-5 years ago.

There are the 24-ish cities in Pinellas, each with their own rules, plus you can get to know all of the unincorporated areas that are doing great for short term rentals. There is a definite "buy-box" where you want to look for the highest ROI, but the whole Tampa Bay market can do well, depending on goals and budgets.

Most of my buyer business this year has been out of state investors buying for short term rentals. Whether condos, SFR, or MFR, there are still plenty of properties that will be great investments!

The best part about Pinellas County / Tampa Bay is that we really still allow an investor to cash flow even if the buyer uses it for personal use.  A lot of vacation properties are so seasonal that they will sit vacant on off-season.  We will look like 70-85% occupancy for the year, which is usually the best in the country (excluding the big 2 convention cities, Orlando and Vegas).  And even they fell below 50% occupancy in the depths of the pajama, while we stayed well above 50% transient, especially STRs!

Ah, the age-old question!  It's the same for Realtors as investors.

You can spend tens of thousands per month on advertising and marketing.  Television and Radio ads, direct mail, and pay-per-click and social media ads are where the big boys are spending their money.  But that's a very big pool and they are sharks!

You can pay for "leads" and spend all day cold-calling.  There are many people that do that and have differing levels of success.  Expireds, FSBOs, and withdrawn/cancelled listings are the usual targets.  Check against the Do Not Call list!  You can also call neighborhoods you want to buy in and try to build relationships with homeowners.  Gather contact info and keep in touch with valuable information.

The number one source of listings / sellers will be your sphere of influence.  Make sure everyone you know and knows you, knows that you want to buy houses.  Same as above -- gather contact info and keep in touch with valuable information and personal touches.  Make your SOI as big as possible -- join clubs, talk to everyone at work and every place you frequent, etc. . . 

That's definitely market-dependent.  If it's unusual for your area, then I would say that yes, it will cut down your buyer pool.  And by reducing the demand, reduce the price.

In my market, I usually recommend staying away from shorter than 8' ceilings.

The Tampa Bay Area is super-hot for Second Homes, Vacation Homes, and Short-Term Rentals, especially over the past 2 years (whew, it's been awhile now!).  Pinellas County is a huge draw because we have so many beautiful beaches.

90+% of my buyer business this year has been out-of-state investors buying vacation homes that they will rent out or pure short-term rentals. The market is tougher for buyers because of the competition but my cash buyers are having an easier time of it. I just closed a 1031 exchange a few weeks ago for STR.

 Nice job and getting the price down.  There's tons of "grandma houses" in our area that are just crying for updating!

 Tampa has a pretty good occupancy rate -- it's a nice city with lots of draw in its own right.  ADR (Average Daily Rate)isn't too bad, either.  It's also closer to Orlando. And 30-60 minutes to the beach is close for a lot of the country!

If you're looking to be closer to the beach, you're looking at 250/300-400k for a 2-bed w/ no pool and 400-600k for a 3/2+ with a pool. The ROI is pretty good with those, though. ADR well over $250/night and occupancy at 75%+. I still run my numbers at 200 ADR but they are all beating that right now!

Besides the mechanicals (whether for not they need to be replaced), the "pretty" part of a rehab is dependent on your customers/clients/tenants.  What are they looking for?

1.  What rent are you able to charge /What is max market rent for your place?  

2.  What are the people that can afford that making a year?  What is the demographic you are trying to apparel to?

3.  What is that demographic expecting?  What is your competition in that price point doing?  FOr example, my tenants household income is minimum $55k/year.  What do they get for what they pay?  

4.  For me:  What is the cost do do it a level better?  My ideal tenant has a household income of over $100k.  The cost to appeal to them instead was minimal, so I did granite, new cabinetry, stainless appliances, etc.  All of my tenants have since been six-figure households.  When they move out, it's to buy a house.  They are way easier on the places, too!

5.  Think sturdy and easy to fix/replace.  Every time I have cheeped out on something, it breaks.  I got standard toilets, and they have been giving me grief.  I am going to go with one-piece toilets from now on on the advice of my plumbers.  (I'll obviously do more research before buying).