All Forum Posts by: Dean Lynch

@Anthony M. S. Evans, yes I do, but I am just starting out and I shifted gears to buy and hold long term rentals instead of short term vacation rentals.  The Pocono region just doesn't have the occupancy rates to make it worth the investment.  30%-35% occupancy is what you'll see in a good year in that area, it's tough to make the numbers work.

Hello @Buyan Thyagarajan, I found this site to be quite helpful.  It takes a bit of clicking around, but it will actually break a city/town down into pieces and give stats for each, the vacancy rate being one.  https://www.neighborhoodscout....

Hello @Anthony M. S. Evans,

I recently sold our SFH in The Hideout. We rented it out for roughly a year on VRBO/AirBnb. The Hideout used Covid to totally revamp their Rules and Regs on rentals. The fine structure went from a $450 fine for an illegal rental, to $1,000/1st off, $2,000/2nd off(and 6 months no rentals), and $3,000/ 3rd off(and permanent rental ban). Now, an illegal rental could be merely a mistake because there is paperwork and a fee that needs filed for every single rental. I think this might be easier for Long term rentals, though. I have not seen any multi-unit homes in that community, and I highly doubt they would approve anything like that.

My reason for selling was because the POA there, as well as the significant population of permanent residents, are not in favor of short-term rentals. They do not make it easy for you and will show no mercy when writing up infractions, which are bound to happen because of how complicated they make the process. This whole community is grossly over-regulated. Just look at the website at the amount of phone numbers the place has and how many employees, it's crazy. The HOA fee and the Water/Sewer fees are fairly high for the area as well, make sure to check that out. Just my two-cents from our recent experience. Good Luck. Make sure to check out their Facebook group page, lots of good info and community opinions there. They used to have one specifically for rental folks, but I think they may have shut that down a while back.

Thanks @Andrew Postell, I'll give that a try.

Hello All!

I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction for a couple investor friendly lenders in southeastern PA.  I would also love to know what rates you're currently seeing for such deals as well. Thanks in advance!

I am new to the short term rental market and just purchased our first a couple months ago in the Pocono Mountains,PA. It's up on the usual sites for rent and it's doing well. My question is, what is the standard rule of thumb about requiring a certain number of nights in prime season. I see some competitors bump up their minimum nights to 3 or 4, up from 2 in the off season. Only one home had a 7 day minimum. 7 days is what I would expect to see for a vacation market like the Poconos during prime season. Leaving it at 3-4 nights leaves room for lost days throughout the month. Should I take the lead of the other homes in the area, or give the 7 day minimum a try? Are there benefits of a lower minimum that I'm not seeing, or another tried and true strategy that anyone is willing to share?

Thanks!!

@Carlos Carbajal, thanks for the advice, that makes a lot of sense.

@Nathan Gesner, I thought I did tag it to the correct forum, I'll give it another try.

I am new to the short term rental market and just purchased our first a couple months ago.  It's up on the usual sites for rent and it's doing well.  My question is, what is the standard rule of thumb about requiring a certain number of nights in prime season.  I see some competitors bump up their minimum nights to 3 or 4, up from 2 in the off season.  Only one home had a 7 day minimum.  7 days is what I would expect to see for a vacation market like the Poconos.  Leaving the rule a 3-4 nights leaves room for lost days throughout the month.  Should I take the lead of the other homes in the area, or give the 7 day minimum a try?  Are there benefits of a lower minimum that I'm not seeing?

Thanks!!