All Forum Posts by: Holly Polf

Thank you Theresa and Michael for the leads!

So what type of insurance do you have?

Hi all- We closed on our first STR literally one week ago and today I was informed by my insurance agent that our homeowners insurance company cancelled our coverage because in their words "A HOME/DWELLING RENTED LESS THAN WEEKLY IS INELIGIBLE FOR COVERAGE." We were of course never deceptive, and they were aware it would be a short-term rental.

So now I am just praying the house doesn't burn down while my agent is trying to find another company. 

Anyone in Florida that can share who provides their coverage for their STR?

Thanks Michael!  I thought about that right after I posted but couldn't remove the post!  I have found lots of great information searching older posts!

What channel manager do you use? 

Guesty?

Hostfully?

Logify?

Etc?

What do you like or not like about it?

Thank you all! I have spoken with the current PM. We decided to keep the March bookings with the current PM but temporarily hold bookings for April. I am still waiting for detailed pricing, etc. information from the current PM to decide if I want to take over management at that time. I also might do what Andrew Steffens suggested and keep the PM on through the busy March and April months and then take over May 1st. They have good reviews on the property so far. I agree the cut from a typical short-term rental manager is a good chunk and I doubt we will cash flow much if at all with a PM depending on their % take. We don't need the cash flow, but it would be nice for building a reserve for repairs, covering expenses in slow months, etc. or for our next STR purchase!

Thank you Andrew! Yes, that sounds like a good plan. I am not on Pricelabs yet but looking at the rates for March, they look like what I would expect them to be based on our previous analysis.

Thanks for that reminder Sarah!

Thanks Collin! I agree. I have my own business completely independent of the real estate investing, so it does bring anxiety to think of managing myself. I have read multiple books on short term rental investing and one by Shawn Moore is a huge proponent of finding a management company so it's truly passive. I may end up doing that for my sanity!

Thank you all!

Yes, I am assuming only march is mostly booked as my agent showed me the current March bookings and said they were asking about April bookings and whether I want to open it up to future bookings. I think my first step needs to be to call the PM company and find out what they are charging and get a feeling for how they typically handle these situations.