All Forum Posts by: John M.

@Andrew Q. What you mentioned about cash flowing on a beach property is the issue I am running into.  I can't self manage since I am out of state and have a full time W2 job so I need to use a management company but as @Lou Smith said they are 25% or higher in management fees.  That fee may mean the difference between cash flowing and losing money.

Has anyone here used Vacasa, Evolve, Turnkey, etc or any of those types of PM's to manage your vacation properties and what was your experience? I am thinking of trying Vacasa but if I could find a local PM that does STR that would be great. But from what I can see the locals only do long term rental PM.

@Aaron May That's great that it's Florida locals and nearby states that are the bulk of visitors, since it's not dependent on international visitors like Miami or other major cities.  Glad to hear you are doing so well, and I agree with your thoughts on the area!

Hi Aaron, since I am looking in your area that's good to know you were full over summer since that's not really even peak season, correct?   Also, just curious how long you're owned your unit there and how you like it so far?

My 2 properties in Vegas haven't missed any rents, in fact both tenants renewed their leases for another year.   These are long term paying tenants and I have never raised their rent to keep them happy and in place.  That seems to be working out ok for me.

Hey Jónas I am still at the same job doing the same boring thing, lol.  It's been worse with covid since now I am stuck at home by myself 24/7 and I am soooo ready to move on with my life.  But I am still trying to stick to my original plan so only about 2 years here left.  Sometimes it's better to just suck it up and stick out a situation that you may not be happy in, if in the long run you'll be much better off.  It's not easy right now, but I try to focus on being thankful that I have a good job in the midst of an economic calamity.

@Account Closed I am currently looking to buy a beachfront condo in Daytona Beach for STR/Airbnb. I will be speaking to an STR property manager next week so I am hoping to get more info on the state of the rental market then.

Personally I actually don't really care too much about the STR market right now, in fact if it sucks that's even better since more important to me is getting a good deal on the unit. And if a bad STR market scares away some buyers - perfect. The less competition I need to worry about. The STR market will recover eventually so if it is bad for now I will buy anyway wait it out.

@Scott Louis I actually like his dynamic personality, he's funny and I find him very relatable.  But yes if you have a good BS filter you can easily parse through his sales talk and pull out the relevant info/details.  I also watch a lot of Cardone Zone videos, in fact I watched quite a few last weekend because I wanted to get his take on everything that's been happening the last few weeks.  I like his perspective on things and he's a good motivator.

Maybe I am one of the few here who's also a fan of Grant Cardone.  He's a salesman for sure, but I have watched some of his whiteboards and he knows what he is talking about, even though I don't follow him on everything.  I don't follow his advice about 16+ units - I only own two units but it's worked out great for me.  But I do agree with him on rent where you live but own what you can rent out.  I am also conservative with leverage which is why when we have a SHTF moment like we have now, I am going to get through it fine.

I am also going to be looking at buying another property, but I won't even consider looking for at least 12 months.  I know from 2008 that from the peak to trough it took 3-4 years in some markets so there's no rush for me to run out and buy anything until I have a good sense of where the market is going....

I think it's wrong to label landlords as either uncaring greedy tyrants, or emotionally needy pushovers - business is business and each of us needs to do what we need to do to ensure our own survival.  And that's going to be different for everyone.

I only have two rentals so I am in a position to discount rents for 2-3 month or longer if needed, without having much of a financial impact.  And I am willing to do that because both tenants have proven themselves reliable/responsible tenants for 2-3 years so I would rather keep them for now.  But someone who has 40 rentals with lots of debt may not have that option.  If they need to put more pressure on their tenants to pay up then I do, then that's what they need to do.  And there's no point in blaming the landlord, saying they weren't prepared, over leveraged, etc, since the same could be said about the tenants. 

Really, all the matters is your ability to play the hand of cards that you've been dealt and are in front of you at this moment.  Whether you're a jerk or not is pretty much irrelevant when it comes to who stays in the game or who folds.  That's the law of the jungle....

I only have 2 rentals, and if my tenants run into financial issues I am perfectly fine working it out with them until they get back on their feet, and if I have to discount the rent for a time I would rather do that then evict.  They are good, long term tenants though so I would rather keep them for less income then  try to replace them in this type of market.

I have mortgages with LTV of around 40% so even if they could pay nothing I can easily make the payments.

Throwing people out on the street when millions are losing their jobs/income/business all at the exact same time is a very precarious situation for all of us.  I don't want to make it worse.