All Forum Posts by: John Seitz

Hi John! I manage vacation rentals locally as the owner of PMI Gulf Shores and also own a beachfront condo here, so I'm happy to share a few thoughts.

For locations, you’ll find strong demand along West Beach Blvd and East Beach Blvd—properties directly on the beach or with easy beach access perform the best. Complexes with resort-style amenities (pools, hot tubs, indoor or heated pools for the winter, etc.) are especially attractive to guests. Don’t overlook Lagoon-front properties either—many offer good views, water access, and a slightly lower price point.

As others have mentioned, for any property in an HOA you need to find out everything you can about their assessments for insurance. Some complexes will keep the HOA dues low, but get you with annual assessments. Get the HOA meeting minutes for the last couple years of their annual meeting. That will help uncover if they have planned maintenance/assessments coming up.

If you ever want a deeper dive on rental projections or property management questions feel free to reach out—I’m happy to help.

Louis Beese
PMI Gulf Shores | STR Owner

Make sure you are concentrating your search on STR friendly tourist zones - which are typically within 2 blocks of the beach. Regulations are very stable here. Something with a view or highly desirable amenities will rent the best. If you are looking at a condo, check history of insurance assessments first. Most complexes have experienced high insurance rates over the last few years which is getting passed onto owners. If you are looking at single family homes, I would concentrate my search on homes built after 2016 when construction standards were enhanced, particularly something with a Gold Fortified certificate which will greatly improve insurance pricing. Again, I would look at what the current seller is paying for insurance before I got too deep on a particular property. We own several STRs in the area & have helped a lot of BP buyers. Happy to help in any way!

For any investment of real estate, I'm going to recommend placing each property into an LLC for asset protection.

LLCs can help shield you from personal liability if a tenant were to ever sue as well as offer protection against creditors in case of a personal judgement through charging order protection, when the LLC has been structured appropriately. With the property in an LLC if someone were to sue the property the could only go after the assets in the LLC and not anything else (assuming you did not guarantee anything personally and the corporate veil has not been pierced).

Also, depending on the structure, you can keep your name off the public record as the owner of the property and even as part of the LLC. For my clients, I recommend that they place the properties in an LLC that has been formed in the state where the property is located and have the member of that LLC be a Wyoming LLC. This provides for both anonymity as well as charging order protection.

Depending on he type of mortgage on the property, if you're looking at moving the properties out of your name and into LLCs, then you may benefit from a land trust. Depending on the terms of the mortgage, transferring the property to an LLC may be considered a sale, thus triggering the due on sale clause. However, putting it into a land trust first avoids triggering the due on sale clause.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

I do several fix&Flips.  I take Builders risk for 6 months which will cover the renovation time. Once the renovation is complete, I take a vacant Policy.  Builders risk will not cover vacant houses.  Make sure you have the right coverage.  Insurance companies will try their best not to fulfill claims by looking for loopholes.  So it is very crucial to have a right coverage.  Good Luck