All Forum Posts by: Julie McCoy

I don't know if anyone here does that.  With a limited window of time, I think you'd have limited success listing on HomeAway or AirBNB, because your ranking there depends in part on availability - if your property is only available a week or two per year, it's going to get buried.  Also the logistics of arranging cleaning, etc. just for a week or two a year is not worth it IMO.  

It's not a strategy I would purposefully invest in.  If you've got a timeshare already and you're looking to monetize it, I'd look into other options like exchanges or platforms designed for timeshares.  It wouldn't hurt to list it on AirBNB, doesn't cost anything and doesn't take too long, but I wouldn't rely entirely on one platform for the aforementioned reasons.

 For sure, but this doesn't bother me, as I prefer to receive funds when guests check in, not when they book.  (this makes my income more consistent and my bookkeeping easier, as well as not having to track which funds I might have to refund in the event of a cancellation, etc)

Definitely in the two family rooms with TVs, and if you do any of the bedrooms, you should do the master.  I wouldn't do it in the other bedrooms.

Depending on your cable provider, they may offer a streaming app for live TV access.  I have a 1 bedroom cabin where I have a cable box set up in the living room, but the streaming app (Xfinity, in my case) in the bedroom.  Nobody has complained.

AVL?  Do you mean Asheville, NC?  That's the only AVL I know.  STRs are generally forbidden there.

 AirBNB charges the card when the reservation is made.  They hold the funds until after the guest checks in, at which point they disburse them to you. 

I'm a fan of that system because a) I want to know it's paid for before they show up, and b) I don't want the money in my account until they actually show up, because then there's minimal risk of me having to refund anything that's already in my account.  And c) it's a good protection for guests because people can't list bogus properties, take reservations, get the funds in their bank account and then ghost.  AirBNB doesn't release the funds until the guest has checked in and (theoretically) there's no issues because the guest hasn't notified them of any.  

There's about dozen threads on that topic *on the first page of this forum,* please read them.  

Hey @Robert Prell Welcome to BP!  Definitely read through this thread, as most of your questions are discussed in it, and it's very recent:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530/topics/70...

But bottom line - can you keep it under $15k?  I very much doubt it.  The septic alone would cost that much, or if you're allowed to do a composting toilet the good ones cost ~$1500 - that's 10% of your total budget!  

Nevertheless, doing the research on the zoning will teach you a lot, and that's definitely where you should start.  See my post in the linked thread for more detail on what I would advise.

If you've got location and property narrowed down but don't know your rough numbers, it's not an investment.  It's fine to buy a vacation home/future retirement spot and put it to work in the meantime, but be clear-eyed about what you're doing.  

I think it'd be fine to call a couple of PMs and tell them what you're looking at and ask their opinion - they may even be able to help you pick the most viable option for revenue.  

A lot of us self-manage our properties, which for most of us are long-distance - it's not difficult and if you want to maximize revenue, it's definitely what you want to do.  But if you want a hands-off experience and to just help offset the costs of this new property, talk to the local PMs and see who will be right for you.

It looks like basically a corporate-level entity that wants to arbitrage your apartment.  That is, they rent it, then sublease it out AirBNB-style.  I've seen a few iterations of this format, but I don't have any first-hand experience with any of them.

If you don't mind the idea of a revolving door of guests through your duplex (which does not have to be a bad thing; people have different feelings about it) then it could be worth looking into.  There's a zillion threads on this forum about arbitrage - read through some and you'll get a decent idea of what it is, though most of those threads are written from the lessee's point of view.  

There are two main things I'd caution you about: insurance and regulations.  Your standard landlord policy is not going to cover commercial activity, which short-term rentals are categorized as, so you'll want to make sure this company is paying for insurance that has you named on the policy that will cover both their commercial activity and everything your landlord policy typically covers.  And make sure short-term rentals are permitted in your neighborhood - if they're not, you could get fined.  

If you decide to move forward with it, I'd be really interested in learning how it works out for you.  Good luck as you make your decision!

Some good advice here.  Like @Ernesto Hernandez, my post-check-out message states that I've done my best to give them a 5-star experience, and if they feel that accurately reflects their stay, please leave a review.  

If I have doubts about their having had a fantastic experience for one reason or another, I don't ask for a review at all.  Sometimes they leave one anyway, but in my welcome message I also say I strive to give them a 5-star experience - even on stays that I know are less than perfect, I tend to get 5 star reviews anyway, and I'm sure this is part of why (the other part is I'll always do whatever I can to resolve their issue, and don't have an attitude about it)

But there's always going to be guests that don't review.  Sometimes that's good, sometimes that's not, but it is what it is.  I wouldn't ask twice.