All Forum Posts by: Julie McCoy

@Dustin Pavlik Research the local laws regarding STRs carefully.  Clearwater does not mess around with that.  

@Michael Stokes  They do!  They dump/refill it between guests and handle the chemicals, etc.  I can't guarantee all housekeepers provide this service, but if you can find one that does, it's so worth it.  

I will say, most cabins are on well water, which can be tricky - the water can be very mineral-y and, depending on the well and conditions, can have an odor (sulfur) or some color.  Sometimes if it's been raining a lot, the water at one of my cabins will discolor; I've found the best policy is just to tell the guests what's going on, and assure them the water is clean/safe for the hot tub/bathing.  It's rare, but when it happens my guests have been very understanding.  That said, it's a good idea to get the water tested before purchasing, so you can anticipate if a filtration system is needed (or, rarely, if it looks too problematic to deal with).

@Michael Stokes Well, a hot tub is definitely an expected item, but otherwise that is frankly nonsense.  I'm not sure what they're doing to get results like that, but that's definitely not reflective of my experience with my three cabins (or the experience of anybody I know who invests in the area, and I know quite a few people).  All three of mine have hot tubs; one has a pool table; none have pools or community pools.  Only one has a view, and it's not a spectacular one.  They're all cute and well-kept with newer furniture and within a 10 minute drive from the main drag in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, and while I really like all of them, none of them are vastly more special than a thousand other cabins in the area.  

Perhaps the people on the other forum don't do anything to maintain their cabins and as a result they're kind of run down, and cabins like mine appear "luxury" to them, but there are definitely true luxury cabins on the market right now (as you noticed) so I can only guess as to why they aren't seeing similar success.

@Michael Stokes No, I don't have luxury cabins, I aim for middle-of-the-road while still being nice (solidly B-class, to use LTR parlance), and my target demographic is couples, so mine are all small.   I don't feel that it's accurate to say the luxury cabins draw the most occupants - occupancy rates in the area tend to be high across the board, but I'm not convinced the returns you get from luxury cabins justify the higher capital investment.  I'm curious where you read that, I'd like to investigate more.  

I self-manage, which - with a solid housekeeping team - is not difficult, and well worth the effort.  Local property managers charge 30-40%, and anyone doing it for less is probably cheaper for a reason.  Great housekeepers take some looking, and the really good ones are really busy, but they definitely exist (I'm incredibly pleased with mine) and are worth the hunt.

Something that rents for $60/night isn't worth bothering with in my opinion, especially at 50% occupancy.  My cabins in the Smokies rent average more than $100/night and are in the price range you're looking at, with >85% occupancy.  

If the returns are so small, go for an LTR (not necessarily in Orlando/Kissimmee) that'll return the same or higher with a LOT less hassle/expense/risk.  STRs are only worth it if you can return significantly more than an LTR.

@Parker Borofsky is a Tennessee-based loan officer with tons of experience in loans for STRs, I'm sure she can lend some insight re: the DTI requirements and why they are the way they are. I agree it's very frustrating!

 I think you mean you want low vacancy.  :) 

There's a site for places like this called KinkBNB.  No idea what occupancy is like, but the nightly rates are incredible.  I just wouldn't want to deal with the cleanup and maintenance of all the gear. :) 

Exactly as @Ethan Cooke says.  I do it on AirBNB - on VRBO I only list the biggest iteration of my property so it's not an issue.  :) 

I prefer to rent it altogether so that has a 12-month booking window, but I only allow the smaller unit with a 3-month booking window, so for the most part the smaller bookings are filling the holes in my calendar.  That may or may not be a good idea in your situation, but it's what works best for mine.

I haven't, but make sure you know what the local regulations are first - while I don't think San Antonio is as strict as Austin, I do believe there's some regulations, so it would be wise to investigate first.  :)  The zoning board or code administration office would be the place to go.