All Forum Posts by: Kenneth Garrett

I would check the HOA rules. Almost every HOA by me allows STR. I am in a STR vacation area, so the economy is driven by vacation rentals.

@Mike McKeown

I bought a SFR in a HOA in the Florida Panhandle. No problems. Gated community, two pools, clubhouse, fitness center, etc. I also self manage 1000 mikes away. No problem it's been great and very profitable. Much better then the condos.

@Account Closed

You can gather most of this info on your own.  I would not pay $300.
Just a few questions to think about which I’m sure you already did, but

Are they zoned for 4 unit conversions into 5 units? Would it be 100% legal? 

You can get this information on your own by calling the city or county.

Would you use a commercial lender since you will be going from a residential property to commercial?

5 units or greater requires commercial lending, although you can get commercial lending on single family homes.

Build out costs and how you would get those back? Cash out refinance?

Yes, you could do a cash out refinance or have funds available.  You can use private lending or other loans to roll it all in.

Do you have great contractors lined up? Things can go wrong with larger projects really fast.

If it’s out of state you will need to network to find good contractors.  BP, FB, etc.

Also, I can probably supply you an operating agreement as well if you would like for much cheaper than a lawyer.

Yes you can use a standard operating agreement. I find most non lawyer operating agreements leave many of the things you need. Operating agreement is for a LLC. Is that what you are doing?

The cleaning fees are all relative to your particular market.  A cleaning fee of $250 could be outrageous if the average fee in your market is $100.  Like all real estate it’s market driven.  

@Paul Sandhu

Thanks for cleaning options. 

I’ve not had any trouble with the fee.  The fee is included in the reservation fee.  I have not had anyone ask for a reduction in the cleaning fee.  95% of my bookings are through VRBO.

@Bruce Woodruff

The cleaning fees are about $250 on average.  The nightly rate is competitive.  I have a 3/2 house 2 blocks from the private beach entrance.  Cleaning fees do vary.  I use the enemy method to determine my nightly rate.

I have a property in the panhandle and cleaner fee is $250.  The guests actually pay the cleaning fee.

@Joshua Strickland

Enough to cover expenses.  Even if they didn’t, the sumner revenue is so high it carries things.  First year 20K profit.  So much better than my long term rentals.

@Wes M.

10% down, 3/2 single family, sleeps 8, bought for $455K.

2 blocks from the beach; amenities - 2 pools, club house, tennis courts, basketball court, gated community, etc.