All Forum Posts by: Lisa Graesser

@Michael Baum my notes must have been from your recommendation because the Big One is also included. I stayed at a STR not too long ago that had a Milliard 2" pad topper from Amazon on it and it was very comfortable.

@Michael Baum this seems to be a popular choice so it must be a good one. I have the exact same choices in my notes for future purchases, but honestly would like to find an option that doesn't require the foam topper unless I have an older mattress that I am trying to get a little more time out of. I just purchased a Dream Cloud Premium for personal use that I am pretty happy with so far. It is a hybrid med firm and I normally prefer plush, but this seems  to be a good mattress that may be good for different preferences and the price point is good

Mattresses are such a personal preference, it would be difficult to please everyone so I think the safe bet is to go with a medium firm Mattress, a little softness on the top but provides enough support for most preferences

Nolo's "Tax guide for short term rentals" And "Every Landlords Tax deduction guide" and  "The book on tax stratagies for the savvy Real estate investor by Amanda Hahn

As long as you are listing it as a 4 bedroom, you shouldn't have any problem. I have rented homes that have blocked off a room and I didn't think anything of it since it was mentioned in the description and advertised the number of bedrooms that were available.

Happy Birthday Luke🥳

There is nothing wrong with taking direct booking, some would just prefer to rely on the OTA's

I would send a rental agreement with all dates requested and all costs. Collect 1/2 now and 1/2 30 days prior to 1st weekend arrival. 

You receive payment with a check, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle, I have done all and not had any problem.

You might want to list your property on Houfy.com, free for guests and hosts and you can connect square or stripe and receive payments via credit card or the other options above. This site works well for me to send the link to previous bookings to receive direct bookings.

In Florida I pay the cleaners $100 for a 2 bed 2 bath and $125 for a 3 bed 2 bath, my cleaning fee is $135 & $145. Use the extra charged for supply costs. They take care of cleaning all linens also.

@Amit Desai I can only speak with my experience, but when we bought our second home with the lender knowing  our intention was to rent it out, the rate was lower than it would have been if it was considered an investment. When we purchased our third home, we did not qualify for the rate as a second home and had to pay the rate as an investment. Lender said we only qualified for the second home rate on the second home, after that you pay the rate for an investment.