All Forum Posts by: Luke Carl

Hey @Shahram Zarshenas great questions! 

Contact mylodgetax.com for your monthly tax info. 

Maintenance literally changes day to day in this business. I might go 4 months without calling a handyman and then I can't go 4 minutes without calling one. 

Property taxes are generally the same every year you can even google your house and go on zillow and see what they were last year. This will generally be rolled into your mortgage. 

STRs do not fit into a box like LTRs do. On an LTR you know for instance exactly how much money is coming through the door every month. STR you can not put on a spreadsheet.

My remedy? Set GOALS. 

In my market a 500K remotely self managed property should have a GOAL of 90k gross for the year. Let's say you're putting 20% down on a conventional mortgage your GOAL is to NET $2000 per month, assuming no large cap ex items such as HVACs, couches, roofs, refrigerators, etc. If you can't hit these numbers frankly you're not trying. Of course you can't help it if you've got to replace a couch and 4 tv's in the same month. Something that you'd never have to deal with in a LTR. 

Hope this helps! 

@Blake Lawrence Great question! 

If you go to your availability settings on airbnb you'll find all sorts of settings as to when guests can and cannot check in. Also don't hesitate to call airbnb and ask this question and more. I find the more often you call the more bookings you get. 

Here's my system... 

I've got a two night minimum. About once a month I'll check my calendars for 1 night gaps and switch those nights to 1 night minimum and RAISE the nightly rate a few bucks (to keep out the riff raff that generally comes with one nighters). 

On airbnb this is on the right side of your calendar it's called a "Rule Set" 

On VRBO you simply click on the date and change it to 1 night min. 

This is assuming your minimum night stay is set to anything over 1 night, and also assuming your house keepers are ok with handling one nighters which often come last minute in my market. 

Let’s say I have a 2 bedroom. I allow 4 people for the nightly rate and charge $15 per person per night up to 6 people. So yes I charge for the sofa bed. I do this to weed out less desirable guests. Just go book a 3 bed for the same price. 

My properties are always booked so I can be picky. 

@Nadir M. sounds like the PM is just doing their job. An AC unit that can’t keep up is not functioning properly. $100 and change seems like a reasonably priced fix. 

I’ve got 7 septic systems being rented. 5 of which are vacation rentals which means they get worked I would say maybe twice as hard as a regular home. I would not hesitate. 

Have I had to replace field line and did it suck? Yes. 

Learn the difference between a tank and a field line, get it pumped every few years, and you’ll be just fine. 

It’s official. Uncle @Paul Sandhu is the most interesting man in the world. 

Check out a book called Loopholes of Real Estate. This will have the answers you seek. 

I was unaware asbestos siding would raise insurance rates thanks for that info. You might call another insurance company first. 

I think I’d leave the siding as is and put it towards another property. 

@Jon S Strick

@Chai Xiong is our resident Orlando guy

I agree with @John Underwood

Have the tenants do it. 

For now... pay someone. I use takl. 

When the lease expires wright in the new lease that tenant does lawn. Perhaps tell them the rent is going up $100 but they’ll get a $50 discount for every month even in the winter! 

The good news.... if you do exactly that, you can fire your PM and stop paying their fee because you’re doing it yourself and you’re better at it. 

Time spent on this..... 20 minutes per year. Saves you 10% per month.