All Forum Posts by: Shawn McCormick

Michael, I am so sorry for your experience dealing with a PM that did not have your best interest at heart. I'm glad to hear that instead of giving up, you took your investment to heart and made things happen. I hope your site has a positive impact on others with similar experiences and the PM's that get listed on your site take their industry and responsibility to the homeowners seriously so we all win.

Bravo!

I don't believe so, just more options and these will not be competition for the overall individual STR owners. The theme parks are still growing and adding more rides, parks etc so this is just another way to diversify the type of offerings when visiting Orlando.

 Yes, most charge $25 dollars a day. Some do actually view this as 'nickel and diming' their guests, and others look at it as an add on that others are getting paid for, so they do too. Many homes will charge for the use of a grill, they are locked up and only give you the combo if you rent it for $10/day. This would be similar to beach homes renting bikes, lawn chairs etc.

@Steph Prince There are many opinions about any market, you have to see what your risk tolerance is and have faith that you pick qualified partners to help you in the purchase. Having an agent that knows the right community, a PM that can give accurate pro formas and keep your property in tip top shape, help you get great reviews and solid bookings. 

Orlando has all types of properties from condo-tels, condos, timeshares, townhomes and single family from 3 -14 bedrooms and all classes of communities from just basic to World class 5 star resorts with multiple golf courses and simply amazing amenities (lazy rivers, flo-riders, movie theaters, restaurants, arcades and so much more). So finding your desired demographic while staying within your budget can help narrow the communities you should be looking at. Many don't agree with having an HOA, but in Orlando, that is vital to your success in order to get your guests all of those amenities in a guard gated community.

The area is still growing, new STR projects are still being built and the future is even bigger than most know..check this out. (like this one..https://evermoreresort.com/) so lots of room to grow and be profitable.

Best of luck to you!

Many of my clients that have STR in Orlando and they all have pools. Most are charging a nightly rate or by the entire stay if more than 7 days, more of a flat rate. Most have app controlled heaters and only turn it on if requested/paid for. Pools are an absolute must here and typically will be warm enough, but most guest pay extra to have the heat anyway...they are on vacation and want to be spoiled.

 You can use the 'find an agent' feature at the top of the page. If you search for related posts to short term rentals in Orlando, you will also find several agents that are active in this area.

@Sridhar Manthena If you still need someone, Tim Davis with All County Metro Property Management. He has over 500 doors and is fantastic. Tell him I sent you!

@Armand Dufrane depending on where exactly your STR will be will help determine answers to your question. If you have beachside condo or an 8 bedroom near Disney will be much different. I focus on the Disney area and the homes here come already furnished and generally the future bookings will convey. The communities that I recommend are all within a 10 mile radius of Disney, are guard gated and fully amenitized, so they are built specifically for STR. There are plenty of smaller neighborhoods surrounding that allow STR or LTR that you could purchase if having a second exity strategy is important to you.

For your cash flow question, again depends on where you are and to what level your home stands out and what you offer that others can't/don't. As crowded as Orlando is with STR homes, we also have over 70 million people coming thru the city a year so even people not trying very hard are typically doing well. But if you do some homework, buy right and keep up the home and on your technology, you can do very well.

Switching from STR to LTR does seem inefficient, usually, you would go the other way to improve cash flow. However, having that as a plan is not a bad idea. When the pandemic hit, many STR owners turned them into LTR because travel halted and they just wanted to cover expenses at that point, others simply sold their units.

Best of luck to you.

 Hey @Steph Prince, there are literally dozens of posts concerning STR in Orlando. I chime in on as many as possible and hopefully provide some valuable answers and things to consider. Let me know if there is anything in particular you want to know about. I am 15 minutes from Disney and do a lot in that area.

Best of luck!

@zach 

@Zach Martin congrats on taking steps toward controlling your freedom and financial future and welcome to the forums. You can search for just about any topic here and find local meet ups and REIA's (happy to suggest a few).

I can echo what some of the others have said as far as theming, but that really comes into play based on what community you are in and how many bedrooms you have and if there is a garage. You wouldn't theme out a 2 bedroom condo and most townhomes don't have garages, so you would be quite limited...so then it comes down to budget. Prices have stayed stagnet in the STR market here, but the cost of entry is still fairly high. You will have to run numbers based on the size of home you desire/can afford and then consider how marketable it is in its current condition or if you need to infuse some cash to get it well themed and stand out. The STR homes will come fully furnished and you usually get to keep all future bookings, so that will help with having cash flow from day one, but can make it difficult to schedule renovations or theming projects.

I'd be happy to go over more from my perspective if you would like. Best of luck!