All Forum Posts by: Mark Miles

So I get it that you *can* outsource PM to some VAs in the Phillipines for cheap. I have had mixed success doing that in other lines of work. When I think I my favorite Airbnb experiences however it was where there was a local person who knew the area and was around to help restart a pilot light or suggest a restaurant. I have a hard time seeing how you can do that with somebody from thousands a miles of away easily. David Greene talks in his books a lot about leveraging PMs in his books for growing a long distance rental portfolio. Granted he is not focused on STR. I am guessing their are two extremes - local+"hands-on"+concierge - which can be pricey but hopefully allows you to charge a premium; and more price competitive but without the guest hand-holding?

Llllllmfaaaaoooooo.... you sound like my mom... “But Marrrrkkkkk, these people you hire in Cambodia..... how will they be able to recommend a local restaurant to your guests?!?!”

As if people in Cambodia don’t know how to use Yelp! 😆

I don’t know what to tell ya, man. My places rent for $2,000 per wknd & they stay booked year-round. But you do you - run your business the way that makes you the most comfortable

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Michael Chilton:

@Amy Canfield

I'm working on a STR deal now, and have budgeted 25% for a local property manager to market, book, clean, and maintain. In this case, they're not just managing and arranging the work, they're doing the work themselves.

So that 25% includes all cleaning fees? You might wanna double check on that

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Ruth Blue:

@Amy Canfield

To answer your thread. There are definitely PM management options available for those who need and want it. Keep searching and asking questions.

100% agreed! It’s never hard to find people willing to take your money, in any walk of life! Don’t need to search that hard......

In fact, I’ve legit thought about starting a PM firm, charging owners 20%..... and outsourcing all the work to my team overseas for 1%.

I’m too busy at the moment buying properties to do it though....

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Stacy Preston:

My goal for 2020 is to start my first STR. I've acquired a property and hope to go live with my listing in February.

What is one piece of advice or encouragement you wish you would have been given before you got started with your first STR? Would love to consider these ideas as I'm putting together my business plan.

Sidenote: I watched AirBNB Hell on Amazon Prime this week. That was a bad idea as now I'm second-guessing this decision.

#1 thing: Location, location, location. Invest in the southern half of the US, it's where the STR money is made. Thank me later.

#2 thing: don’t hire a local PM. You’ll lose all your profits. I pay my PM 1%. She’s 10,000+ miles away. Yep, she responds to guests & sets door codes from somewhere in Asia

“Wise Northerners invest in the South” -Mark Miles

“I wanna rent a vacation house in November in New Jersey / Ohio / Nebraska / Indiana” - Nobody ever

6 Votes

Originally posted by @Andy Becker:

Originally posted by @Mark Miles:

Dumb question but what would you expect to pay a long term rental PM? And if there is a difference in compensation, why? Is STR PM that much easier than LTR PM? Are you/someone else doing other tasks a LTR PM would normally do?

STR is way more work but totally dft ballgames bc with LTR you're typically screening tenants in-person thus LTR PMs are typically local & thus you have to pay them local rates. With STR, you don't need your PMs to do anything local (cleaners & handyman do that) so you can leverage this to have PMs anywhere on the planet especially very low cost locales.

Considering PM can be a very large cost (if you let it be), I refuse to have a local PM & by local, I mean within 10,000 miles

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Amy Canfield:

@Jean H. exactly! That's what attracts me most to a property manager - I don't want to deal with the middle of the night headaches. Managing the bookings, finding cleaning people, decorating (as long as I hire someone...I have zero skills) I can handle. Like @Andy Becker was inquiring (kind of), I wonder what would be a reasonable fee for partial property management...does that even exist? Maybe I can make it exist...pay someone a flat fee per month to be on call. They would get the money no matter what, I would get piece of mind. Anyone have a relationship like this?

TOOOOTALLY with you on the lack of decorating skills. That’s why I have an amazing interior designer in the Middle East for $10/hr.

My handyman or cleaners take pics, videos & measurements of my rooms. Then i email those to my designer who puts together mockups & 3D renderings for me, complete with links to Benjamin moore paint colors, links to the products on Wayfair, etc. I hit the add to cart button & ship everything to my handyman or cleaners.

I send my handyman and/or cleaners images of the renderings & tell them “I ordered you a bunch of stuff - make the room look like this please & send me some updated pics when its complete”

This is how I get around my lack of design skills without overpaying. Play chess not checkers

2 Votes

Originally posted by @Reagen Natho:

I have a similar question... Who do you have wait around to receive a new appliance delivery? I’m currently trying to have a new washer and dryer delivered to my cabin in Sevierville purchased from Lowe’s and being delivered by a 3rd party company. Long story, but basically I was told I could email authorization for the delivery and installation with no one there and apparently that is now not the case. My housekeeper is obviously not going to be able to wait around for it. I don’t want to have to ask a guest to do that either. I tried letting the delivery company know the hour timeframe that the housekeeper would be there and they basically told me that was too short of a window. Should I just hire someone on TAKL to wait around on my next turnover day???

I’ve been able to solve this in either of 2 ways:

1) If you’re in an area that has neighbors nearby who live there full-time, try to find a neighbor who would like to earn some extra money for tasks like this

2) Or hire someone on taskrabbit / thumbtack / takl to literally sit in your house for a few hours. I’ve had luck using the Pet Sitting or Dog Walker categories to find people willing to do this (they’re used to being in other people’s homes & are typically trustworthy)

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Amy Canfield:

For $4/hr you can have a team of people in Cambodia who competently handle all of this 24/7. It really isn’t that difficult. And you’re only paying for the hours they work. Some days they’re busy handling a bunch of things for me over a 3 hour period (woohoo, $12 spent!), sometimes I go a few days without needing them to do anything.

1 Vote

Originally posted by @James G.:

@Cathy Leco I disagree with Lucas and Mark. The non refundable deposit, in my opinion, can be a powerful way to receive some extra income. I wouldn't recommend making it $40, but perhaps you can try making it half or 60% of the first months rent. One of the biggest landlords in my city uses this technique and he has made tens of thousands of dollars in extra income by doing this. Hope this helps.

You realize you're on the STR board right? It's totally different with STR, people will trash your house & all your belongings

1 Vote

Originally posted by @Luke Carl:

“Hey if you don’t break this it’s still $40” I don’t think that’s going to fly let alone I doubt there’s a systematically way to make it work.

Just raise your nightly rate a bit. The more they pay the less problems you have!

Agreed, I don’t want people to think that paying $40 gives them license to wreck my house. I charge $500 security deposit though I have pretty nice places

2 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Mark Miles

Mark Miles has started 38 posts and replied 498 times.

Post: STR property management fee

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Post: Best advice for STR newbie?

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Post: Security deposit vs non-refundable fee

Post: Security deposit vs non-refundable fee