All Forum Posts by: Michael Baum

Hey @Tiffany Smith, glamping has been discussed here a bunch of times and it is a very niche kind of "investment".

I use the quotes because no matter how nice a yurt or super tent or tiny home is, unless it is sitting on a foundation, stick or modular built with full utilities, it has no value as real property. They are nothing more than an RV at best.

So, like @John Underwood said, you might be able to get a loan for the bare land, but will be on the hook for the improvements, utility runs etc.

Just be prepared to have a bunch of cash on had to get rolling.

So I have no experience with Hawaii leaseholds but I have looked into various USFS leased lands here in Idaho, Montana etc.

Now I think they can be different as the leases are held by the US govt. I have read here on BP from others that state many leaseholds are held by private companies or owners and not the govt.

I looked at several lakefront properties that were USFS leases. Very cheap compared to owning the property. We came close a couple of times but I shied away from them due to the leasehold.

In the end, every cabin/house we looked at had their lease canceled and up for auction to the highest bidder. There were many on Priest Lake for example that had been owned by families for several generations that were essentially yanked and then sold for a bunch of cash. 1m plus in some cases.

So, I would be very careful about buying a leasehold property. Get an attorney to go over the lease so you know if there is anything that talks about pulling the lease and what triggers it.

In the case of the USFS, those leases were 99 years.

Well I have to say that most of my bookings this season are from VRBO. Just got 2 more and a off OTA booking from a previous guest. The 2 came in through VRBO.

Hey @Blair Ross Jr so I assume you mean why it is a job and not investing.

Because you don't own anything but a pile of furnishings. You don't build wealth or assets. You simply hope you can keep it going without running afoul of the landlord or new municipality restrictions leaving you holding the bag.

You might make money but the risk is high of losing it all.

The STR market has tightened quite a bit since arbitrage was all the rage and making a go is much more difficult and it was tough before.

Wow @Blair Ross Jr, we haven't seen an arbitrage question in quite a while!

I suggest doing a search on arbitrage and read up.

The changes in the STR markets across the country have led many folks to shy away from arbitrage as a job.

Wow @John Underwood! One of the few requests for service help that you can actually recommend something!

Hey @Dylan Prestwich, sure it is an option. Is there a major hospital nearby? Is it in Syracuse?

List it on Furnished Finder. You will find plenty of people looking depending on where it is and if it is nearby things that bring traveling professionals.

I would take some time and read the forums as there is a ton of info here about STRs in general.

To quote Paul Sandhu.."Traveling nurses are dogs..."

Hey @Marc Zak, so you could just get a co-host that handles some of the things where you handle others.

Also, list it on VRBO as well. No sense in leaving all those folks out of the loop.

Hey @Karina Busch, VRBO remits all our taxes and there hasn't been any issues.

This season we are about 2 to 1 on VRBO vs AirBNB. Totally worth being on the platform regardless of where you STR is.

Hey @Christina B. ok so everyone votes for stainless and I agree.

BUT, for good non-stick, check out the Henckels Granitum pans.

https://www.costco.com/henckels-capri-granitium-3-piece-non-...

I had been using the Tramontina non-stick and they would get destroyed in less than a season so I spent more and bought this three piece set...3 years ago. So far so good. No scratches in the granite surface and no warping.

They hold up to metal utensils and are dishwasher safe.

@Bruce Woodruff had a point on those pans. :)

Also, these are made in Italy, not China. I am pretty adamant on not buying anything I heat up from China so these were a no brainer.