All Forum Posts by: Mike G.

@Josh Quinn for the 4br/4 bath SFH I'm purchasing, the property management company has given me a projected range of $90-$135K gross annually for STRs. When I use rental income calculator, with the most conservative estimates and every expense I can foresee, I expect a small monthly return. I plan to hold the property, and rent for many years, so the month-to-month return is less important to me than the 20 year return. Plus the tax benefits make it worthwhile to me.

I have a high salary, high stress full time job on the opposite coast. So I ultimately decided the property management fees were worth it to me for peace of mind. This is my first rental property, so I'm positive I'm making mistakes. But I also know that I'll be able to optimize over time. 

@David M Trapani Thank you for the reply, and good to hear from someone familiar with the quirks of Palm Springs. I am able to inherit a lot of the maintenance team, but will need someone do do the in-person guest checkins and respond to any noise complaints. I'll reach out to you directly to hear who you use. Much appreciated! 

@Mark Miles the property management companies here do 2 inspections of the property. The city requires a representative to be present to check in guests and take drivers licenses. And there's and multi-point inspection list once the guests have checked out.

Palm Springs is heavily regulated, but also has the potential for big returns. So I'm really curious if anyone has self-managed for Palm Springs. 

@John Underwood The real benefit of the property management companies (as far as I can tell) is marketing across a wide network of different vacation rental hosting sites in addition to VRBO and AirBNB. One company that I'm interviewing gets 40% of their booking directly from repeat travelers. So I'm willing to pay the management fee if a company were to bring in an extra $30-40K in rentals per year. Just hard to know if the marketing really brings in more renters. 

@Justin Kofron thanks for the reply. I've been in Palm Springs for the last few weeks talking to as many people as possible about the STR industry here. A lot of the other owners use concierge companies that do smaller individual tasks, rather than 100% management.Good advice to try it myself, and then move to a management company if need be.

I am closing this week on my first property, which I will use for short term rentals in Palm Springs. I have done pretty extensive research on what to expect with city regulations and have used a lot of online tools to project returns. But I haven't been able to find much conversation in forums about owners' experience with property management companies. Does anyone have any advice on which property management company to use in Palm Springs?

- The property already has a housekeeper, pool maintenance guy, gardener and handyman who know the home. Is it really worth paying a 25%+ fee for things like marketing, guest checkins and noise control? I live in NY and want the property to run on autopilot as much as possible, so peace of mind is important to me.

- It's a large 4 bed/4bath home on a golf course with a pool in one of the best neighborhoods, so I also want to protect my investment and make sure that it isn't being used for huge parties. Will a smaller boutique management company offer more value, or will I end just up dealing with more issues remotely?

Thank you in advance for any insights.