All Forum Posts by: Mike Shemp

We had a woodburning fireplace in our cabin and converted it to a gas fireplace with remote.  The woodburning was too much risk for our taste.

Mike

I think it's a bad idea if you have nice furniture or furniture you paid a lot of money for.

Instead, make it pet friendly and buy nice but inexpensive furniture at yard sales and Facebook Marketplace.

Mike

The one that has an unfair advantage...that is "instagram-able".  We make sure that each home we purchase has something people will take a picture of and remember.

Mike

One of our cabins in the White Mountains is on a dirt road, and we have not had any issue with bookings because of it...even in winter.

Mike

Hi Susan,

I have some knowledge of the White Mountains area.  In Conway, North Conway, Bartlett, Madison, and Freedom there are discussions occurring about short-term regulation.  We have 2 cabins in Bartlett.

Mike

We have a cottage on the beach road in Kitty Hawk.  We are able to rent it out year round.

The slower months are Dec and Jan, but outside of that we are consistently booked.

In the last 5 years it feels like the off-season is getting busier and businer.

Hope that helps!
Mike

Once we jumped in, our biggest regret is that we didn't start sooner.

Ask yourself this:  What situation could come up, where you would have no idea what to do?  For just about every situation you can think of, another investor has already gone through it and you can find an answer here, on Google, Facebook, etc.

And in the rare case you come upon a situation where you can't find the answer, your common sense and imagination will get you through it.  I had a situation where our guest messaged me and said "We just got home from dinner, and there is a dead cat in your driveway."  I had no idea what to do.  Who do you call to pick up a dead cat at 9pm at night? Do you ask your guest to pick it up? I had no idea.  I left some messages with our handyman and our cleaner, and our cleaner took care of it the next morning.  Crisis over in a few text messages.

Hope that helps!
Mike

Airbnb made some recent changes that seem to be hurting hosts that don't have something unique about their property.  

For example in the White Mountains if you are just your typical 60's ski chalet in a neighborhood... that may not do as well as a cabin with a moutain view.

Mike

Hi All,

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to @Nicholas Aiola and his CPA firm.   I switched to his company late last year to do my 2021 taxes and it has been a really great experience!  Communication with Nick and his team has been fantastic, and every question I bring to him about something I hear from friend, something I see in a discussion forum, or on Tik Tok, he knows the tax rules and provided great guidance and education.  

Just wanted to share my thoughts on someone who is part of the Bigger Pockets community and providing some great value!

Mike

We have a web site, and post on Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok for promoting.

People can book through AirBnB, VRBO, or directly with us.

Mike