All Forum Posts by: Mindy Nicol

Hi Mark, 
From my experience insurance companies will require 3-5 years of life left on the roof.  It is not about the roof age specifically and it really doesn't matter what the sellers say about that.  It is about what a reputable source that the insurance company will trust claims the years roof has left. 

While this will come up in an inspection, a roofer is really the best source of truth.  I recently negotiated a brand new roof for my buyer based on the fact that the roof had no permit and it did not have any years left for insurability. The sellers ended up getting a roofer out to verify our claim then they agreed to our repairs (realizing any buyer was going to ask for the same thing).  

For your negotiation, I would push the seller (or your agent through the seller's agent) to get reputable roofers assessments so they can come to terms with the roof condition, why the repair is needed and what is required to sell their home.  The fact that it was installed wrong is a big issue. Get your insurance company to provide a letter explaining why they can't insure it in its current state. It comes as a shock to many sellers the first time they are in contract, so you have to let them do a little work to come to terms with this before coming back with counters. You might find they will agree to the new roof with not much haggling. 

Mindy

Sounds great @Jonathan Foux I love talking about STRs!

Hi Alex,

I am a big fan of talking to people actually doing it. Most of it you won't find in books. I'd reach out to hosts in the city you live in and see if they will talk to you. You can probably find them all on Furnished Finder. Have coffee with them and ask questions. Facebook has a lot of STR/MTR groups too in my area, maybe yours? I've found just hosts are really fine sharing what's going on and the challenges/tips.

Mindy

Hi Jonathan!

I am 12 mo into 2 STRs, self managed.  My greatest operational challenges:

- Amount of time STR takes, vs Medium, or Long term rentals. It is definitely another full time job. You'll be looking at calendars, bookings, and fine tuning pricing to get occupancy rates as high as possible. I do not agree with the set and forget philosophy. I do have automated guest messaging but to truly run the business you need to be hands on. Our market is changing monthly here in North Florida and assume South Florida is the same. I look at my forward bookings and availability daily and adjust nightly minimum stay, rates etc.

- Customer service: questions from guests, dealing with last minute cancellations, people that want early/late check ins etc.  I don't mind it but sometimes dream of having a LTR quad with a property manager so I can get my weekends back!

- Costs - The expenses, from cleaning supplies, to guest amenities, running costs and handiman stuff is just so much more.

- TOT Tax - We have 10.5% where I am in N Florida (Dept revenue and local county). Make sure your booking providers have this set up correctly and you are paying monthly.

I use Lodgify to automate messaging, transactions, calendars etc which is totally fine for me. 

Let me know if you ever want to branch out of S Florida.  I am in St Augustine where we have a thriving tourism market.

Good luck!

Mindy

Hi Peter,

What does the county consider the house as and how can you legally set this up as a duplex if it is not already with your property appraiser?  If you want to sell it down the line, and you're spending money on the reno maybe that is a consideration. 

I see a lot of property and quite a few handyman jobs by people wanting to learn the trade.  It all comes out in the inspections when they try to sell.  If you can rehab right you will get your money back and I would hire experts to do the big stuff so you know it is correctly done.  You will thank yourself on the resale and not have to pay to re-do things at the time of sale.  Just my 2 cents seeing this all the time with my buyers. :)

What is your experience with STR? What does your market need right now? I would start with STR but depending on how it goes you may want to switch up the business model. In most cities there are too many STRs and occupancy rates are falling. I am just over 12 months in my own STR. I understand now the seasonality and learned the hard way. I have now converted into MTR due to the time it takes and I believe the financials are the same when you take out the higher expenses for STR.

Also with lower prices for the smaller units, they may be easier to rent out, however look at the supply and see what your city is lacking.  Airdna may be a good way to see that.

Best of luck!

Mindy

Hi Austin, I'm an investor and agent in St Aug, however if you're still interviewing agents I can refer you to an investor savvy agent in Jax. I would look at what is near Mayo, Jax airport, any major employer. It is not just about traveling nurses though. I just started a 3 mo tenant here in St Aug and found her on Furnished Finders. Let me know if you want to chat about how STR is different from MTR. I prefer it so much to be honest. Good luck!

Mindy

Welcome Kevin!  I'm just south of you in St Augustine but have many contacts in Jax as well.  Good luck and let me know if you need anything.

Hi Jordan,

I have had good luck on Furnished Finder and also have a Zillow listing.  You can also reach out to people coming to the area on FF and see when they want to come to the area and their budget.  The site is great and you can reach out directly, but you probably know this :).   Are there any big employers up there?  Maybe give them a call and see if they have needs? Photos and pricing are the keys I think to get interested people. 

Mindy

Hi Mary - Joseph is totally right. I have 2 rentals in St Augustine and things are going well, but location and standard of the property has been key. Have you considered medium term rentals? I would also stress that seeing as you are in AZ you will want a great management company. STR is particularly high touch and I will say it is not cheap to run. If you crunch the numbers you may find that LTR is easier and you're not making much more in STR $ given the days when the unit is not occupied, and operating costs. We are also seeing people getting out of STR as there are just too many in the area and switch to LTR or sell. Mindy

Hi Diana, I agree, not all PMCs are the same. I refer all my clients to Matt Kelley at Remax Property Management.  He can handle Nocatee, St Aug, Palm Coast among others.  Matt is excellent and has years of experience doing this.  He also managed my LT rentals for me.

PM me for his info if you still need the details.

Best,

Mindy