All Forum Posts by: Patricia Taveras

@Barry Je there is a podcast called "Get Paid for your pad" that is all about airbnb. I have used a lot of what I have learned there to help me get started with mine, and it is doing very well.

@Mindy Jensen We have at least two pieces of art in each room (except the bathrooms.) We have smart tv's in living room and each bedroom so they can stream with their own accounts if they like. We also have cable. Pool tables in the garages and a supply of board games. And of course the typical amenities like coffee, shampoo, spices, etc. And we get to go play pool ourselves when we have a vacancy!

@Bo A Vanecko. I do not have any pets of my own but I do allow dogs - No cats. Cats scratch furniture. I usually charge a pet fee, but it isn't built in on airbnb like the cleaning fee, so that is kind of a hassle. I only noticed a dog odor in my house once, and after the cleaning it was gone. I do have an excellent house keeper. I haven't seen any damages from pets yet either, and all pet owners but one so far have cleaned up the poop in the yard. We have hosted a lot of dog owners because they were glad to be able to bring the dog. Most were willing to pay the pet fee when we enforced it. We do ask that guests notify us when they have a pet, and so far they have done so.

@Adam Ramsey. Hi Adam. I have used a small local bank to finance two airbnb properties now. They would not do conventional loans on them, but they did offer commercial loans on them. I put 20% down on the first airbnb property earlier this year. I had enough equity in that property that my lender financed 100% of my second airbnb property I closed on in September by placing a second mortgage on the first property instead of using a down payment. My lender also used my airbnb earnings from my first property to help me qualify for the second property even though we've had it running less than a year. His financing has been way more flexible than conventional loans, and I have been pleasantly surprised with what he has helped us do.

@Brian Summerall. Hi Brian. I live in New Bern and have a couple of long-term rentals and a couple of short-term rentals there. If you are looking to network, look up Eastern North Carolina Real Estate Investors Association on Facebook. They have had a couple of meetups in Jacksonville. If you are looking for local bank financing for investment properties in need of rehab, I can recommend a lender I have enjoyed working with. I wish you much luck getting started!

@Ken Latchers I'm making money and life is good! To each his own!

@Tato Corcoran I chose a flexible cancellation policy based on a recommendation from the Get Paid for your Pad podcast that is all about running an airbnb. I have run mine since June and it's going very well. I have had three cancellations, and the place always books again - once within 15 minutes of the cancellation! The biggest cancellation I had was a 25 day stay worth $2200. The guy was a marine and his orders changed. I was glad to be flexible for him and recommend other listings in the area. My house kept booking and we made our money anyway. I wouldn't change my flexible cancellation policy for anything. It makes people feel comfortable booking with you.

@Revekah Cosby - Hi there. I searched for your listing based on your description and couldn't find it, and like Michael said Airbnb should be featuring you since you're new. In your research have you listened to a podcast called "Get Paid for your Pad"? There is an episode of that titled "Airbnb SEO: how to rank higher and drive more bookings". I also recommend the episode "Case Study of an Airbnb in Cape Town" because it troubleshoots someone's listing that is not doing well. My husband and I used a lot of the information in these two episodes to set up our first listing and it's doing very well.

People are flipping houses here. Demand for housing is high in New Bern since we lost so many houses in Hurricane Florence.  Houses in good areas are selling quickly right now, and real estate prices are rising here.  Flooded houses that have been renovated don't look like they are selling as quickly though.  And most of the contractors in the area are backed up with work, so finding someone to do the work quickly is a challenge.  I know that doesn't answer your question directly, but that's a snapshot of what's happening in the area. 

Thank you everyone for the advice!  I'm going to use it.  They have agreed to both complete the application and screening process, so it looks like we are off to a good start.  We'll see how the screening and references turn out.