All Forum Posts by: Peter R.

@Leigh Ann Smith excellent news!  Once you get a bit more comfortable with VRBO payouts (and they stop holding your money!) you may want to see if altering your payment settings would make you feel more secure with the VRBO process.

No matter how I break up payments for guests I always make the last payment due before check-in day.  And double check your refund policy too, you can set your levels how you like, i.e. 50% refund if cancelled a week before, or no refund, whatever works best for you.

I think there's a difference between not near you physically as in another city and a place that you wouldn't stay in because of the neighborhood or proximity to attractions.

Personally I don't think I'd invest in a property to rent that I wouldn't want to stay in myself. But that's not to say I wouldn't invest in property that isn't near me, I do that with all my vacation rentals, I'm not in the same city.

Edit: This was a reply to a post that's no longer there.

@Leigh Ann Smith if their check in was today, has VRBO warned you the payment did not go through?  Usually VRBO requires guests to fully pay before the check in.

I'd also go take a look at the VRBO payment download and see what name was on the credit card.  That's a big red flag usually, if the names don't match.

@John Underwood Airbnb pays out the day after the guest checks in.

@Leigh Ann Smith this wasn't the case when I signed up for VRBO but it may well be now.  They've had fraud issues as @John Underwood mentioned. 

Side note, the VRBO payment processing system is a pain to deal with in general, hopefully this is the last time you'll have to call them, they aren't speedy or generally pleasant in my experience. :(

@Nancy Bachety in general I see VRBO users planning a bit more ahead.  Nearly all of the 30 day or more rentals come from VRBO and well in advance, months or more before the rental date.  Airbnb seems to be far more last minute with only days in advance, sometimes a week.  Far shorter time frames as well, usually only a week or less from Airbnb. 

@Kyle Miller nearly 3 years now in Melbourne Beach.  It's really an undiscovered gem on Florida's Space Coast, nowhere near the crowds of a Daytona and I think we have nicer beaches.  But still close enough to drive to Canaveral or the Orlando Theme Parks.  Happy to chat, just let me know!

In general I'd say 10/month is a good testing amount for when you first start.  With some good 5 star reviews and competitive pricing I think you could get to 15/month but 20+ is really repeat guest territory to get there.

On the cleaning service, the best cleaners I've ever found usually work for themselves or have one or two employees at most, and to be sure this will vary by region, but the big services (Merry Maids, etc) are my backups in an emergency only. 

Because, and this is a big difference, this isn't just a clean, it's a TURN.  Towels, linens, etc need to be washed and restocked/reset, not just cleaned and folded.  Soap needs to be refilled, toilet paper replaced, the refrigerator cleaned out, etc.

I've found word of mouth is the best bet, who do your neighbors use, they can tell you who shows up without fail, does a great job, etc.  

A test clean or two with clear expectations about what you want done, and on what schedule is usually enough to get to know them and try them out for a turn between guests.  I'm totally up front with people who clean, they know it's a short-term and they know ahead of time if there are going to be pets or lots of guests.  I usually send guest count, pet count and turn time at least a week out but usually 2 weeks out to confirm.

They also have their own code on my smart locks and my automation system (SmartThings) can be set to alert me when that code is used to open the lock.  

Worst case if they don't show (and you'll know, you can see lock history in real time) you can call up Merry Maids and give them a single day code to go do an emergency clean.

As to cost @Christopher Meis I'm paying about $25/hour for an average of 2.5 hours a turn on a two bed unit.  A little longer if the guests have pets.  That gets charged up front to the guests as a cleaning fee of about $100.  Between normal wear and tear on furniture, linens and such, I'd say that about evens out over time so that I'm not making anything on the clean, but probably not losing anything either.

Once you've got a cleaner you love things get MUCH easier on your stress level.  I don't even second guess it anymore and that's worth a ton to me.

@Nancy Bachety can't speak to Jensen Beach but in Melbourne Beach, regarding snow bird season, we see a healthy local uptick in the summer when the snow birds have gone home.  Floridians that want to escape the heat look to the beaches and we tend to book our highest Airbnb percentage during that time, vs. VRBO that tends to book months in advance.

What's current LTV do you think? A good local bank or credit union might be pretty willing to keep this as a portfolio loan if you've got a relationship, or are willing to establish a relationship with them.