All Forum Posts by: Rachel Kokosenski

My husband and I are contemplating purchasing a condo or small house in one of the desert cities (near Rancho Mirage/Palm Springs/Indio/etc.), that we would enjoy in the summer half of the year and then rent to snowbirds during the winter half of the year. If I'm understanding the regs correctly, if we only rent for 30 days+, we don't have to list as an STR and pay all the crazy high occupancy taxes, right?

Anyone having success with focusing solely on the Snowbird market? What websites work best for advertising? Or, is it best to get in with local realtors for promotion?

Would love to know if the Snowbird market is crashing due to Covid-19 worries too....

Ryan,

Welcome to BP! These are all excellent questions for consideration when evaluating a new market. My husband and I were scouting out Las Vegas in Dec 2017 and could not find much that would provide steady cash flow. The prices were rising then, so I can only assume they are still heading up. While all the things you mentioned would seem to suggest that it's an ideal investment spot, not all is as seen!

I'd encourage you to use the BP Calculators (in the Tools section) and run the numbers on at least 20 different properties to get a feel for what the margins look like. As you already live there, you may also want to consider "House Hacking" (where you live in part of the property and rent out the rest). Or, look at the potential for Air BnB on properties close to the Strip. (There's a new calculator in the Tools section for this too!)

Personally, we chose to buy in the Midwest as the numbers made a lot more sense there; we ended up purchasing 4 SFR homes for about what we would have paid for one condo in Vegas! Hope that gives you some food for thought.

I would avoid putting in anything that warns the guest about excessive noise. Instead, focus on how there is a gun range nearby as a potential activity for your guests (they can make their own conclusions about noise level without you pointing it out!). As for the dog noise, it may not be home when a guest stays there so I wouldn't bring it up in your discussion. If guests start to complain, then I would address it with the dog owner.

When I purchased my rental, their were previous comments about the "excessive noise" from a local attraction. None of my guests have ever said a thing and I never noticed the noise myself when I stayed there. (I'm thinking they may have had the window open at the time, because I don't know how else they would notice as there really isn't any noise!)

Hope that helps!

Another great tip!

Great tip! Thanks. 

Hello! I'm less than impressed with my current property management company in the Muskegon area. Can anyone suggest some property management companies that they have had positive experiences with in the Muskegon area? I'd be most grateful!

I have a STR in a gorgeous waterfront town in Western Michigan in prime location (walking distance to shops, restaurant, waterfront)....Renting it in the summer is super easy, but things seem a bit quiet in the winter months. I'm brainstorming ideas on how to get renters in the off-season.

Some ideas I've had....

1. Send letters to local realtors letting them know the place is available for clients they may have that are renovating a house, need a place to stay while a house is being built, etc.

2. Reaching out to insurance companies that pay for hotels for clients that have been displaced due to fire/water damage and reconstruction.

3. Trying to attract visiting nurses to stay during their (typical) 13-week contracts.

4. Contacting local hunting/fishing guide companies to see if their clients may need a place to stay when they are hunting/fishing in the area.

Would love to get a discussion going here about creative marketing strategies that others in seasonal locations have used...

Ugh...that's what we were afraid of. Well, lesson learned I guess!

I have a question about who pays for damages discovered after a sale. I purchased a condo to use as a STR and the day after the sale was finalized we were advised that the dishwasher has been leaking for days, there is mold behind it, and there is water damage in other parts of the condo. When I called my insurance company they said they won't cover it because it started prior to my owning the property and the previous owner's insurance would be covering the property at the time.

So, we didn't have a property inspection prior to purchase. Who is at fault here? Are we just stuck with this because we bought the property with the standard "as is" clause in the contract?

I don't get the sense that the previous owner actually knew about this as he was a very "hands off" owner of the property and was informed by the house cleaner about the puddle on the floor. I don't want to drop lots of money to litigate something that may only cost a few thousand to repair, but on the other hand, if it's reasonable to request the previous owner to pay for this, I would like to do so. Advice? Thanks!