All Forum Posts by: Ruth Huard

Hi Blake - We are also looking at the Angel Fire/Taos area for a vacation home- single-family residence (like you - for a vacation home as well as income). Would you recommend your real estate agent - and if so, could you provide the contact info? Are you currently listing it on STR platforms (Airbnb, VRBO) -- and could you share how it is doing in terms of occupancy and ADR? We are planning to visit the area next week.

We have 2 condos in Miami (Brickell neighborhood) and in need of a local, reliable and knowledgeable property manager.  The condos are in the same building. They are listed on AirBnB and VRBO and am currently utilizing some technology systems (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5... and https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5... ).  But I am finding it challenging to manage them well - being in CA and with other work responsibilities. Ideally, the property manager (or firm) would have some knowledge of marketing the condos as well.  Is 25% management fee the standard/average for this area?  Thank you for any recommendations.

Hi Ruben - I just listed the condos earlier this year, so please keep that in mind with the numbers I’m sharing. I also understand that May-August are the “off-season” months for Miami visitors - that, coupled with recent economic challenges, my revenues for the timeframe that I’ve listed them probably will not extrapolate to a representative year.

For https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/555741066345416184 - listed mid-February, the average monthly payout was $4300.

For https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/53422834 - listed mid-May, the average monthly payout was $3500.

The largest monthly costs that I need to cover include: insurance ($175/month), property tax, and HOA (about $675/month). Before purchasing, I reviewed HOA docs and HOA minutes carefully to ensure that STRs were allowed. The governing docs of the building we're in explicitly allow for daily rentals (it is a hotel-condo residence) - these are hard to come by! I make sure to attend the board meetings just to be sure that I can weigh in if there are concerns about STRs (there have not been any so far; and the board members rent out their units).

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $415,000
Cash invested: $415,000

Purchased two condos in a hotel-condo building in Miami (Brickell - financial district). Each was about $400K. They are currently STRs (using Airbnb and VRBO)
- https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/53422834
- https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/555741066345416184

These are my first STRs and self-managing at this time; learning a lot about being an out-of-state host and revenue management.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Wanted to enter the STR market and looked for markets that were growing and with different markets (e.g., business travelers and tourists).

How did you finance this deal?

All cash from a cash-out refinance of another property.

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $1,500,000
Cash invested: $650,000

2/2 condo on the beach in Marina Del Rey (near Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach). Currently a 30+ day rental per the requirements of Los Angeles County. Have been renting for a year through Evolve management and thus far it is booked about 80%. It is listed on the different channels that Evolve supports - e.g., https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/54131161

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Our family enjoys the beach and the surf so we often find investment properties in locations which we would also enjoy.

We just purchased a condo in Brickell neighborhood of Miami, and looking for condo insurance but finding that many providers do not service Miami with the exception of 1 which seemed very high. Any recommendations? And what coverage do you recommend for a condo that will be rented for short or long term?

We have a 2/2 condo on the beachside of Marina Del Rey, CA and considering AirBnB (requires min. 30 day rental). Looking for a diligent property manager in the area - any recommendations?  We live 250 miles away so cannot do our own property management.