All Forum Posts by: Trent Reeve

Wherever you decide (we are in Sandestin/Miramar Beach), you may want to get forecasted insurance quotes as well as many will be wacked with the 2023 renewals after Ian.  It could make a difference as to whether you want to be on the beach or would be better off with a unit that's near but not directly on the sand.          

So I made an offer on a 1bd 1bath STR that grossed 15k last year on VRBO only with a flat rate of $150/night year round. 85 nights booked with 36 individuals. This is a lake property so one would think it's seasonal.

My question, if we add it to Airbnb and market accordingly is it likely we can improve from the 15k annually? Loaded question I know but looking for input 

The average American home now has 2.93 TV sets per household; why would you rent one without a TV? For example, if you prefer to sleep on the floor would you consider renting out an STR without a bed?

I just had my 4th STR completely covered inside - all walls - with fabulous murals. I will not have a TV, and I will state that in the listing. The entire unit is a beautiful work of art with no "electronics". People travel with devices, usually, so they can stream on those. I will have multiple notations to BYOD. No TVs.

I am new to the STR game and have purchased my first 2 BR condo. The bedrooms would both fit a king size bed. Do you think this is the best option? Or should I have 2 full or twin beds in the one bedroom? The property is within walking distance of a children's museum, so I am thinking it might attract families with kids. TIA!

Property manager here, but I feel like I can add a little value here: 

We use Lynx for the home automation (locks and thermostats, pool heaters coming soon).  We are in FL and an issue here is that people set the AC to as low as possible (66-70 in most homes) and then will leave all day for the beach.  We have it set to raise every day at noon for enabled homes to 76.  This does cause some guests to question "why the house gets warm" every day but it is a simple response to not freeze up the AC unit and to conserve energy/reduce costs.  If they are in the home they are free to lower it back down, but most people are outdoors in FL during the day.

Also you may already be aware that AI is being somewhat perfected to handle FAQ's.  We are experimenting now with ChatGPT but nothing 100% solid yet

We are under contract for a 630K Single Family Home in Port St. Joe, FL and are looking at insurance options. Property is not directly on the beach, it is about 5 houses back from the beach. So about a 300-400 ft walk to the sand. Proper insurance is currently at 13K/year without Flood insurance. This will severely impact the property analysis and cashflow that we projected. Does this seem the norm for an SFH with 400K on dwelling? We also have a wind mit and 4 point inspection done but proper is giving no discounts for that. The house is also built on top of 12 foot pilings to protect from flood, as well as it survived hurricane Michael (albeit there was some damage but it was mostly all in tact).

We do have a separate private flood insurance quote for about $600/year so we will probably do that.  

We had another quote with some other brokers that are giving discounts for the wind mit/4 point and have quoted landlord policies or homeowners policies (~4-6K annually) but I'm worried we may not be covered for STR on those, even though we have been VERY UPFRONT with insurance carriers that we will be STR'ing the property when we aren't using it personally. We plan to use the property 1-2 months and STR the rest of the time.

Does this seem normal for a florida gulf SFH that's 5 houses back from the beach? Just seems outrageously expensive to me on a 400K dwelling.

Congrats @Trent Reeve! My husband and I are about to take the plunge but we tend to shy away from townhouses & condos (we've been strictly SFH investors). We wanted to hear about successes with these types, thanks for sharing!