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Updated almost 3 years ago, 12/27/2021
Interested to find our first short term vacation rental!
Hello all. My husband and I are looking into our first short term vacation investment. Thinking Myrtle Beach would be a great start! Also considering Florida. Researching how to best manage the property ourselves through automated systems . Any suggestions would be well appreciated! Does anyone know good realtors in Myrtle Beach, Clearwater Fl, Tampa Bay area?
@Cindy Caldwell if you are looking for short-term rentals in the Clearwater and Tampa Bay Area, I highly recommend @Nicole Shaw. She has helped many of my clients buy vacation rentals in the area and also helps assist with the property management aspect of it as well. I know her personally and she will take very good care of you. She always keeps her clients best interest at heart.
- Raymond J. Rodrigues
- [email protected]
- 619-456-8311
- Raymond J. Rodrigues
- [email protected]
- 619-456-8311
Hey @Cindy Caldwell - happy to help you on your search in Myrtle Beach. Are you planning to self manage or outsource it to a local provider? I would recommend looking further north into North Myrtle Beach/Cherry Grove or south into Murrels Inlet/Pawley’s Island. Myrtle Beach is great but is getting very saturated with short term rentals and property managers charging high fees. Narrow down exactly what you want (condo vs single family vs multi family) as there is a vast selection!
We live in PA so a condo might fair better for our first one to manage ourselves. I like the idea of a condo with all amenities available and beachfront but due to Covid thinking a smaller condo complex may be better for social distancing.
We would like to manage the property ourselves if we can find good automated tools to use from a distance being in PA.
In the future, we are also interested in having accessible rentals since we own a company that provides accessible renovations for disabilities. It seems that having accessible vacation rentals could be a strong niche for us to consider.
Hi @Cindy Caldwell. I bought a condo in Myrtle Beach last year and manage it myself from Atlanta. I also manage a few other properties as well. Happy to be a resource if you have questions on systems/software!
Hi Cindy!
We are in the Tampa Bay area about 30 minutes south of Clearwater Beach. The beach towns here in Pinellas County make for excellent short term/vacation rentals. Many of the beachfront condo complexes here allow nightly rentals and have on site management. If you are looking for a house or 2-4 unit, many of the towns do not allow short term rentals.
Two sweet spot short term rental towns near me are St. Pete Beach and Anna Maria Island.
St. Pete Beach was recently named the #1 beach in the US by TripAdvisor, so there is very strong demand here. St. Pete Beach allows weekly rentals in homes & 2-4 unit properties, which gives a great opportunity.
Anna Maria Island is an upscale short term rental market. It is a higher price point, but the AirBnB demand there is enormous. They allow weekly rentals as well in SFHs and some condos allow nightly. If your price point allows it, definitely look into Anna Maria Island. This town has the highest STR rates and demand that I have seen in the Tampa Bay area.
Alex
@Cindy Caldwell we have been killing it in Volusia county, if you head this way message me and I can help you navigate things here as it’s hard to know where vacation rentals are and are not allowed.
Thanks Krista. It can be overwhelming to decide where to start investing because there are so many vacation investments choices. Trying to learn how to make a sound investment to make a decent profit, be able to enjoy the property ourselves in the low seasons and possibly invest in multiple properties in the future.
This is a great forum to connect with others in this space.
Good evening Cindy, I’ll throw my hat in the game as well if you are looking for an agent to help you find your next rental property in Volusia County and surrounding towns :). Message me if you have questions/need help.
@Krista Goodrich @Daniel Denning, @Alex J., @Alexander Knowles Hi all - joining the conversation as I've been scouring the threads on this topic - to those already in the Tampa Bay/ Clearwater or knowledgeable in Florida market or even Volusia county can you guys opine on whether those areas are stronger / future trend and value perspective (from cost to acquire/set-up) versus Orlando / South florida (Ft. Lauderdale / Miami beach / or even West Palm Beach area)
I'm in the same position and have really been on the search, but being from out of country - I have gaps in market presence so I know id be spending hours on diving into market research though thats not a problem necessarily since it means there are "good options" not just one. Looking to connect with any realtors that are investor oriented and do this themselves + if you have contacts/boots on the ground for setting up/managing the properties that would be great too
Hi,
Volusia County is a huge tourist destination. You can message me and we can chat about opportunities in the Volusia area. We have so great beaches here that are very family friendly and great investment opportunities.
Congrats on looking at your first property! Myrtle Beach STR market numbers are pretty incredible. We decided to not go with a STR strategy (at this time) but the numbers weren't the deterrent.
@Kevin Mercado - Myrtle Beach is a stalwart right now. There is a vast selection of both condos and single-family homes that are providing some impressive returns as STR's right now. Your best bets will be to look at the North Myrtle Beach or Surfside markets and to decide if you are looking for a single-family or if a condo is more your speed. Management plays a big factor in your profit margin. Happy to discuss further!
SFR's in Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Brevard are literally killing it right now (2 bedroom condos too). Happy to help, feel free to message me and I can give you the breakdowns of our numbers currently:)
Originally posted by @Kevin Mercado:
@Krista Goodrich @Daniel Denning, @Alex J., @Alexander Knowles Hi all - joining the conversation as I've been scouring the threads on this topic - to those already in the Tampa Bay/ Clearwater or knowledgeable in Florida market or even Volusia county can you guys opine on whether those areas are stronger / future trend and value perspective (from cost to acquire/set-up) versus Orlando / South florida (Ft. Lauderdale / Miami beach / or even West Palm Beach area)
I'm in the same position and have really been on the search, but being from out of country - I have gaps in market presence so I know id be spending hours on diving into market research though thats not a problem necessarily since it means there are "good options" not just one. Looking to connect with any realtors that are investor oriented and do this themselves + if you have contacts/boots on the ground for setting up/managing the properties that would be great too
Lots of opportunities throughout the state; if I had to guess, I'd say South Florida and Orlando are head and shoulders above the rest as far as pure numbers. While South FL does command high rents, the problem is that the setup costs are likely the highest. In fact, it's almost to the level of absurd. I have a client looking to buy in Hollywood (where I lived for over a decade) and I'm consistently pulling him back. There are homes going for over a half-million in areas that were selling in the $200s not long ago. As an investor, that takes a huge bite out of your profits.
Brevard (where I live) is much more moderate, the issue here is that many areas do not allow STRs. You have to know which cities allow and which don't. But once you get through that, the returns are nice. Good luck!
@Cindy Caldwell unsure if you are looking for just those markets specifically, but I am currently building a new build 4/3 in Cape Coral, FL just south of Tampa. Total all in cost around $265k with 10% down with and post construction appraisals being around $340k-$360k. Rents expected to be $2400/mo. May consider cash out refi at the end of the build to pull all my capital out and then some, but unsure just yet. Considering making it an Airbnb but might also do LTR. I have options which is always a good thing!! Message me if you’d like further details! Good luck!
@Tchaka Owen thanks for that insight Tchaka, thats nuts. reminds me of our market here in Toronto/GTA Canada - where Appreciation have been going wild - and spreading outside to the outskirts where properties used to be 250k and have tripled (minimum) over the past 3-4 years alone. This is exactly why I'm trying to connect with the right people who know the different zoning laws/restrictions / sometimes HOA's also would impact certain properties as Ive recently learned (there was even one area where apparently only 55+ aged residents were allowed to own..)
Myrtle Beach has gotten a lot of bad pr in the last few years. Many consider it a war zone.
@Patrick Bavaro _ sent you a CR + message!, that's interesting and those numbers look solid. Interestingly enough I follow a podcast and the investor in particular has done something similar
@Kevin Mercado right on! Looking forward to swapping experiences. Just messaged you back
Originally posted by @Don Gouge:
Myrtle Beach has gotten a lot of bad pr in the last few years. Many consider it a war zone.
Umm, no. There's a rowdier section, just like in most tourist towns - but no war zone. Any good realtor can help steer their clients towards the better-performing parts of the beach.
- Myrtle Mike Thompson
Originally posted by @Myrtle Mike Thompson:
Originally posted by @Don Gouge:
Myrtle Beach has gotten a lot of bad pr in the last few years. Many consider it a war zone.
Umm, no. There's a rowdier section, just like in most tourist towns - but no war zone. Any good realtor can help steer their clients towards the better-performing parts of the beach.
I would say there are safer sections of any city but why do you want to put yourself into a position to always be explaining why your area is safe? Myrtle Beach has a huge problem with PR. Just Google Myrtle beach crime statistics and they jump off the screen as "FBI says Myrtle Beach third most dangerous city in America". I know that North Myrtle is vastly different but the media brush covers all. I live in an area where a large portion of the population grew up going to Myrtle every year. It was the vacation spot for East TN. Now most of those people don't go because of the founded or unfounded fear of violence.
@Don Gouge I'm just saying I wouldn't rule out Myrtle Beach as a good market for investing. People still come here in droves. Much of the crime historically has centered around bike week... I don't go anywhere near downtown that week. Just like you would label LTR neighborhoods, I would say Myrtle Beach is a 'C' class investment whereas you'll get A and B in North Myrtle. Both can be lucrative but require different approaches.
- Myrtle Mike Thompson