Anyone purchasing homes to use as vacation rental??

[Chase Harris]

I am looking to purchase a lake house, update, furnish it and then hand it over to a vacation home management company. I have the house identified and the management company lined up for it as well. Anyone here have much experience in this realm? I have 16 units but this will be my first try and a vacation rental property. Any tips or advice would be appreciated!

[Julie McCoy]

Hey @Chase Harris!  All of my investments are vacation rentals - though I self-manage, I don't share my revenue with a property management company.  :)  If you've got a local housekeeper and handyman you can count on, and the ability to respond to guest requests in a prompt manner, you don't need a PM.  

In the right market, the returns are awesome!  My advice is to know your market - KNOW THE LOCAL REGULATIONS, know what kind of demand there is, a realistic sense of occupancy and revenue, and a realistic sense of your expenses.  Make sure after conservative projections you're satisfied with the potential income - it should be significantly more than a LTR.  Sounds like you're already beyond this point, but you should work with a Realtor who is familiar with vacation rentals as investments.

Good luck!