STR in St Petersburg

[Quinn Stewart]

Hi BP Fam,

I am a new real estate investor looking to expand outside my current city, Daytona Beach. I am looking at St Petersburg, Clearwater, and Sarasota. However, it looks like most rentals have to be more than 30 days in St Petersburg, Clearwater, and Sarasota. Are there any areas within these 3 cities that allow 7 days or more? If not, I am curious how the MTR business is as far as occupancy rate goes. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Patricia Steiner]

The issue is this: Florida's hotel lobby. It's one of the strongest in the nation and it keeps the STR zoning restrictive. Even markets that have been open to STR are now reassessing due to issues that have arisen from neighboring properties. Having said that, my clients and I love the vacation rental business and invest heavily in it - but we only do it in markets where it is legal. The risk of going 'underground' is simply not worth what happens if 'discovered.' Much of Tampa Bay is in a severe housing crisis and opportunities are emerging that are investor-friendly and even allow for a single parcel to be developed up to 4 units to bulk up housing. It may be worth exploring these newer opportunities which are nothing less than a lifetime opportunity to expotentially grow your empire. Hope this helps...