Insights from My Real Estate Experience: A Cautionary Tale about Evolve

[Corban Gehler]

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to drop in and share some insights from my experience in the real estate business, which, let's be honest, can be quite a rollercoaster (of luvvv). So, here's the deal: if you're considering working with Evolve for short-term guest management, I have a little piece of advice based on my own experience. Pass. 

Now, don't get me wrong, Evolve can help you set things up initially, but when it comes to the long run, they're not the best choice, especially if you're planning to sell or move on. Their policies can be a bit of a headache for owners and investors. Selling your property becomes a real challenge because they insist on keeping reservations or having the buyer take them over. Plus, they want to be involved in communicating with your buyer, even though it's not really their place to do so. I mean, come on, it's your property, am I wrong?

Oh, and get this: even if your local regulations require a license that would no longer be valid after the sale, they still charge fees! They consider a sale as an owner cancellation and hit you with charges, even if the guests cancel due to the property being sold. To top it off, Evolve allows guests to make reservations up to a whopping 18 months in advance, so you can imagine how much those fees can add up. A minimum of $250 per cancelation, folks! 

To make matters worse, their system can be a bit wonky. I've had instances where I canceled and blocked reservations, but their system still accepted new bookings. 

So, here's my friendly suggestion: take some time to explore other options. Look for a service that won't charge you when you need to sell your property, or maybe even consider creating your own systems. Evolve's 10% fee may look attractive, but trust me, they don't give you much in return. They also collect loads of fees from guests which occurs to have the result of having lower payouts to you, and their reimbursement for any damages caused is laughably low. They call themselves partners, but I beg to differ.

I genuinely care about your success, which is why I wanted to share my experience so you can make informed choices. Real estate can be a tough game but it is the best game and worth it, even when less than pleasant experiences with our "partners" such as Evolve. 

Wishing you all the best on your real estate journey, my friend.

Take care, Corban