Can you self manage a STR from afar?

Question

Basically, my wife and I are military and moving away soon. For two reasons, (1: our house is probably bigger than what most military families in the area are looking for. 2: our private room on AirBnb has been relatively successful) we are seriously considering doing a STR instead of a long term renter. We were going to go the Evolve (STR management company) but we saw a forum from years ago on BP that strongly advised against it. I guess I'm curious if there are any BP members who have done STR self management from afar?

Open to suggestions and/or past experiences. As a bonus if anyone has had experience with Evolve more recently than 2021, I'm super open to hearing your feedback on the company!

Michael Baum · Answer

Hey @Keila Pritchard, so I would assume you are still in the USA?

I think you can do it without a lot of trouble once you get going.

Evolve is not the way to go. They take 10% and you do most of the work. What they do do is get you 3 and 4 star reviews. They also tack on a lot of extra fees that you get no part of. Best to stay away.

Now, what you need to do is find a good cleaner and handy person now before you are out of the area. Get them all setup and they will be your eyes and ears on the property.

Does either your wife's or your MOS allow for calls during the day if necessary? If yous set things up right, there won't be many of them.

Our lakehouse is 7 hours from us and we have no problems. Communication with both the guests and cleaners really makes it pretty easy to provide 5 star service for guests.

Henry Lazerow · Answer

Yes, it's very easy. Just use Turno for automatic cleaning scheduling (it links your airbnb calendar) and have a handy man for any repairs needed. The biggest issue I have had is actually keys. Handyman or guests lose keys or a lockbox gets jammed, the best solution to this is to have 3 sets of keys made on 3 different lockboxes so you have multiple backup.s

Jesse Turner · Answer

Thanks for posting! Now I've got Georgia (home sweet home) on my mind!What I know about Evolve is that they pitch a low management fee, but they're also leaving a lot of the property management to you (external care of the property, for example).As the STR industry matures, we get more market saturation, but we also get more tools on the daily. Check out Hostaway, Hostfully, and Guesty for Property Management Solutions. With Hostfully, for example, you'll get a system that you can integrate other systems (like Breezeway for cleaning and maintenance scheduling) and Pricelabs or Wheelhouse.Before you move out of your place, search for and meet maintenance, cleaning, "runner", and inspection crews. These "boots on the ground" will be your lifeline for any remote management effort.

Nolan Chandler · Answer

Hey, @Keila Pritchard!

I am actually in the Marine Corps out of Camp Lejeune (now on terminal leave in CA) with a STR out there.  I know everyone's situation is different, but I am able to manage it remotely.  I had a STR company there and they were not doing the job, to say the least.  I attended a local meetup and a gentleman had several in the area and educated me that if you have various apps synced together and a solid team (cleaners, handyman, etc.), then you do not need to be there or have a company management.  Knock on wood, its been almost two years with no management company involved and doing fine.

The apps we use that are synced together are RemoteLock, PriceLabs, Hospitable, and Airbnb/VRBO.  If there guests ask random questions, we answer.  And I check on the cleaner for every clean and she reports back status.

If you have these apps (or apps/software like it) then this can 100% work with a trustworthy team of cleaners and handymen there.  If you ever want to know more, I would be happy to help.

_______________________REALTOR® CalDRE: 02221003 | CA Bar: 322013

Ryan Moyer · Answer

Evolve isn't really a property manager.  They're more of a booking agent (and a poor one at that).  They handle the listings, getting the bookings, etc.  That still leaves you to take care of the maintenance, the guest communication, the cleanings, the 2am clogged toilets, etc.

If you're worried about being afar, Evolve only handles the very easiest part about being afar.

Realistically though, all of it is completely doable remotely.  The vast majority of people here manage their properties remotely.  Heck, it was so doable to manage my own that I started a property management company in a city 2000 miles away from where I live.

Luke Carl · Answer

Please check out a book called short term rental long term wealth. It’ll have everything you need

Keila Pritchard · Answer

Everyone,

Thank you so much for the responses. I think we're going to move forward with self management.

I'm working these next couple weeks on building my team then I will look at trying to implement systems to make the process easier (wifi locks, synchronization apps, etc.) I'm optimistic about the process but it does still seem a little risky. I'm hoping to start the property management before we leave so that we can get a taste of it before we're across the countyr. I will keep everyone posted on how it goes!

Alex Scattareggia · Answer

If you are going to go the PM route, I would always recommend local PM with good track record, already managing something similar to your property vs. one of the bigger providers (Evolve)

You can absolutely do it on your own, just understand that you are taking on a second job which will require some work no matter how much automation you put in.

Thank you for your service, and good luck!

Jesse Turner · Answer

You could also do wifi locks like Schlage. There are software solutions that will allow these locks to automatically create a new code for new guests and deactivate the old one after checkout.

Jen LeViseur · Answer

Hey @Keila Pritchard, you can 100 percent self-manage remotely, the question is do you want to? We have unite 14 hours away from where we live and have self-managed for years. I don’t have personal experience with Evolve, but if you’re looking at hiring a PM, you may as well hire a full-service PM and make it a passive income.

Can you self manage a STR from afar?

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