Fort Lauderdale Airbnb/Vacation Rental Property Questions

[Alan Harry]

Hello everyone, I live in NYC and was thinking about buying a condo in Fort Lauderdale that I would for much of the year use airbnb or other short-term sites to rent out. I may potentially stay there 4-6 weeks in the winter (February into early march perhaps). With that said a few questions that I hope some of you bigger pocket pros could shed some light on for me.

1) If I am taking up a month to a month-and-a-half of the busy season time myself, is there still enough interest in Fort lauderdale year round to make profit on the property? How slow does it get after April until October in terms of these short term rentals. I was thinking of getting something walk-able to the beach.

2) How difficult is it to find a condo to buy legally that allows short-term rentals like this, I saw on trulia/zillow a couple listed, but I imagine many HOA boards are against it, is there anywhere to look to find properties in Fort Lauderdale specifically to rent out under short term circumstances.

Any tips, suggestions, ideas would be greatly appreciated, I've really enjoyed reading these forums so far, a lot of intelligent and thought provoking posts!

-Alan 

[Tony Georgiev]

@Alan Harry

Hi Alan! It's a great place to be, indeed! 

1. Why walking distance to beach? Condo HOA fees in high rises are insanely huge - $600-1000+. I would look for low maintenance east of I-95,or even better - east of Dixie Hwy. Everybody uses a car anyways.

2. It is busy all year round, in the summer less than winter, of course. You will always rent it out, depending on how you price it. Supply and demand. 

3. Have you thought of getting a duplex? No maintenance, no rules from an association. 

4. Currently do not know of a website that lists condos that are good for short term rentals. 

Interested to hear other people's input on the topic, as I myself am looking into AirBnB. 

[Alan Harry]

Tony:
I looked at duplexes kind of briefly, but the price was higher overall then a single-family apartment and they looked like they were in "less then stellar" condition, and I would think those on short term vacations to lauderdale would value being close to the beach, yes I do agree the HOA could be killer, but I think I saw some properties not super far away at reasonable HOA rates, just if they short-term allow rentals is another story :)

[Tony Georgiev]

Yes, it is hard to find good deal multi family. Look also in Pompano Beach east of US1. It offers more value for the money. 

[Account Closed]

Allen, there is no info as to how to contact you!    If you want any help in your quest, contact Tony or myself as we live down here in South Florida and perhaps render help if you so desire. 

[Alan Harry]

Ed:
I sent you a "private note", not sure if that means private message on here.

-Alan

[Mindy Jensen]

@Alan Harry , I don't live in FL, but I'm considering investing there, too.

I have friends on the gulf side who say that January through March or April is when the snowbirds come south and look for multiple-month rentals. February is smack in the middle of that duration, so you may be giving up some opportunities by wishing to stay there yourself during that time.

Is that February 6 weeks firm?

[Alan Harry]

Well January-march is when NYC is  cold as can be, so somewhere in that period makes the most sense.. I think though lauderdale/miami gets more year round visitors then the other coast.

[Richard Ibeh]

Hi @Alan Harry - I'm a vacation rental manager here in Fort Lauderdale and I'll be happy to answer your questions.

`1. January - April is high season here in fort lauderdale so you would lose a chunk of change but nothing drastic as you have the other months as well as the multiple events/holidays that to offset your personal vacation. It does not slow as one would expect - it's a matter of adjusting rates to meet the demand but you won't go months with no rentals that's for sure. Once the rate is competitive you'll have bookings every week.

2. Alot of condos are against it yes as well as the city of fort lauderdale and unfortunately there isn't a website(which would make a good business idea) that I can direct you to find vacation rental townhomes/condos for sale but I do manage a few townhomes/condos that allow it so it's not entirely impossible. You'll have to just simply ask the agent you're working with to inquire if the HOA allows it or not.

Any questions feel free to contact me - hope this helps!

[Nancy Bachety]

@Alan Harry

In the end, it comes down to where you'd like to go. @Richard Ibeh wrote, a nice place with great reviews will rent in the 'off-season' as long as its priced correctly.

IMO, the west coast is beautiful, esp Naples but in August, you're avoiding the outside like New Yorker's avoid the outside in Jan/Feb. Not so in Delray Beach where the ocean breezes are effective. Again, this is IMO and you might feel differently. 

That said, look at HomeAway, VRBO and airbnb. They will offer you insight on what rents are going for, how the number of BR's and BA's and guests allowed effect rent. 

And, ask Richard since he answered and he is one of the few vacation rental manager's here. 

@Richard Ibeh, do you know of a vacation rental manager in the St. Augustine area? We are in contract for a SFH vacation home with no HOA's in St. John's County. Would you agree that vacation manager's and house cleaning companies have little competition?

[Richard Ibeh]

@Nancy Bachety Hi Nancy- unfortunately I do not know of any reputable vacation managers in your area. I'm pretty sure they are but more than likely your local boutique managers with 10-30 homes under their portfolio. 

Managers are becoming more popular by the year but still not to the point where there is extreme competition among us. 

Cleaning companies that specialize in vacation rentals are still non-existent at this point. That's a niche not many companies have focused on and it generates so much revenue due to daily rentals checking in/out every week. The housekeeping company we outsource our cleans to generates up to 10-15k (weekends alone) in fort lauderdale.

[Nancy Bachety]

@Richard Ibeh Thanks- I was thinking the same thing and have given serious thought to forming a company and hiring it to clean and manage my rental and grow it from there. I like the sound of 'boutique manager' more every day. 

[Richard Ibeh]

Nancy Bachety I would definitely encourage it. I currently manage 110 rentals and growing so time is definitely not on my side but if I were to stop managing rentals a cleaning company specializing in vacation rentals would be my next move. All of us managers are waiting on the Hilton/Starwood of vacation rental cleaning with proper protocol/technology/staff. That space is wide open for someone to capture the entire market and own it so you should really consider it.

[Nancy Bachety]

@Richard Ibeh As a manager of vacation rentals, how easy or challenging is it to find reliable cleaners and how much do they charge to clean a condo or house?

[Richard Ibeh]

@Nancy Bachety it's easy in the sense because I do a trial and error period and try out multiple cleaning companies which I source via google/yelp/thumbstack until I find one suitable in terms of efficiency, cleanliness, adequate staff etc.

Charge is based on size per home from studio up to your mansions and varies per the city you are in. My current rates I've negotiated in Fort Lauderdale  are the following: 

Studio - $55
1bed - $75
2bed- $100
3bed - $150
4bed- $200
5bed- $250

My cleaning company makes their money from me based on the high volume of cleans done everyday (my rentals are on 2nt minimums). Average market would charge $100 for 1 bedroom and add $50 per extra room and if you're in a prestigious area your rates. You can also go on VRBO and compare cleaning rates so you can get an average of what the most booked homes are charging.

[Nancy Bachety]

@Richard Ibeh That's about what I figured - thanks for your input. I've looked at airbnb but that varies considerably and I know the lister keeps that money whereas I don't if VRBO passes the monies it collects for cleaning on to the lister or if it keeps some if it for themselves. 

I've also looked on craigslist but I don't see rates posted there. 

Glad to hear you have built a growing business.

[Richard Ibeh]

@Nancy Bachety owner keeps 100% of the cleaning fee they list on the website .
Vrbo/Airbnb and other listing sites get paid by taking a percentage of your rental rate and they also charge guests a service fee.

VRBO is the #1 vacation site at the current moment and it gives you a breakdown of the total payment so you know what you are actually paying for (pool heating fee, pet fee, damage protection, taxes etc). Airbnb does not have these additional fields to provide the total breakdown so often times the rental rate is inflated to cover all these expenses. I would do your research on VRBO in terms getting the true price.

[Will F.]

Originally posted by @Alan Harry:

Hello everyone, I live in NYC and was thinking about buying a condo in Fort Lauderdale that I would for much of the year use airbnb or other short-term sites to rent out. I may potentially stay there 4-6 weeks in the winter (February into early march perhaps). With that said a few questions that I hope some of you bigger pocket pros could shed some light on for me.

1) If I am taking up a month to a month-and-a-half of the busy season time myself, is there still enough interest in Fort lauderdale year round to make profit on the property? How slow does it get after April until October in terms of these short term rentals. I was thinking of getting something walk-able to the beach.

2) How difficult is it to find a condo to buy legally that allows short-term rentals like this, I saw on trulia/zillow a couple listed, but I imagine many HOA boards are against it, is there anywhere to look to find properties in Fort Lauderdale specifically to rent out under short term circumstances.

Any tips, suggestions, ideas would be greatly appreciated, I've really enjoyed reading these forums so far, a lot of intelligent and thought provoking posts!

-Alan 

 @mindy

Hi Have you guys invested in FLL for short term? How has the experience been?

How about for insurance and refinancing?

I'm wondering if the banks will take into consideration 15-30% higher rents and if master leasing over 5 years would help or hurt a refinance? My assumption is risk could go up for a bank so they may ding you with a higher interest rate for 'hospitality' or 'STR use" than a mere multifamily use??

This is for my 10 and 8 unit buildings so it's commercial lending