Potential short-term rental investment

[Tim Cooper]

Hi everyone.

We are retired and traveling full-time in an RV. I am considering purchasing a cabin on a lake in northern MN as a short-term rental. It is a beautiful 3 bed 2 bath log cabin. It was built in 1995 and is a part of a 12 cabin resort. 

The new owner bought it and will sell the cabins to individual owners and manage them as a short-term rental. They have done this before with a 13 cabin resort and small hotel nearby. They seem to be doing a good job and the current owners seem happy with their management.

My concern is if we decide to stay for an extended time (which we will) we would have to pay a small fee to cover the lost rental commission. He says this is to cover the cost of maintenance for the cabin and common grounds. Would this lock me into using them and only them as the management company? Should this be considered the HOA fee? There is a HOA fee, but it's only $250 per YEAR!

They are asking $270, and the nightly rental should be between $325-$375/ night.