New to Vacation Rentals

[Matthew Johnathan Newton]

Hey guys, I currently own 2 townhomes in North Carolina that I have run by a management company. Everything‘s going great and I'm loving it. Near the end of the year I'm looking to branch out and buy a 4-5br beach property in the Wilmington/Emerald Isle area of NC. I wanted some opinions from investors who own STR beach houses.

1: thoughts on property management. Are they worth it and what’s a reasonable normal fee. I will live about 5 hours away and I’ve been debating a property management company vs Airbnb with a trusted maid service.

2: what is the best way to guesstimate expenses like electric, Internet and things that will need to be renewed like TP and soap…..

3: I was thinking about taking a second home loan in my personal name and after a few months quitclaiming it over to my LLC. Has anyone had any issues with this method. 

4: if anyone happens to own a beach property on the NC coast I would love to pick your brain and would love it if you would DM me.