Your Advice, please Landlords

[Annelise A.]

My husband and I have the opportunity to purchase a few more properties on the beach near San Diego and I am looking for some advice from you all.

Monthly rental or Vacation rental? That is the question. These two properties are beautiful and well kept with little to no need for upgrading. The neighborhoods are peaceful and just a walk away from the beach. IMO, this could be great for a nice vacation/weekend home, but all I have ever done are regular rentals.

I have done extensive research, but research cannot top real world experience.

What are the pitfalls of vacation rentals from a landlord's POV vs. that of a regular landlord? Have you had any great experiences with either?

I understand those are not very well formulated questions, but I do greatly appreciate any and all advice you can share.

Thanks in advance!!

[Chris L.]

Annelise,
My wife and I own 4 vacation rentals in TN and have a collection of SFR's here in Ft Wayne where we live.
I preface this response on where we own property because every market is different.
We own 4 Vacation rentals because until the Fall of 2007 they were doing great. Hence, we kept adding to them. When gas prices first started toward $4 per gallon in the Fall of 2007, the vacation rental market dropped dramatically and has still not recovered to pre-recession levels.
On the other hand, our steady Midwest rentals are doing great. Our cash flow from them pays for our cash bleed from our vacation rentals.
In summary, our vacation rentals have proven to be very sensitive to economic conditions. Our SFR's have been very steady and dependable.
That is our experience.
Good luck and happy to answer any other questions if I can.
Chris