Property Manager or STR Arbitrage

[Craig T.]

Hi! I am a self managing landlord in San Diego who is floating the idea either finding a long term property management company or leasing it to someone who wants to do a STR arbitrage.

If anyone has experience as the landlord in STR arbitrage would you mind telling me about your experience pros and cons? Also, if you have someone in San Diego who does STR arbitrage and has experience send them my way! Also seeking a great long term property manager company to use if you have one.

Thanks in advance for any insight! This is also my brothers account, if you want to connect with me faster, I am on Instagram: andrewbtom 

[Mauricio Salom]

Hello @Craig T. my wife and I have talked about this a few times and we have come to the conclusion that unless your property is located near down town, costal, or a unique property where you can charge a premium then long term beats STR. I own 2 STR that are not in any of those locations and we do fine (80-90% occupancy ) but only because we self manage and handle all of the cleaning and maintenance. I ran the numbers and if I had to pay management fees, cleaning, handyman my cashflow would be gone negative even . Another factor in San Diego is the rising cost of energy this month alone my utility bill has doubled normally $500-$600 to $1000 and I cant go and ask my guest to turn off the AC when they are not home lol. Long term tenants would be responsible for their own utilities. Hope this helps.