All Forum Posts by: Aaron Washington

Thank you all for the feedback.

We will be having a conversation with our PM regarding the grill fees.

For those of you that have properties with private pools, how do you compensate for the increased electric bill from heating the pool, or do you just absorb the cost? Our electric bill is already significantly higher than our realtor estimated it would be, without the pool heater running.

We thought we were getting professional photos. Based on the feedback, that is either not the case, or they were not a very good photographer. With that, does anyone have recommendations for a photographer in the Orlando/Davenport area?

As for the dead grass. I am told the company that mows everyone’s laws killed everyone’s grass.

I posted a few times while my wife and I were looking for our vacation home. We took lots of the thoughts and ideas at the time to heart and incorporated them as best we could. We now have it up and running as an STR, while we are not there. We would greatly appreciate feedback from the many professionals and experts on here.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1178092575708761168?adults=1&am...

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

What consumables do you provide your guests in your short-term rentals? Obviously, TP and hand soap are a must. Shampoo and Conditioner seem to be pretty common. I've seen some that provide coffee. What else do you provide? 

What about salt, pepper, hot sauce, other long life or nonperishable condiments? I feel these are basics, though I've seen mixed opinions elsewhere about salt and pepper. Some seem to think people will tamper with them, if they are not individually packed, like you would get at a fast-food restaurant.

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

With most people having their own streaming services, we don't plan to pay for cable. What are good Internet speeds for a STR that will have a few (3ish) TVs and one gaming console.

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

Thanks everyone,

This is great information and very helpful.

How do you setup the Xbox systems? Do you pay for any Microsoft services or do the clients log in to their own accounts? (I assume these are newer Xbox systems everyone's referring to and not original Xbox that requires disks)

Has anyone bought a stand up arcade system from the arcade guys? How did it work out for you? Do the clients like it? Are there better options?

Does anyone have, or know of a stand alone wind/hurricane policy or conversely a stand alone liability policy? We really like the coverage Prosper offers. Especially their liability coverage. As new vacation rental owners I think our biggest concerns are liability and the potential of loosing everything to a hurricane. Adding on wind/hurricane coverage, to Prosper, makes it nearly unaffordable, though. I'm not saying I would do this, and I haven't done the math yet, though I think I could get a normal policy with hurricane/wind as well as the prosper policy for less than it would cost to add wind/hurricane to the prosper policy.

Quote from @Shawn McCormick:

Give Doug Fudge a call (Fudge Insurance). Many of my clients use him, not sure about rates, but he understands STR and what is needed. I tend to say no to the wind, but look at costs vs coverage and the language used.

Best of luck!

 Thanks Shawn,

Can you DM me his contact info? If not, I'll try looking him up tomorrow.

Quote from @Melanie Hernandez:

@Aaron Washington are Airbnb/STR good investment in Orlando ?? With rental arbitrage . I'm from Miami would love to start an Airbnb in Orlando

I can not say from personal experience. This will be our first rental anywhere. I'm also getting lots  of mixed feedback and data. The market is certainly saturated. We believe it will always be saturated, as long as Disney and Universal are popular destinations in the area, though. We also believe with the right setup and amenities, it is possible to be successful even in a saturated market.

Quote from @Jon Martin:

Would tornado damage require a wind policy?

That is a good question... I do not know. It sounds like some companies use the term wind and hurricane interchangeably. I'm sure there are some slight technical differences, they won't tell you about until it is time to deny the claim.

As some of you know, my wife and I are in the process of purchasing a vacation home in the Davenport area. We are planning to rent it out as an STR when we are not there. While looking at other STRs around the area we noticed many have converted the garage or another room to an arcade/game room. My question is, is it worth the investment to convert the garage into a game room? If so, what are some good inexpensive arcade machines and/or game tables the renters like? If not, are there non-construction options that would be a better return on investment?

For those that came here to say convert it to a bedroom. Right now we are only interested in non-construction options. For reference, it is a 4 bed 3 bath home. We may consider converting it to a bedroom in the future though probably not for a while.

Thanks in advance,

Aaron