All Forum Posts by: Bernee Brawn

I recently purchased a "fully furnished" property with an eye to renting as a vacation rental. The walk through showed nice enough and in the excitement of everything I didn't do a great job of really inspecting the "furnishings".  This included all furniture, kitchen stuff, linens etc. 

Short story... ended up tossing or giving away most of the furniture as it was really old and cheap, so now have to purchase new stuff. Lesson learned... don't expect to save money buying 'furnished". Or at the very least, give all those things a really good looking at and price it into the price of rehabbing the property. 

I still think I made a decent enough deal, but just not as good a deal as I thought in the beginning!

Kenneth, you mentioned Cape Coral/Pine Island. I happen to own a home as my year round residence on Pine Island (St James City, the southern end of the island) and purchased an investment property here just a couple of months ago. 

Pine Island is very different then most all other islands in Florida, we have no beaches, no high rises and there are no traffic lights! It's rather rural, in an old Florida sort of way- geared toward fishing, kayaking and nature. If you are looking for any type of nightlife.... night meaning past 9 pm... it's rather rare here. Off season, there are as many cows here as humans!

Homes range from trailer parks, to well maintained mobiles to single family to Condo's  to multi million dollar with a full view of Pine Island Sound. On water is obviously more expensive then off water. Winter rentals go quick, yet we still get some summer visitors as well. Prices have risen dramatically over the past 4 yrs.... not sure where they will head. 

If you have the $$$ you can get a beautiful home right on open water, for $$ you can still be on water with a short drive to that open water. All according to what you want.  If I can give you any more information on the island... feel free to contact me. 

thanks everyone for their input!!!

The rehab is moving along... a bit slower then hoped for, but will be done soon. 

I have a question about flooring... I have read that many have used Allure vinyl planks and were happy with them. Most of those posts were from a while back so am wondering if they are still happy with the product?

lease it as hunting/ dog training grounds? I happen to be involved with bird dogs and 140 acres with fields and ponds would be very inviting to some of those folks. 

I think if your area is conducive to snowbirds, then the 30 days should work out well. If not then it could be an issue. That would be the first thing I would check out. 

Take a trip through VRBO and see what is in your area for rent.. look through their calendars and see their rental histories. If you see months blocked out that will be a good indication for you. While there, check out their photos to see how they are fitted out, check their prices and rental policies. This is all free information for you!

Here in south Florida, 3-5 month rentals are pretty easy to come by in the winter months. Weekly and 3 day stays the rest of the year are spotty. 

cute! but without any plumbing .... at best I think it's a cute shed or maybe a very simple guest room or office space

What I would want to know...

advertising- where,  and what cost to you. Is it a shared cost between all units they manage?

can you do your own advertising, and what happens if you find your own renter for a specific period of time? 

maintenance - do they have a person to handle that for you? Cost to you?

Cleaning- do they have a regular crew to handle this?

What is included in their PM fees? 

Who stocks the unit with supplies ( toilet paper, soaps, etc). And what is the cost to you?

Good luck!

Hmmmm, thanks for that information Mike.  I will check out the Dish idea. 

I have a Roku on my TV at my home and like it. 

Are the properties you stream to very close or connected to each other? This rental is about 1/2 mile from my home.. is that possible??????

So much to learn and figure out how to keep those monthly costs down to a dull roar, and give my guests a good experience!!

Hi all... I purchased my first property that will be used for short term vacation rentals. We are fixing it up now, and it should be on the market in another month or two. 

It is located in St James City, Florida, an island off of Ft Myers. The market here is mostly 3-5 months for snow birds.

My question is for others who rent in this sort of market- how do you handle cable TV and Wifi? The costs are outrageous on a month to month basis if the property is empty.... ouch! Wondering if anyone only offers Netflix and such with an antenna to pick up local stations? If so, do you get complaints from your renters? 

Trying to figure out the best way to handle this.... thanks for any help or suggestions!

no, $15,ooo for everything, inside and out. 

Greg, not going to purchase one on water down here for that kind of money.  

But I agree with you that I have to really watch the budget and keep it down to a dull roar.