All Forum Posts by: Bien Nguyen

Quote from @Chad Hack:

Perfect info, Bien! Thank you. I intend to use Price Labs, and have already started my TouchStay so that's great to hear. OwnerRez, IGMS, etc were on my radar. It seems that the stabilization and optimization of the STRs is all about 3rd party apps. I just didn't know if launching initially the old-fashioned way with VRBO and AirBnB software alone was still okay to get us up and running. But both websites leave me searching for answers. Thank you very much for the insights.

 @Chad Hack - Ownerrez does have the capability of integrating with both Airbnb and VRBO including the listing set up, pictures, messaging, etc.  It's an extra that you pay for.  But you can always do the messaging in the OTA app and just have the calendar sync from Ownerrez to the OTA's. 

I think having Ownerrez and the all the other added tech really depends on you, how active you want to manage it, etc.

I have heard stories that some people just do Airbnb and don't advertise on any other OTA's or their own PMS system/direct booking site.  They like that they don't have to deal with payment systems, there is Aircover, dealing with a bunch of pricing configurations, etc.  And they are still successful but more hands off.

My husband and I have a goal of getting to 3 STR's in 5 years so that is why we thought jumping in all the way with Ownerrez made sense to us.

We didn't want to rely on Airbnb for pricing and Pricelabs could integrate with all 3 that we jumped into (Airbnb, VRBO, and Ownerrez).  It was such a reasonable price for just one listing and we have been happy thus far.

We are thinking that Touchstay is temporary but I may end up liking it as it is so easy to update.  If you send something to the guest and then later update it, the data auto refreshes electronically so when they look at the electronic guide, it is the most updated version.  But we may transition in the future and the cost was only $12.99 per month so we gave it a try.

Feel free to reach out.  I am not an expert by any means but willing to share my experiences as a newbie.  :)

Following this post as I am new to DSCR loans. Do all DSCR loans require a 20% down? Any other investment loan options that allow for a lower down payment (aside from conventional)?

Quote from @Stephan K.:

Clearwater STRs are very restricted. 

 Thanks for sharing @Stephan K.! Is it similar to Savannah / Tybee where new STR's can only be in certain zoning areas and there is a waitlist for applications?

@Chad Hack - my husband and I recently launched our first property and we went all in and used OwnerRez for our direct booking/PMS site (they have template rental agreements), Pricelabs for the dynamic pricing tool, and TouchStay for an electronic guide.  They all have free trials and the price per month for one property was reasonable enough for us to keep trying them out.

What I liked about Pricelabs was they seemed easy to use, have recommendations on pricing but you don't have to use the recommendation and can set your own, and they sync with our OwnerRez, VRBO, and Airbnb so I just make the changes there and it syncs once a day.  They also have other tools about the market allowing me to compare with my competitors.

TouchStay has a template and you go in and update the content based on your property, pictures (if you want to change them), etc.  They also integrate with Airbnb to automatically email the guest once booked if you have it set up.

We may end up doing a hard copy of the guide in the future but TouchStay was a great tool to get us up and running fast on our guide.

Good luck!

Bien

Quote from @Brandon Greenplate:

Hi Bien, have you poked around at Hilton Head Island yet? I have several short-term rentals down here & am an STR expert in the area. My best property was purchased for 850k, then put 400k in(1.25m total). In 2023 I did 270k gross w 74% occupancy. Heres the listing. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6...

1 bedroom oceanfronts also perform extremely well pulling in 45-55k & run in the 300-450k rang.

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

Best,

Yes, my husband and I checked out Hilton Head area as I am licensed in real estate in that area as well. The price points along with the insurance and HOA fees made it not a viabe option for us on our budget. Seaside Villas was crazy with the assessments as well.

Myrtle Beach area and clearwater florida are more affordable for what we are looking for. 

In addition to looking at the condo association CC&R's, I would ask for any updated amendments and look at the governing jurisdictions for other related STR guidelines. Check the parcel number of the property records and find out (for example) if it is considered in the city limits or county because they may have different STR ordinances, fees, application process, etc.

My husband and I recently launched our STR end of December 2023 near Savannah, GA and are already booked through mid-April 2024 with some bookings in May 2024. Hurray!

We are looking for our next STR opportunity and interested in a beach property that we can use from time to time.  Two areas that stood out to us were Clearwater, Florida and Murrells Inlett (near Myrtle Beach) South Carolina.  

Anyone with feedback in those areas as to pros and cons?  For example, what are property taxes like in Florida?  I know SC is steep for non-primary residents.  

Thanks in advance!

Bien Nguyen
Sweet Retreats Vacation Properties LLC

Hi! My husband and I are similar to your situation in terms of being newer to the STR business. We looked at SC - specifically Hilton Head Island area - and decided to look at other areas due to the high HOA fees of the condos and high insurance rates for insuring the inside of the condo. Rates have gone up ridiculously high due to being coastal/hurricane prone, and many companies pulling from the insurance business.

Quote from @Ken Boone:

@Bien Nguyen Ok a few thoughts now based on what you just posted.  That is a hotter environment.  I would seriously look into an outdoor swim spa instead of a hot tub.  Having a "pool" in that market I think would drive more $ than a hot tub and although a swim spa is not a full blown pool, it has the benefit of being the small pool during the hot months and can still be used as a hot tub in the cold months.  This would definitely be a differentiator.  In my market, the folks that have swim spas do much better than those without.

I have cabins with small indoor pools and they do 2 to 3 times as good as the comparable cabins that do not have them.  

If you do go with a hot tub, you do not want the plug and play kind. You definitely want to have it wired for 220. The plug and play models will take 24 hours to heat and it is much harder for them to maintain heat. That may be okay if it was your personal home, but for an STR it's not gonna work. Think about this - guest checks out at 11am, cleaner shows up at 1pm and starts to clean. 2pm the hot tub is filled up with cold water. Takes 24 hours to reach temp, but your guest shows up at 4 pm and at 5pm wants to hop in the hot tub. too cold, they try again at 9pm still too cold. They call you complaining that your heater doesn't work. You tell them to wait another day and it will be good. They won't be happy. Bad review.

Thanks for the feedback.   I decided to take a quick poll from my FB page and folks in the south all said they love and use hot tubs all year round.  Many even already have one.  

The swim spa isn't a bad idea either.   We will see what finances land at and go from there. 

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Hey @Bien Nguyen, seems like a decent idea as long as you follow those strict maintenance guidelines.

Have you thought about not doing it just yet to see how things shake out? Why go to the expense and maintenance hassle if you knock it out of the park without it.

 Hi.  Yes, we have thought about not doing the hot tub.  We are leaning towards doing it because of a few different factors based on our area/market and the tough competition:
1) Differentiating ourselves from others in our area - no one else has a hot tub. There are a handful of people that have pools but you see pools more with condos/townhomes that are being used as STR.
2)  We are launching our STR around end of October / early November and it will be cooler and we are hoping this helps us stand out.
3)  We live 7 mins from the property and intend for the cleaners to help with draining / cleaning it and filling it back up as a part of the cleaning duties.  We are close by to help as well.
4)  The main bedroom has a private entrance/exit outdoors to the backyard with a concrete pad.  This makes a perfect area to create a special outdoor oasis - so to speak.  We were thinking of doing the hot tub, creating some seating and pergola with some lights.  

There is also another possible space for the hot tub as there is another outdoor entrance from the dining/living room area to the private backyard.  It is slightly covered with open space with pavers and already has electric for a "plug and play" hot tub.  

It's hard to run numbers when no one else has a hot tub to see if they seem to get booked more.  So I'm trying to get some feedback from others.  The market is Savannah, Georgia area.  The property is about 40 minutes to the nearest beach.