All Forum Posts by: Blair Russell

I don't have cable or satellite in any house. I do say it explicitly on my ads so it's never an issue
Only 2 people have ever complained, both old men who stayed in the whole time while their family was out, they wanted to watch the news (won't say which station, lol) 

Antennae for HD local channels, they are small and discreet now like a piece of paper. They can be bought on Amazon or at Best Buy. 

Smart TVs or AppleTV/Roku. Both can be picked up at Costco for a good price or online. 

I have the big Netflix package so I sign into that one and allow people to use it at the different rentals (haven't had a screen conflict yet), but often people use their own. I just find that the TVs, though a good feature that people like, tend to go unused. 

Get the fastest Wifi  available in your area if you can afford it and people will be much happier just streaming on their laptops and tablets. 

It's possible and easy, but you do have to let go a little bit (I say this 4000 miles away from my nearest rental, dealing with a plumbing issue today). Of course you can always do an occasional trip to the property to do updates and maintenance. Can your housekeeper handle guest experience for a little more $? Or is there someone else closer by who may be willing to take on the work? You may find that people surprise you when you give them a chance.

I use Proper for my 3 policies, it is slightly more a year than I had with Farmers and Travelers, but I never really trusted their short term rental products, plus now I have income protection. 

I list exclusively on Airbnb these days (used to use Flipkey, and VRBO but I don't need them to fill the calendar anymore) I have a facebook page that allows people to rent with me or go to the Airbnb ads. I run targeted Facebook advertisements occasionally.

@Jack B. I wouldn't sweat this decision too much. It seems you'll still be doing some work and bringing in cash after your "retirement" so what the issue? It's really not so much a retirement as it is a change of career. Go ahead and do it, life is too short to do crap you don't want to. Keep your expenses down and your cashflow up and you are good. 

A couple of options:

One easy way to do it is to pay yourselves a "salary" for your property management services. Just put a reasonable value on your collective time, split that between you, then split whatever is left over at 70/30. This is easy but it may be hard to determine the amount since the person with the larger stake will want it to be smaller. 

But realistically if you guys are splitting the work 50/50 it should have no bearing on your partnership agreement, it's a wash. So just have a clause to adjust the the ratio after you return all your capital. 

@Ariel Smith Yes, Las Vegas

If anyone has a recommendation for a buyers agent who is well versed in  commercial property deals I would be highly appreciative. I already have the property  in mind but this is my first commercial deal so ideally I'm looking for someone who can help guide me through the process. Also helpful if they have advice for financing and renovation. 

Thanks

Expedia needs to spin off VRBO/Homeaway and let someone (ex-Airbnb maybe?) run it. They are just always behind on technology an innovation and if it weren't for legacy clients who are also starting to ditch they would not even exist right now.

@Toby Johnston @Jason Yahner You guys are totally right, I'm sure I would be pissed if I found out one of my renters was subleasing out. At the same time, there is an opportunity for a new clause in your rental agreement (a nice cut of the profits?) so everything can be looked at in a few different ways. Sometimes rules have to be broken by trailblazers  and new solutions found. Which is exactly how Airbnb came to be.