All Forum Posts by: Bob Willis
Bob Willis has started 25 posts and replied 228 times.
Post: Hire a consultant for my new STR in outside of Cleveland?
- Investor
- Curtis, NE
- Posts 231
- Votes 140
Quote from @Luke Carl:
Read this book before you do anything! Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth: Your Guide to Analyzing, Buying, and Managing Vacation Properties https://a.co/d/2ToG7ac
What @Luke Carl said.
Post: Furnished Finder vs AirBnb
- Investor
- Curtis, NE
- Posts 231
- Votes 140
Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:
Quote from @Bob Willis:
Quote from @John Underwood:
Vrbo has been hands down better than anything else for me on a true vacation rental.
Hey @John Underwood why do you think that is, and is there some specific differentiator (type of guest, price paid, etc) you like?
Thanks.
The difference in the 2 platforms is also distinct. AIR tends to be authoritarian and corporate (in the bad way :-) and their customer support is a joke (english speakers are non-existent)
VRBO can be a bit more expensive, but you can purchase the yearly plan and make up for that....
So do you use VRBO exclusively over AIR, or use both?
Post: Furnished Finder vs AirBnb
- Investor
- Curtis, NE
- Posts 231
- Votes 140
Quote from @John Underwood:
Vrbo has been hands down better than anything else for me on a true vacation rental.
Hey @John Underwood why do you think that is, and is there some specific differentiator (type of guest, price paid, etc) you like?
Thanks.
Post: Virtual Assistant to find improvement funds
- Investor
- Curtis, NE
- Posts 231
- Votes 140
Hey All - I know people use virtual assistants to handle repetitive, ongoing tasks that can be automated. But I am interested in finding one who can do some specific research for me. I want someone to research what kind of grants or low interest loans are available near me for upgrading rental units. Whether this be general unit improvements or perhaps making units more energy efficient. Any thoughts on this type of effort, or have you heard of someone trying to outsource this? By the nature of the task this would be a one-off. Thanks - Bob
Post: Cost range i should expect to build a basement
- Investor
- Curtis, NE
- Posts 231
- Votes 140
Quote from @Mike Smith:
@Bob Willis The basement costs will vary dramatically depending on how common basements are in your area. As an example, I build in the Boise, Idaho area. We don't build many basements here due to high groundwater. Just ballparking, adding an unfinished basement option to a 1500 SF home is probably 15-20k.
In Salt Lake City, which is less than five hours away, basements are very common. The unfinished basement option is closer to 5k.
If you questions of "build out" means to finish the basement from an unfinished basement, the costs will still vary, but less dramatically. I'd guess somewhere around $100-$150 SF if you are in a "normal" market. More if you are in an area with few basements or a crazy market like San Francisco.
Basements are very common here - what I should have articulated better is, I want to dig and build an entire basement and then place a house I currently own (at a different site here in town) on the new basement.
Post: Cost range i should expect to build a basement
- Investor
- Curtis, NE
- Posts 231
- Votes 140
I am looking to build out a basement approximately 38'x26' - any thoughts as to price range for something like this. Just now exploring options but have not heard anything back regarding numbers. Just trying to set internal expectations for myself.
Post: Decorating Ideas for 5/5 beach house
- Investor
- Curtis, NE
- Posts 231
- Votes 140
Believe it or not we have bought our beds/mattresses for our STRs on Wayfair. We constantly get feedback in our reviews on how comfortable the beds are. There is some assembly required, but it is not much. We save $1000s doing this vs retail stores selling beds/mattresses.
Post: Where do you post your rental listings?
- Investor
- Curtis, NE
- Posts 231
- Votes 140
Could it be the copy of your ad? Share the post and let us see. With Zillow it seems I get a lot of initial inquiries and then it slows down, but traffic is also driven by which part of the month you list.
Post: Free dashboard to manage your rental property
- Investor
- Curtis, NE
- Posts 231
- Votes 140
Hey Shravan, Great tool. How can I go about using this myself? This is something I absolutely need with my units. Is there some place you can point me to to get started, ie creating a copy for my own use, entering data, etc.
Post: I plan to rent my property
- Investor
- Curtis, NE
- Posts 231
- Votes 140
I guess my first question is, what do you want the property manager to do? Find tenants, collect rents, provide maintenance when needed? How far from Madison are you moving? Is there any way you could manage it remotely collecting rents via Zelle or Venmo? I rent a house I own by the room, it is near a major university. I collect rent via Zelle. My lease is pretty much a standard rental agreement with the exception I call out they have a single bedroom in the house and share the remaining common areas with other tenants. $475/room seems pretty cheap, I currently charge $775/room, but that does include utilities. Good luck.