All Forum Posts by: Christopher Bowen

Oh the joys of plumbing. So sorry to hear this! Nice work focusing on the guest and making it right for them first. It's our duty as hosts. I, like you, feel terrible when these things come up to ruin a vacation for a guest who's been looking forward to their stay for days/weeks/months. The loss of income hurts too when you know the expenses that await. I have quite the story myself that entails a backed up septic system, but we'll save that for another time ;) Glad everything is fixed for you now. Hopefully that plumber's bill isn't too high!

Is there a garage where you can put a portable storage unit with a lock? If not, I'd keep the closets in the bedrooms open to guests and use the entry closet for supplies. Perhaps it's big enough to section off? Or another option is to install a hard-to-reach wrack so you can store stuff up high in a box. Some people may grab a chair and look, but most will ignore it if they can't easily grab it.

Depends on how good of a buy it is. If you market it as a couples retreat, or a getaway for a family of 4, and the numbers pencil, it can work. For example, one of my STRs is a one bedroom with an extra loft that has a sleeper sofa, so it sleeps 4 comfortably. In 2019, we rented that house more nights than our 4 bedroom because we had a ton of couples and single families who would book it for extended periods of time (3 or 4 nights instead of just 2). People tend to vacation longer with their immediate family compared to vacationing with extended family. We all have that annoying aunt or cousin that no one can handle for more than a couple days...

Seems fair. We've paid $120 for our 4bed, $110 for our 2bed and $100 for our 1bed, though that was for B- work and doesn't include trash disposal. Where we are, it's tough to find good cleaners (they all seem take on more than they can handle), so we are happy when someone does the job right, and we're willing to pay for it. In this business, cleanliness makes or breaks your success.

@Michael Baum Nice! We love it there! Great place for a STR with all the demand, though like any small town, it has it's challenges ;) Happy to help in any way possible when that time comes for you!

When I purchased my 2nd and 3rd STRs I encountered this situation, but the owner I was buying from was using a different booking site, not Airbnb. I didn't plan on using the same site he was so I decided to contact the guests directly to notify them that I was buying the properties and I would now be their host. I then sent them my lease agreement to complete, and the seller of the houses simply cut me a check for the reservations. Luckily it all went smoothly. None of the guests had issues with the arrangement. It helped that I presented myself professionally with a lease agreement - it kind of reset the booking process, if you will. I also directed them to the listings that I created on Airbnb and VRBO to proves that I had purchased the property with the intention of renting them.

I agree with others that it really comes down to the location. For instance, we own multiple cabins in the mountain town of Leavenworth, WA which is known for it's Christmas Lights in the winter, so that, along with the nearby ski mountain (Stevens Pass) keep us busy in the winter. Summer is busy too with all the outdoor activities the mountains provide. Overall, June-Feb is pretty consistent with Mar-May being slower.

Hi BP,

Hoping a WA State RE attorney can help me out with the following question:

I'm the seller of a property where the buyer and I went into contract with a contingency for them to sell their property first before moving forward with my house. On form 22A (financing contingency) on number 2 in the first sentence, the buyer's agent crossed out the language "after mutual acceptance" and replaced it with "after form 22B is removed" (the buyer's home sale contingency form). The thing is neither I nor the buyer initialed this specific change in line, however, we both initialed at the bottom of the page in the standard location. 

The buyer's financing fell through because of credit issues that didn't come up in the pre-approval with Union Bank and they might drop the financing contingency and take the risk of finding money elsewhere, which scares me. My question is... is this amendment noted above that the buyer's agent added valid if we both (me and buyer) didn't initial in line? Ideally I would like to drop this buyer and move forward with another I have waiting.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris 

Thanks! @Dave Metsker

@Dave Metsker

Thanks Dave. I called and received the voicemail for someone named Angela. You mentioned Andrea so I am not sure if this is the correct person? I also visited the Probates Daily website and they don't have a phone number to contact them with.