All Forum Posts by: Brandon Vanderford

Taking income into consideration is not discrimination. And requiring an income of 3x the monthly rent is common.

I agree with Nathan re: the fees. The application charge seems ridiculous. However, the $875 payment to accept your application seems fair enough. 

Of course, you can avoid that fee by finding a cosigner who meets the application requirements. 

It sounds like your long-term rental is cashflowing well. I would recommend sticking with that strategy. 

STRs are much more vulnerable to market changes. And my personal opinion is that the market is close to saturated with STRs. If you have an outstanding property, you can definitely still make it. But it is not as easy as it once was.

One more consideration. It is not cheap to furnish an STR well. Worst-case scenario is that you purchase all new furnishings and have to convert back to an LTR.

Quote from @John Underwood:

I think it's best to just offer the best place possible, be better than your competitors and charge top dollar for the experience.

Don't try and Nickle and dime your guests with extras.

I second this. I avoid upcharges unless strictly necessary; guest satisfaction diminishes when guests feel nickel and dimed. If you proceed with upcharges, I recommend ensuring that the upcharge genuinely improves the guest experience. You do not want the upcharge to feel superfluous. 

That being said, my MTRs target traveling professionals as opposed to vacationers, so your experience might differ somewhat. 

Most lease contracts include language requiring that the Landlord make reasonable efforts to re-rent the premises. In my experience, though, the relationship with the prior tenant is ended once a new tenant is procured. Your lease, which requires that the new tenant's rent be applied to the vacating tenant's balance, seems unnecessarily complicated in my opinion

In the future, you might consider adding language to your lease that implements an "early-termination fee." 

Basically, my preferred way to deal with early terminations is to charge an early-termination fee equivalent to one month's rent and end the vacating tenant's lease obligations once a replacement tenant is successfully procured according to the same lease terms (i.e. you are not lowering the rent for the property).

Helpful thread. I just took a minute to join some of those FB groups, @Kate Barry. 

And @Noah Laker, I am a PM in the Raleigh/Durham area in NC. If you ever need a contact in this market, feel free to send me a message. Happy to help in any way that I can.

You have the most important items listed. I am starting to ask for bank statements more routinely, as I have come across falsified paystubs (it is much harder to falsify a bank statement). You want to do an employment verification too. 

If you are not using a management software (like Buildium, Appfolio, etc), you might find it easier to use a third-party for receiving applications (e.g. Apartments.com, Zillow). They cover the basics. While I do not like everything about Zillow's application, it still gets the job done. Plus, it is affordable for the prospective tenant and costs you nothing. 

I manage MTRs in the NC Triangle, and charge 20%. But 25% is pretty common, too. 

Furnishings are covered by the owner. Guest supplies are covered by the cleaners, and tenants pay the cleaning fee. I cover the cost of photography. Happy to answer any other questions.

I can vouch for what the others have said. SMS functionality is built into most PM software. Appfolio is particularly good for texting property groups. 

Appfolio is reasonably affordable, but you have to have 50+ units to get started.

Hi Bari, I have put together an MTR essentials checklist that I share with property management clients who are looking to furnish a short or medium-term rental. Perhaps take a look at the list and jot down your budget for each item. Add it all together, and you will have a pretty good idea of what it will cost to furnish your new build.

I have really appreciated the Igloohome Keybox 3. These lockboxes are not cheap, but they can generate one-time access codes and duration pins from a long-distance, even when your lockbox is not connected to the internet. This has been a game-changer for me.