All Forum Posts by: Brian Erlich

Quote from @Colleen F.:

@Brian Erlich I get what you are saying and opposition by some neighbors is not the same as an HOA but if you have a rich neighbor who does not want you there all bets are off. In our club case we went through more than 20k because he was opposing the ownership. He was fighting that it fell under lodging and you go to court and they bleed you.

I agree.  My point is that I don't want a fight.  Too expensive.

Quote from @Jacob Stevenson:

I feel like every STR I own came with opposition. For that reason I don't completely agree with the idea of only go where welcome. Even the long-term rentals I own people in the neighborhood have told me they don't want rentals on the block. People don't like the idea and have the mindset that they would always prefer a homeowner in the house.

Proper management and vetting of tenants can win people over but I think it's also human nature they'll never agree that it's better than what they thought should happen.  

Just to clarify,

Opposition by a neighbor is not nearly as big an issue as opposition by an HOA.  I invest in Florida and live in Georgia.  In both of those states HOA's have a lot of power.  If you go around the HOA rules, and they want to pick a fight, they can fine you and if you don't pay they can foreclose on your property.  That's what I mean by not wanting a fight.

If a neighbor opposes you, they will stop complaining as long as you are a good neighbor (and they aren't crazy).  In those cases just follow the law.

My fear in pushing it too far is the $20,000 it can cost to just show up in court with a lawyer and fight a single issue. Usually the HOA has more money than you do.

I personally never want to own a property where I know I will get a fight.  You don't make enough to pay lawyers, fines or anything else from your cash flow.  Buy where you are welcomed.

I am using constant contact.  There is an up-charge if you want to know who opened the email, but prices are pretty reasonable.

I am seeing signs of this in Panama City Beach as well.  I agree that you shouldn't wait too long to buy.  You will see rising rents, lower rates, and a bit less competition in the future.  You just need enough cash flow to last.

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

I always just look at the actual competition on the actual sites that we all use....primarily AirBnB and VRBO. Just look within a couple miles of your place for a similar property with the same amenities.

This gives you actual real-world serious numbers. not some algorithm guessing randomly. I can't imagine why anyone would use AirDna as their only tool, unless it's just a quick look for a broader analysis.....I would recommend doing it the old fashioned way to make sure....

I use AirDNA to get an understanding of what is possible in an area.  I search VRBO and AirBNB to see where we show up in the search and what the competition is offering.

You offered good advice

I sent out my first email last week.  I think it was successful in that we got 63% open rate and a 12% click rate.  We didn't get any bookings from it though.

What are you sending to past guests?  We sent a special offer for March.

How much success have you seen?

What should I expect?

I would love to hear both your success stories and your failures.  I learn best from both.

Thank you,

Brian

Thank you everyone for the great responses.  This has been very helpful.

Quote from @Karen Bolyard:

Isn't VRBO an 8-9% fee and airbnb only 3% to the homeowner?   

 It can be, but they also have an annual fee option which is $499.  For us, the visibility seemed worth using both platforms.  We just hadn't had any experience with Airbnb and had heard some scary stories.

My wife and I own a vacation rental in Panama City Beach, FL.  We have typically used VRBO to list our property.  I recently started listing on Airbnb as well and hoped that people with experience can provide some pointers about hosting on Airbnb.  

I have heard many horror stories of a guest complaining and getting a full refund at the hosts expense.  The plot of the story is usually about an innocent host being taken advantage of by a dishonest or unreasonable guest.  Has this been your experience?

Are there any gotchas to be aware of?  Have you had bad experiences that I might be able to learn from?

Thank you in advance for your experiences.