All Forum Posts by: Caleb Richardson

Not sure if you've looked into VRBO for the area, but my understanding is that Airbnb is used dramatically less than VRBO here. One of the bigger local companies told me that outside of their organic direct bookings, VRBO accounted for something like 80-90% as opposed to Airbnb being <10%. Those are anecdotal statistics though and should be taken with a grain of salt.

I do not personally know any homeowners in that area, but our Engel & Völkers 30A office would have several agents more familiar with the area and owners. 

@Trudy Pachon I really enjoy the blog and look forward to reading about Oaxaca more in the future! It sounds wonderful. I have a good friend here from Vera Cruz, he keeps talking about taking a trip there and I may take him up on it!

@Trudy Pachon Let me know where you plan on posting your updates, I'd love to keep tabs on how it goes!

Why Oaxaca? 

I've heard nothing but good things about that city, and the Chef's Table episode featuring Chef Enrique Olvera and his restaurant Pujol in Mexico City was enthralling when they traveled to Oaxaca.

Link to video

He has definitely brought a lot of attention to the topic of Mobile Homes, but I'm curious to see if it gets any traction. Attention spans are short these days. 

@Everett W Herrington as you have probably read on dozens of other forum debates around here, the safest way to guarantee you are in the clear while wholesaling is to get your real estate license and/or actually buy the properties you are wholesaling instead of selling the contract to buy.

@Cal C. After reading this thread, I think you might be as confused as everyone else is. Perhaps re-read what you wrote and make sure you didn't leave out any important details..... 

Otherwise, it seems like you are making assumptions about what happened. It is not solely your responsibility to report unethical behavior, your agent could quite easily take what he knows to his broker and have his broker address it with either the local real estate association or your State Department of real estate, whatever that is in Georgia.

He is referring to using the Municipal Ordinance Violation route to bring the property into compliance with local ordinances. Also, you may not have noticed, but those posts are about 2 years old. Not sure if these members are active any longer.

@Account Closed said, within the proper city limits of Destin some ordinances have recently been passed regarding short term rental homes in residential areas. Be sure to pay attention to the number of parking spaces, the max occupancy limit is now 24 but it is dictated by the total number of bedrooms, etc. Your current agent should be aware of the details. There is a grandfather clause that lets properties stay at their current occupancy limit for the next 5 years, but as of the second reading at the last city council meeting 2 weeks ago, it wasn't clear whether that grandfathering conveys with the sale of the property.

Be sure to reach out to the Property management companies directly and request your own projections, ask your own questions, etc. Cross reference projections and ask the management companies to explain the differences. It will help you gain some perspective on which one is more realistic and they can also tell you the positive and negative aspects of a property from their perspective as well. The startup costs for linens and other things can be a big surprise to many first time investors, so it would behoove you to do your due diligence on all the associated costs before submitting an offer on a property. Get stuff in writing, keep good records, etc.

Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.