All Forum Posts by: Carrie Giordano

Jonathan Safa thanks for the response! That's great to know, I assumed the property must have lake rights to do well. Do people swim in these lakes in the summer or are they too cold? On average, how many nights per year is your place in Lake Arrowhead rented? Thanks!!

My husband and I are looking to invest in a vacation rental in either Big Bear or Lake Arrowhead. We have buy and holds but this will be our first vacation rental. I have heard a bit from investors with homes in Big Bear but none from Lake Arrowhead. I know I'm Lake Arrowhead we would need to buy a home with lake rights. Beyond that does anyone have any advice or opinions on which one may be a more successful vacation rental? We live in Los Angeles and will be using the home on occasion. We have not yet decided if we will self manage or hire that out. Any advice on running a vacation rental in these areas would be appreciated!

Great thread!  I am a buy and hold investor looking for my first vacation rental in either Big Bear or Lake Arrowhead. I live in Los Angeles and am looking for somewhere my family can use while not rented. We just started researching both places and know that we would need a home in Lake Arrowhead with lake rights. Is anyone familiar with both areas to share pros and cons of both?

@Lauren Yiu

@Lauren Yiu Congrats on the rental! How did you find the renovation process? What was the overall cost of the renovation and how did you find contractors?

@Mike R. are you an agent as well as a manager. I would love to talk with you further.

@Brad Moncado thanks for the post, a lot of good information here. I am currently a buy and hold investor living in Los Angeles and investing in my hometown in Ohio. My husband and I have just decided to turn our focus to a vacation rental for our next investment. We are looking at somewhere within driving distance from Los Angeles, a place that our family can use when not rented. So far our top choices are Big Bear Lake and Lake Arrowhead.

Because this will double as a vacation home for us we would be okay with a break even scenario. However, my goal is to make it profitable and continue building a VR business. For that reason we will be looking for something with the highest rental potential versus something perfect for our family. We are still researching to see if this is a larger more expensive home that is more rare or a smaller home that has been updated and suits more travelers. 

Is it realistic that I could self manage from 2 hours away without having to visit the property often? Would this require just a cleaning person and handyman or an additional person to handle the keys and other odds and ends? 

If I decide to go with full management what sort of fees am I looking at? @Chad C. mentioned 40%, is that standard? Does this include cleaning?

@Nancy Bachety I see that you are from NY and invest in FL, what does this process look like for you? Are you able to turn a good profit? On average how many days per year are you rented?

Thanks!!

@Greg H. I am interested in you opinion. I have purchased 5 hud homes all close to 80% of the asking. I now am offering on one that they countered at 88% plus the agent fees. I rebid 2 days later at the 88% even, no agent fees and they countered back at their original counter. The property was listed 20 days ago and opened to investors last Friday the 24th. From your experience do you feel they may soon drop the price or consider lower offers? Is there a way for me to counter their counter or must I just rebid? 

Hello, a little background, I'm a buy and hold investor living in Los Angeles while investing in Ohio. I have rehabbed all of my rentals myself however I subcontract much of the work out and have only done minor rehabs. I have a great team in Ohio but nobody in California. I have done a major rehab on my personal residence in LA using a completely incompetent gc and it was a nightmare. 

My husband and I are about to buy a home that needs major renovations: electrical, all new kitchen & baths, flooring, removing or minimizing a few walls for an open layout and if possible raising a few ceilings. 

On one hand I would love to hire subcontractors and act as the gc with the hopes of keeping costs down and the learning experience. However, I don't have experience moving walls or raising ceilings and have little experience pulling permits. I will want to keep the time on the project to a minimum because we will need to move in. My question is do you feel that I would save a good deal of money acting as the gc or do you feel that a qualified gc gets enough of the material and labor at a discount to where it would not be a huge savings? 

Thanks in advance for your feedback! 

@JD Martin can you get the new stucco to match the old stucco without completely redoing it? 

@Robin Wilk I considered painting it all one color but would prefer to get rid of them if it's not a crazy expense. I was hoping they had a specific name so I could google what people have done to update this look but haven't found any articles yet.

Hello! I'm interested in a house that has wood accent beams in the exterior. Does anyone know if there is a name for these? I feel like it makes the house look very dated and I would like to remove them. How can this be done and is it a large expense? The beams do appear to be in the stucco. Thanks!

@Roy N. @JD Martin - Thanks for the responses. I do think $850 sounds much more reasonable for the days work and if that is what I were quoted I would have gone with it. I will probably get a second opinion and see if it is something my handyman is comfortable with.

@Travis Boyer- I've seen previous posts of yours and was hoping to get your opinion.

I am closing on a rental at the end of the month. In my inspection there was mold found in the attic as well as a small amount in the basement. The inspector said both were pretty minor but I should have it checked out. The house is only 10 years old and I wasn't sure what the issue in the attic was as I assumed the roof was still in decent condition. The house was a foreclosure and has been closed up for a few years so I knew this wasn't helping. I had a mold removal specialist out who came highly recommended. Her report stated: The cause of the microbial contamination in the attic space is caused by possible ice damming and blocked soffits. During the visual assessment in the attic, it was observed that the attic did not contain baffles. As for the basement I knew from my inspection that the sump pump wasn't working in the basement and a bit of moisture was coming in from the back wall. (The inspector feels this could probably be remedied by extending the downspouts away from the house.) In addition, to cleaning and treating all areas she would install 80 styrofoam baffles. The total cost would be $1370 and take one day. When I asked how much to just do the attic she said that she's only charging me $100 to do the basement. My question is does this price seem fair for one day's work handling a minor mold issue? Being that this is a minor issue would I be better off having someone like my handy man handle it or is that asking for trouble down the road?