All Forum Posts by: Chase Hoover

I am technically representing myself but am not licensed in that state so the seller's agent would get both sides of the commission, right?  Real estate sales is not my strong suit (I'm a property manager) so please correct me if I'm missing something here.

As a licensed out-of-state real estate agent purchasing a property in another state for a personal investment, is it appropriate and/or legal to ask for a referral fee of the commission? I am not using a buyer's agent so the listing agent would be getting both sides. The property is in VA. I do not want to step out of line (or break the law), but it would certainly help to cover my closing costs if it's allowable.

I think it's been around for a year or so 

@Rachel Hughes very true, which is why it could perhaps work better?  Travelers using Airbnb mostly do not know the in's and out's of it all.  So if they see a listing in the search results that advertises "NO FEES" where the total booking amount shown is in the same ballpark as other listings, I think they'd be tempted to at least give it glance.  Again, just spitballing here, I haven't done this myself as of yet.  It's just another way to skin the cat.

I've thought the same thing since I first heard about it but figured I'd see if anyone has had any success using it.  My thought would be to absorb the cleaning fee into the nightly rate as well and be able to advertise "no fees" in the title.  Maybe in a saturated market this would help your listing stand out?

By default, Airbnb charges hosts a 3% service fee then charges the guest an additional service fee.  Airbnb gives hosts the option to be charged a 14% service fee so that guests do not have to pay one.  Has anyone experimented with this option?  Obviously you'd need to raise your nightly rate to help offset this cost.  Have you noticed any differences in demand?

My partner and I are analyzing a commercial vacation rental operation (6 cabins).  The cabins need to be remodeled to reach their full potential however we likely would not be able to do the work until next fall.  

A local lender has recommended an SBA 504 for the total of the purchase price plus remodel costs. Since we will not be doing the work until later on, would it make more sense to use the 504 to purchase the property only right now, then seek another loan or LOC when we are ready to begin the work?

If the latter, will SBA have issues with us adding another loan or LOC to the project?

Second question - my partner is a veteran, I am not. Does it benefit us to structure our LLC for this project to favor his ownership 51% to better qualify for the loan?

The answer is probably simple and I apologize but my brain isn't fully functioning after staying up all night running numbers.  Thanks for any advice!

I 100% agree with the hope that a competitor will rise out of this.  Airbnb's customer service (lack of) has gotten out of control.  It was only a year or two ago when I could actually call Airbnb with a problem and have the issue addressed immediately.  Now everything needs to be "forwarded to a member of their staff that can better assist you" and 5 days later you get an Airbnb message from this "expert" that solves nothing.  The fact that they control all of our money in the form of payments, payouts, and refunds, yet we cannot get anyone on the phone to assist when something is amiss is irresponsible. 

Just yesterday I noticed $150 missing from my COVID reimbursement payout for a resolution center refund last month that I had no idea about.  Called, waited on hold for 30 minutes to talk to someone, explained my case, and was told this would need to be forwarded to another department and someone should be getting back to me but it could be a few days or maybe weeks.

With this new 25% layoff I am absolutely terrified at the thought of having to call them for anything in the future.

Sorry for the rant. If anyone hears of any "up and comers", please post so that we can check it out. I don't have much faith in VRBO/Booking.com/Tripadvisor, all are too clunky. A new, streamlined app focused 100% on booking STR's (not experiences, etc.), where hosts have full control of payments, guests are actually required to read and sign OUR rental agreement prior to booking, and property managers or hosts with multiple listings have dedicated account managers sounds like an absolute dream come true. Someone get on it, please!

I'll throw in a vote for Porter.  I've had my portfolio of 14 listings with them for a few months now and am happy.  Simple design, flat-rate fee, phone app, auto messaging, native messaging Airbnb/VRBO, price syncing (connects with PriceLabs), great income reports, Airbnb search metrics boosters (such as auto daily listing updates), and customer service is actually responsive.  They are continually working on their system and launching updates.  I had an hour conference call with their development team a few weeks back to provide my input on their "tasks" feature which they are working on improving as it is currently a bit clunky.  It is comforting that they actually listen to operators and design updates around our direct feedback.  Agree with @Julie McCoy that the dashboard is a little glitchy sometimes requiring hard browser refreshes, but it seems to be getting better.

@Karl B. I already ordered a top hat, diamond cane, and a Hummer with a 24" lift.  Real estate is for chumps, let's get that big money rolling in!