All Forum Posts by: Dan Stewart

A little off topic but I have decided to turn my camper into an asset. I was going to deliver my camper to the local sites for people to use but I am getting request for people to take it off my hands and drive it around the state of Michigan. I have turned down thousands of dollars because I don't' want to take the risk of someone destroying my camper driving. My insurance won't cover someone else towning the camper. 

I have been looking into some sort of insurance for the camper but can't seem to get anywhere with it. I figure it's a long shot considering this is a real estate forum but has anyone ever done this? What insurance companies did you use?

Thanks in advance for any directions

@Keri Middaugh

We live 2 hours from our cottage. We manage it by ourselves and have no problems so far other than the housekeeper issue. It's nice that its close enough where one of us can shoot up there if it needs to be cleaned up.

Thanks, everyone! It has been a lot of fun

Hey @Jeff Lipple ,

How's it going? Vacation rentals up north is a lot of fun. It's going pretty well so far. Looking forward to starting all over next summer and seeing if we can book all our weeks available. I am definitely intersted in working with you. I'll give you a call sometime this week. 

@John D. 

We're really new to this market so we really don't know what to expect this year. I am thinking we will probably be full all summer next year but that is an uninformed opinion by myself. Were trying to fill up this summer but so far the last 2.5 weeks of summer are still available. We will see what happens. 

All my friends who graduated with a degree in medicine have a job in Michigan. Wish I had more interest I that...

I just wanted to share some success on our vacation rental home. My parents bought a place in Northern Michigan last summer. For the past year, we have been working on it and upgrading it. In June, we were all finished and put it on Airbnb and FlipKey really not knowing what to expect. I have excited to say that our phones have been ringing and we have rented out 4 of the 10 weeks left in summer and have inquiries about the fall. We only have the last 2.5 years left in August. We have a consistent flow of inquiries and everyone has complimented us on our pictures and what we did to the cottage. We're just trying to figure out when we want to use the cottage because it's really hard to turn down $$$. I have a really good feeling about the summer of 2017. 

We have learned a lot on how to deal with a guest. How to go about our calendar dates and rates. Our only problem is keeping a housekeeper. We had one picked out and she picked up and left to Florida leaving us hanging a week later. For now, we will just have to take care of the cleaning on our own until we find another housekeeper.

I have been paying attention to post here and passing it onto my parents and working with them. I don't miss any of the podcast. Thanks for all the information. 

I have landed a job along Lake St. Clair and am considering moving to the area. My commute is pretty ridiculous right now. However, I know I don't want it to be permanent. I am torn between buying a place or just renting. I was thinking of buying, living there and then moving when I find something different. I would either rent it out or sell. 

I have had discussions with some that if the Detroit market takes off and the city starts booming that it might hurt the realestate values in the cities around the area. That is coming from people who don't necessary invest but they have been living around the area their whole lives and pay attentions to home prices for their own good. What do you guys think? Granted, it's really hard to know exactly what the future holds but I wanted to see what people from Biggerpockets thoughts.

Thanks guys

We were told that sometime ago from someone. We were told if we do something like that our cottage would have to be up to code and some other stuff. It's a 25 year old cottage so some stuff is out of code. It doesnt make sense at all bc I do contracts on all my jobs so my clients know exactly what they are getting in the deal. In this situation I think it's even more important. Thanks for the response!

Hi guys, We are about to put our vacation home on the market. We are putting together the website and getting everything in place. We were going to put together a contract/rental agreement but we have been told not to. Somebody told us that when you have a contract it can get messy and can get the states laws involved. Does anybody know anything about this? Seems like not having an contract in place would be a horrible idea to me. Thank you for any input! Dan Stewart

Jeff, thanks for the info. I have actually thought about all those. Maybe I'm on the right track.

Hey Guys,

New here but have been listening to the podcast for a few months weekly. I am thinking about making a move up north . I am currently a part-time fishing guide and trying to get the business going.

Fishing guides work is very seasonal so I am thinking about other ways of making income right now. I have always enjoyed working with my dad remodeling homes. They just bought a cottage and we remodeled most of it. We are starting to work on the marketing part on renting it out. However, my parents aren't really looking to make a huge income off of it and would be happy just paying the bills off with the rentals. 

With that being said, I have this crazy idea in my head to jump into this and start on my own. I was thinking of buying a place outside of TC between Crystal Mountain, Frankfort and TC that needs so work. Also, over the years, I have saved a lot of money up thank to not having very many bills and living on the road. The problem is my income has always been seasonal so some years I make money and some years I don't. Would I have a chance at getting a mortgage or would it be better just to pay cash for the place and put monies from that place after bills get paid towards a second rental?

Is it possible to rent vacation rentals out and make an income after all the bills? Or, are you just trying to keep your cost down when you buy a vacation home in Northern Michigan. 

Thanks for any advice/input anyone may have. 

Dan