All Forum Posts by: Dee Bral

Thank you so much for the encouragement and offer of assistance. Don't be surprised if I come back to you and take you up on that!! 

I'm new to having an STR and dynamic pricing tools and just tried a Price Labs free trial for a few days. I didn't think the application was very user friendly and there is no number to dial for customer service if you get stuck. I see a lot of positive posts about the application, so maybe I'm missing something? Any tips as I definitely need some help on dynamic pricing and my STR isn't renting near as much as it should be. I just have one STR so I'm open to whatever is easiest to use with the easiest learning curve. Is Beyond Pricing any easier to use? Other apps I should consider? Thanks in advance for any advice!

Booking.com has been a nightmare for me. Several guests have been scammers, trying to stay and then ask for a refund. Booking just took $178 from a new guest pay-out because the credit card payment didn't go through and I got charged for it. Insane.

What was supposed to be a 2 night stay for 2 people was actually a 1 night stay for 8 adults. We have something in our listing that you can't book under 28 years old. Just realized there's no way they are checking the IDs for online payments because these guests barely looked 20 years old, if that. 

I'm on my 2nd property damage request. in 3 months and this will be my last. And now they have changed their policy so the host has to ask the guest with bad behavior for the payout of damages. These folks burned holes in our linens, started what looks like was a small fire in bathtub, burned the couch in 3 spots and also burned an end table. They opened up every locked closet and storage area we had for replacement supplies. They smoked constantly in a nonsmoking property. The police were called due to the noise. I'm just thankful I got them out after 1 night. 

I'm constantly fighting to be paid and their financial management is so poor that even when I've paid their commission invoices, they go marked as unpaid. And then they threaten to kick me off the platform. My advice -- STAY AWAY from that platform. 

I have a qualified applicant in a rental in Virginia that is currently empty. The market has slowed and I don't want to turn away qualified applicants, but they can't move in for almost 3 weeks. Can I charge a holding fee until they move-in, in addition to the security deposit? Or is it better to charge rent before their actual move-in date.  I'm not sure what's best when the unit is sitting empty.  Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I decided to get an air purifier w/HEPA filter to stay in the 4 br house and an ozone machine to use initially to get rid of the stubborn smell. It's not as bad as it initially was but my guess is previous tenants were in there smoking for 20+ years and maybe not just cigarettes, plus there was dog urine as well....We have replaced drywall in some areas, skimcoated and painted, new textured ceilings, pulled out carpet, replaced floorboards, put down new lion boards and new LVP flooring, new paint, all new appliances. Hard to believe the smell remains, so hopeful the ozone generator will knock it out.  Here is a video if anyone is interested: 

I am about to start an Air BnB and am concerned about smells between guests, especially if they smoke or bring pets w/them. I'm considering getting an air purifier or ozone generator that can quickly clean the air, especially w/Covid and cleanliness concerns. One product I was looking at is an Afloia Air Purifier for Home and Large Rooms Up to 1075 sqft w/Smart APP & Voice Control h13 HEPA Air Purifiers. If anyone can share their experiences, I'd really appreciate it as this is new territory for me.

Thanks in advance! 

A simpler question here for you given your experience. I am about to start an Air BnB and am concerned about smokers, pets and general odor elimination between guests. Have you ever used an air purifier or ozone generator to get rid of smells? Did that work well? This is for a 1800 square foot single level beach house about 1 block from beach. It often gets humid there and am concerned about potential for mold or mildew smells as well. Will one of those air purifiers work? I'm looking at this on Amazon that our cleaners could use: 

Afloia Air Purifiers for Home Large Room Up to 1076 Ft², Smart APP&Voice Control H13 HEPA Air Purifiers for Bedroom 22 dB, Air Purify Filter for Pets Odor Smoke Dust Mold Pollen, Compatible with Alexa

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide!

You might try MBO or Military By Owner. We have a furnished rental near a military base and have also contacted the local base's housing office. Good luck!

Hi Rob, 

Is there anything else required for your system? Is Wifi required on the lock or can you change it through the app? Also, does it still allow for  a physical key for emergencies or if Internet is down? Was installation difficult?

Thanks

I am curious which accounting and bookkeeping packages smaller landlords prefer to use? I have started using Tenant Cloud and have a paid subscription, but I'm having trouble with the accounting reports and bookkeeping. In particular, I'm working on year end financials and can't generate a Profit and Loss statement from their canned reports or a balance sheet. 

What other accounting systems do my fellow BiggerPockets colleagues prefer to use for smaller landlords. I only have 5 units and this is my first purchase so I'm managing the property myself for now, but will probably find a property manager in the next year or so. Any thoughts on accounting and bookkeeping platforms that are preferred for smaller businesses? Anyone using TenantCloud successfully to run these reports? How about Quickbooks, however, it seems pretty pricey? Has anyone tried Xero? I could really use some help to make a decision to stick with TenantCloud or to get a stronger package and hear Pros vs. Cons.

Happy New Year to all who have read this far and thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!