All Forum Posts by: Eric P.

@Eric P. Fair point. My only thought would be that a city like Gatlinburg would not be on the top of the list for Airbnb travelers and therefore have high vacancy rates.

You probably know it as the Smoky Mtns not Gatlinburg but yeah - HUGE VR demand for 100 years strong. @Avery Carl can you drop that link showing Smokies visitors by year? The visitor numbers are so huge it’s mind boggling, even through the recession - #1 visited national park in the US, with year-round demand (little lighter in jan/feb)

1 Vote

Originally posted by @David Lowe:

@Wendy Schultz What if you show the market average cash flowing (for the city you are going into)? Surely that is sufficient to prove a model for a loan?

My guess is this works better in a city with a 100-year history of (legal) vacation rentals like Gatlinburg?

In many cities, VRs are new terrain so lenders are (rightfully) hesitant given rental rate volatility, occupancy volatility, & legal volatility

3 Votes

Originally posted by @Benjamin Vail:

They will do a loan in an LLC. These are 30 year fixed rates.

😍🙌

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Benjamin Vail:

@Aaron Bihl the 75/25 offer at 5.9% was from Host Financial. Have not yet gotten a quote from RNC. It sounds likeHost Financial would also do rehab loans. My next project is a purchase. I was actually able to find a slightly better loan from my conventional lender (80/20 at 5.6%). For this purchase. But I am going to keep looking at Host Financial for a re-if, and as a last resort lender before hard money.

Do they lend to LLCs or are these personal loans? And are these long-term fixed rates?

1 Vote

Originally posted by @John Oden:

@Eric P.

We let our guests know that we accept direct bookings in several ways: post-stay text and email follow-up, post cards and business cards displayed in all our properties, giving each property a unique name and promoting it on social media and elsewhere so guests can do a quick Google search on our property name and we appear everywhere.

Increasingly, we are seeing even some first-time guests seeing our property name on the big listing sites, then finding us with a Google search and booking directly on their first stay.

Awesome!! Valuable info, well done!

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Susan Ticson:

Pocono rentals are all year round.

Spring & fall too? I’ve heard it’s mostly just 2 seasons - summer & winter

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Julie McCoy:

There are very specific rules regarding service animals that are set by the ADA, an authority well above AirBNB. You MAY NOT ask for documentation about a service animal. You MAY ask IF an animal is a service animal, and you may ask what specific task the animal is trained to perform.

See: https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

That said, there's a couple of loopholes. I don't have the source material right now, but I believe that if you are a private owner of three or fewer vacation rental properties, you are not obligated to abide by the commercial standard regulations for service animals.

Also, with AirBNB specifically, when I inquired about this they instructed me to include verbiage in my listing in the vein of: NO ANIMALS of any kind are allowed. The property is allergy free due to owner's family being highly allergic to animal hair, dander, feathers and the like. This poses a severe health hazard to host's family members and therefore there are no exceptions to this rule. You will not be allowed to check in, your reservation will be canceled and a $200 deep cleaning fee will be assessed.

All my listings include this language, and I've very rarely had a question about a service animal (and have never had to host one).

Thanks Julie - as always, your posts are so thorough & insightful!

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Mayer M.:

Hey all,

So I'm tossing around the idea of buying a STR with the intention of my family getting use out of it.

Currently I live in South Jersey and my family travels to Florida a few times a year, In the summer we spend a lot of weekends in Ventnor, NJ and we love the Poconos. I have family in both Ventnor and South Florida which is where we stay when visiting.

I love the idea of being able to purchase a property in these areas with the intention of getting all my costs covered by STRs and being able to use them for my family.

I would love any feedback on this especially for this who have STRs in some of these areas.

Thanks!

To really maximize your STR profits, you need solid year-round demand. Most people only go to Ventnor & the Poconos at certain times of the year. People go to S FL allllll year round! Just be sure to focus on Broward not Dade bc restrictions are super strict in Dade last I checked

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Kelly DeWinter:

Welcome to the world of 3rd party contract fulfillment. When you sign up as a 3rd party service provider for Airbnb,Lyft,Uber etc. Basically you are trading their marketing and order fulfillment expertise for control of your property.

There is an exception to the Airbnb Service animal policy, "Hosts are required to accept all assistance animals unless they pose a real threat or there are safety and health issues."

Sounds like your allergy to Dog,cat,bird,parrot,snake,squirrel,goat and abominable snowmen is a health issue to renting to Service Animals

Kelly FTW!

One more Q: do guests have to disclose a service animal?

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Mel Hignell:

Hi, Gerich.

I own a management company based in Portland (hi, fellow Oregonian!) and operating in a number of cities. We are currently looking at the Charleston area. I own a half dozen of my own personal rentals in Pdx, Sf and NOLA, and we manage hundreds more. We’d love to talk!

Warmly,

Mel

Mel - what % of gross rents do you charge?

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Eric P.

Eric P. has started 55 posts and replied 461 times.

Post: Can You Get a Business Loan For a Short Term Rental?

Post: Can You Get a Business Loan For a Short Term Rental?

Post: BRRRR and Airbnb, do they mix?

Post: BRRRR and Airbnb, do they mix?

Post: Does anyone have rental suggestions for condos besides VRBO,Air..

Post: STR - Ventnor, NJ, Poconos, PA or South Florida?

Post: Airbnb and Service Animals

Post: STR - Ventnor, NJ, Poconos, PA or South Florida?

Post: Airbnb and Service Animals

Post: AirBnB/STR managers or co-hosts in Charleston, SC