All Forum Posts by: Frank Borzen

And she will leave a negative review if possible.

We learned a long time ago to cut people loose early on. Asking for discounts, PITA renters, people complaining before they arrive...I would rather have a vacant home.

Use 60% occupancy to run your numbers in the Disney area. You will be booked Thanksgiving through New Year's. Jan-Feb is a bit sparse. You will be booked spring break through Labor Day. Sept-Oct is also sparse.

Personally I love Windsor Hills. I think one of the reasons you CAN self manage is because there are so many pool cleaners, handymen, and house cleaners aready in that community. You just need some phone numbers.

We have had similar issues. When we first started vacation rentals 20 years ago vrbo and airbnb did not exist. The industry was not nearly as regulated as it is today. Neighbors, including every single STR owner, want NIMBY-not in my back yard.

We had issues, but killing them with kindness generally works. One neighbor ended up cleaning the home. Another ended up taking care of the yard. All neighbors have our phone numbers. We make it clear that if there are issues, we want to know.

Don't be afraid to turn down renters. If someone asks for a discount, they generally get turned down. We used to put last minute rentals on craigslist-it was nothing but issues. We are in a market where people pay a lot of money to go fishing and boating-big trucks, big boats, big wallets-those are the customers we want, and they generally treat our homes well.

If you are talking about the original idea of airbnb (literally sharing part of someone's house), I don't see anything negative outside of what is listed above.

If you are talking about a vacation rental, I think you will find that people on vacation don't want to be face to face with someone else.

It was based off of the pro rated taxes. Apparently the bill was not ready when the home closed. They underestimated by $2500. Now months later they email me with instructions on how to wire it to them.

Times like this have you look at the closing statement and how much the real estate agents/title companies make...funny how none of them are stepping up with money, right?

Has anyone had this happen? Title company says they "did not estimate real estate taxes correctly" and wants $2500. Closing was a few months ago. Although I understand where they are coming from, it's a tough pill to swallow. 

Beware of Encore at Reunion. They force you to use one of three management companies. Stunning homes that people are dumping left and right.

Windsor at Westside is great if you want new, Windsor Hills is great if you want established. Check on property taxes and HOA fees.

Stay away from Encore at Reunion. They force you to sign up with their management companies. Homes that sold for 800k are now selling for 450k. Many of the other places: Windsor at Westside, Windsor Hills, etc. look to have some discounted properties but not free falling prices.

@Natalie Wright I would say Labor Day through Thanksgiving is the "slow season" in Florida. There are still plenty of opportunities to fill nights, but we consider those gravy as opposed to a definite.

In my experience:

Thanksgiving through Spring Break is for out of state guests

Spring Break through public schools reopening is for Floridians

Back to school through Thanksgiving is free money

In my opinion you need to be at about 50% down payment to cash flow. 50-60% occupancy seems to be the norm. Gross rentals from 30-50k. HOA fees can be the killer in these communities.

I am a huge fan of Windsor Hills...closest community to Disney, nicely remodeled pool slides. Some of the newer (further out) communities offer even more amazing pool areas. I don't know if the 34747 zip code is as important as it used to be, but the ability to ride a bike to Animal Kingdom is pretty cool.