All Forum Posts by: Greg R.

Good points, thank you @Bruce Woodruff. Even though this is a large home, I'm going to lower my max occupancy to 5 or 6. I started off with 8 and lowered it to 7. I am also going to word my initial message to requesting guests even stronger... here's what I'm thinking:

"I must highlight a very important rule before we accept the reservation. We have a firm rule of no visitors or guests allowed on premise. Only the people identified on the reservation are allowed at the home. Violations of this rule will result in immediate cancellation of your stay and a $500 penalty. 

If you need a place that can accommodate visitors, we are unable to host you. However, if you agree to this rule, we're happy to accept your reservation."

 Thoughts?

Quote from @Jonn Vidal:

When i first relocated stayed at Extended Stay (Hotel) and noticed nextdoor was literally open door hosting orgies all night all weeklong; obviously quiet enjoyment was null til got out of there as the hotel was apparently okay with it as the steady line of visitors to the room didnt stay all night maybe just an hour at most each!

Would think AirBNB or whatever 3rd party you're sourcing STTs from would have a policy in place where extra $$$ comes out whenever people bring extra overnighters?

Wow, lol. Sorry you had to go through that. Again, for me it's not about collecting a few extra bucks, I do not want that many people at my house tearing up the place. 

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

In that case, I would text/call the instant you realize that someone else is on the property...before they get comfortable. 

How do you get your guests to acknowledge this rule? Is it virtual (I assume)? Maybe get them to sign a contract as soon as they book the house? And put in large CAPS in your listing description that visitors are not allowed. And large signs in the house, too....?

 I did that. I sent a message and after not getting a response I sent a text. I respectfully asked to have the renter have all visitors leave immediately. She responded to text and said that she would have them leave, but didn't. It got late and I fell asleep. When I woke up this AM I realized that the extra visitors never left and are still there. 

Trust me, we message with them and make it extremely clear before we accept the reservation. Unless the explicitly acknowledge and accept that condition, we do not accept the reservation. I don't have signs up. It's a beautiful, fully custom house. I don't want to post signs around like it's a four-plex.

We have a doorbell cam, and outdoor cameras (which are stated on our listing). I get alerts from these cams when people are spotted. It's both shorter visits and longer ones. But it doesn't matter, our rules are extremely clear. Each reservation must agree/ acknowledge this rule before we accept the reservation. We explicitly tell them "no other visitors or guests are allowed at the house under any circumstances. The only people permitted at the home are those who are on the reservation". The must say that they agree before we accept. 

Thanks Joshua, appreciate the feedback. I was hoping to avoid the situation all together. Further, in that scenario they could have a gathering with 4-5 extra people that don't stay the night. That would be a loophole that would get them around paying a high per night rate for additional guests.

I really think that it's the type of place that tempts people to want to have friends over and host gatherings. 

There must be a lot of other hosts who are in this exact situation. I see some absolutely stunning homes on Airbnb/ VRBO.

BP community, I'm in need of advice from seasoned STR property managers. I have been in the STR game for about 3 years now. Just recently I acquired another STR, this one out of state from where I live.

The property I'm referring to is in Albuquerque and is a very nice single-family home. It's a beautiful custom home, the nicest house in the area. 

We have a rule that we make all reservations acknowledge before accepting. We tell them that absolutely no visitors or guests are allowed at the property under any circumstance. Only the individuals that are identified at the time of booking are allowed at the house. 

We are very early on in this process w/ this home (I think less than 5 reservations) and a very high amount of the reservations are violating the rule. It's the kind of home that they probably want to show off to their friends/ family, etc. Again, it's big, fully custom, and very nice. That said, what can I do to enforce this rule? I really want to preserve my "super host" status if all possible - but enforcing our house rules is more important to me that my status. 

I would like to know how other STR managers have dealt with this situation. In my other STR this is not a problem at all. However, it's a guest house, so I don't think people come here with the intention of having gatherings & hanging out with friends.

As always, appreciate the help.

Greg

Thanks @Scott E., I appreciate the perspective. 

All, I wanted to let you know that my rebuttal of the VA loan was somewhat successful. I was asking for a 50k increase but was granted 25k. Not what I was hoping for, but for a cash out refi I'm happy w/ any increase. I'm told that getting any positive adjustment after an appraisal comes in is pretty rare - so again, happy for that.

Quote from @Matthew Forrest:

@Greg R. I've had great appraisals and always try to network with the appraiser. For the ADU appraisals I have had (one ADU with multiple appraisal attempts) the comparison isn't between the ADU and interior square footage, its was between the ADU and something extra on the property like a massive shed or a pool. I got $35k for a 700 sqft ADU so $50/sqft. I'm not upset about it... the cash flow is good, but no more ADUs for me until the appraisals are changed.

Thanks Matthew. Unfortunately, this one is a VA appraisal. It's been a while since I used my VA loan, but apparently once there's an appraisal, is uploaded to a VA portal. When a value is uploaded to the VA portal there can't be another appraisal for 6 months! Doesn't matter if you switch lenders.  

Thanks for the response @Sebastian Marroquin. I didn't think to get an ADU quote from a construction company, very good idea for next time. On your other suggestion, I'm always very nice to appraisers... I offer them coffee, water, something to eat. I try to converse with them as much as possible, but sometimes they are in a rush and are trying to get in and out. In those situations, I try not to be a pest.

Love your example about appraisals outside of the bank. Really good info, thanks again.