All Forum Posts by: Kristine Eickman

The Orlando area is terrible right now. The area is filled with people who wouldn’t normally be down there with their free government checks. I just heard in one of the communities someone rented a house and then posted on Facebook they were having a party 100 cars showed up. Most management companies right are saying the same thing with the renters . It is not the typical clientele.

This happens a lot when guests don't want you to see what they are doing. Smoking, sneaking in extra guests or unapproved pets......stuff like that. My suggestion is to lock the modem/router in a closet where the guest cannot access it. 

I agree - there is definitely a market for people who want to be completely hands-off. I just want to make sure that new STR investors in the Disney market understand what they are giving up when they basically hand their keys over to a company. I know there are a lot of hands-off investors in that market and I think it does work for them, but at what cost. I just could not imagine spending $500K+ for a home and then not having any control over it.

Just a thing to note here. Large management companies do not allow you control of your own home. They essentially take it over and you have zero control at that point. I would never, ever run my homes this way. Yeah, they may get you bookings, but with who? These homes are often beat up beyond belief by these tour groups that they put in your homes and you have no say about it. Management companies do not care about your home because it is not THEIR home. There is a reason so many people do self-management and this is one of them.

What accounting software does everyone use for their STR's? What are the pro's and con's of it?

 I would highly suggest NOT doing Windsor at Westside. Besides the fact that the drive to Disney is brutal, that community in itself has had MAJOR issues with safety and parties over COVID. Someone was just shot and killed last week walking down the street. 

https://www.wesh.com/article/dozens-of-gunshots-fired-as-deputies-break-up-massive-party-in-kissimmee/34362845#  Article says it was Windsor HIlls, but it was actually Windsor at Westside. 

https://www.orlandosentinel.co...

I have owned in Windsor Hills before and am considering it again , however, I was hoping to get some insight from owners in other communities in the area. Looking specifically at Windsor Palms, Storey Lake and Reunion. Reunion and Encore are a concern as I know the management company I want and I had heard you cannot use the community amenities if you do not use theirs.

We rented a home in Champions Gate a few years back that was managed by Jeeves (one of encores management choices) and it was a nightmare.

Any first hand information from owners in any communities would be great. Just want to make sure I look at any communities that would be a good fit for us. Looking specifically for rental, although we would use it a couple of times a year.

Thanks!

My husband is starting a small handy-man business and we are also looking at LTR's near us. Can our rental hire and pay my husbands company to do repairs on the home, or is that a not allowed? 

I used to own 2 - 3 bed townhomes in WH and I can give you a few pointers. We had the homes for 6 years from 2013-2019. They were very successful and we averaged 70%+ occupancy every year. HOWEVER, we worked our butts off to get that occupancy and to be that successful. 

1. Your 80% occupancy is not going to happen right now unless you are renting for $60 a night. The ones that you are seeing that have booked calendars are doing just that. The nice ones that you are seeing sit open are IMO the smart owners who would rather their home sit empty than let someone trash it for bottom basement prices. I do not see rentals going back to high occupancy for a good 2 years. Most of my rentals came from Canada and the UK and unfortunately COVID has reeked havoc on vacation rentals in Florida. 

2. Self management is the only way you are going to make any money. Now, we had a PM, but only to take care of the cleaning and repairs that needed to be done immediately. We spent several weeks a year down there just fixing things, replacing broken and worn our items and buying new things to spruce it up. We did all of our own marketing, rentals and everything that comes along with it. If you are thinking that a PM is going to get you quality renters for a good price, they are not. 

3. $1500.00 per month in operating expenses seems a little low, especially if you are putting repairs in the category. Off the top of my head you are looking at around $400.00 a month for HOA and your electric bill will be at least $200-250 every month. Water was around $50-60 a month.

4. A lot of the units need new pool heaters, pumps and AC's and pools need to be resurfaced as they are 15 years old now. Look for homes where these things have been replaced.

I am happy to chat more about it. We loved owning our homes and only sold because life got so busy I could not keep up with my full-time job, my kids non-stop activities and trying to manage the rental. 

Originally posted by @Chris Mason:

Originally posted by @Kristine Eickman:

Originally posted by @Chris Mason:

As long as you personally will go on vacation there once a year, and don't need projected rental income to 'count,' it can be a second home. 

@Melvin List is someone to talk to for Florida financing needs. 

Interesting - I have never heard that before. I was always told that if it is going to be rented more than I am staying, than it is considered an investment and therefore I needed an investment loan. I previously had 2 homes down there and all the lenders I spoke to said this. We vacationed there at least 2-4 times a year but the fact that I made an income from it made it an investment. I am going to have to make sure I talk to lenders about this again because it will be the same scenario. Like I said, I have been out of the game for a few years so maybe that has changed?

Here is the checklist directly from the source:

 Wow - thank you so much! Based on this we definitely would qualify for the second home loan. We plan on being in the home 2-4 weeks per year and can afford it without the income from the rentals.