Quote from @Claudio Meira:
Quote from @Heather Carrow:
@Claudio Meira I have also seen a lot of success managing my own rentals in OC. I think the best part is that you can go in and change your pricing each day to reflect vacancies, local events, holidays, etc. Since commenting on this post 2 years ago I've acquired 2 STR's in Ocean City and one in Bethany Beach. It has been a dream come true to manage my own rentals in my home beach town. I've found that my oceanfront does very well all year while my bayside does lag behind a bit during off-season weekdays. Do you rent off-season?
I try to rent off-season but I need to lower my rates since I really don't get any rentals during the off-season.
I'm probably going to get another property either this year or next year but not sure if I will get it in Ocean City. I love Ocean City rentals. But not having some rentals during the off-season is not great.
I have STR in Berkeley Springs, WV and that gets rentals year around. On the positive, I only have to do property management during a shorter period of time in OC.
Are your rentals apartments, townhouses, or houses?
I have a friend who build a brand new house for rentals in Fenwick and I'm cohosting with him. And learning new things with that. He has already filled most of his rental days for the 2023 high seasons while I'm about 40% there. But I realize that his property sleeps 12 people which requires multiple families. So they have to coordinate their vacation plans earlier compared to mine which is generally one family. So I get my rental bookings filled closer to May.
Yes, lower rates will help you out during off-season.
I have 2 condos in OC and my place in Bethany is a house. The oceanfront condo is booked almost year-round, while the bayside condo and house in Bethany are strong on weekends but that's about it for off-season. Summer is good at all places.
I also have a place in lake Harmony, PA and it does good year-round, but I've found that at the end of the year my profits usually end up being about the same as Ocean City. Do you see that with your place in WV?