All Forum Posts by: Jacob Stevenson

I'm not in the area but all STR management around me are 15%. Do you have to be licensed in your state to manage STR's?

We have always managed all of our rentals but 8 month ago I made a career change and it wasn't working. New career had less flexibility and I wasn't able to effectively do both anymore. We looked at full time management locally but decided to build out a team instead. We now have full time VA management and that has taken a lot off of our plate. We are still involved in the business, but way way less. The most impactful part, they monitor our STR's 24/7. Ever night I go to sleep not worried about what the night might bring.

If you are going to go into management, I would suggest find some VA's and using on your own property ASAP. Then you could be full service.

We are actually hosting a virtual meet up tomorrow, June 18th, about our systems if you are interested in joining.  

Is this post trying to drive investors to call looking for opportunities to purchase?  

Quote from @Michael McVety:

Quote from @Jacob Stevenson:

What is the key to finding a great property management company?  How do you vet them?  

 Hi Jacob.

I will give you a couple of major thoughts being a professional property manager for 25 years.

1)  Select a company that does annual property management only (as opposed to a real estate company that does sales and property management).

2)  Make sure your agent/ property manager does it full time (as opposed to looking after your property after they have taken care of all their sales first)

3)  The management company should be a active member of NARPM or IREM.  That does not mean they write a check to get the "logo" to put on their website and look good (I have seen this a lot in my area sadly).  They should have designations of education and experience as an example.

That will put you in a very select company right there and you should be good to go!

 I appreciate the reply!

**Siouxland REI-up Real Estate Meet Up – June 18th**

Hey everyone! I wanted to give a quick shout-out to our upcoming Siouxland REI-up meet up on June 18th. If you're involved in real estate or looking to get into the game, this is a fantastic opportunity to connect with other investors in the Siouxland area. We're all about building a strong community of like-minded folks who can share knowledge, tips, and support.

This meet up is going to be special because we’re focusing on how technology can make property management a lot easier. We'll be chatting about using virtual assistants to handle various tasks, setting up online rent collections to save time, and other tech tools that can simplify operations and cut costs. It's all about working smarter, not harder.

Here’s the plan:

- We’ll start with a social half-hour at 5:30 PM. It’s a great time to grab a drink, catch up, and network with fellow investors.

- At 6:00 PM, we’ll kick off our presentation. It’ll be packed with useful tips and insights, and we’ll wrap it up by around 6:45 PM.

This event is a fantastic chance to meet new people, exchange ideas, and maybe even find some new business partners or mentors. We always have a lively Q&A session where you can ask questions and get advice from folks who have been there and done that.

If you're interested, we'd love to see you there! It’s a friendly, laid-back group, and we’re always happy to welcome new faces. Feel free to bring a friend or colleague who might be interested. You can RSVP [here – provide details].

Looking forward to seeing everyone and having a great discussion on June 18th. Let's make the most of this chance to grow and support each other in our real estate journeys!

What is the key to finding a great property management company?  How do you vet them?  

Quote from @Melanie P.:

Respectfully, Jacob, if you buy in to a deed restricted community, knowing the community does not want AirBNBs and plan to circumvent the publicly available rules to put a STR in there anyway - that's dishonest.

The HOA understands perfectly. I'll share an anecdote. AirBNB has been severely restricted in New Orleans after destroying the city's neighborhoods. 20 years ago living in New Orleans was an experience. The neighborhoods were very social, neighbors doing crawfish boils in their front yard for anyone who was hungry, musicians and artists, second line parades could start up any time. When AirBNB was at its peak there were people who lived in ghost streets. Not a single neighbor in their block. Service workers had to move out of the city due to lack of housing options. It was a mass hotelization of a place that really had a unique sense of place and not just the city but individual neighborhoods - Treme, Uptown, Garden District, Fauberg Marigny - all very distinct from one another.

The HOA doesn't want people who don't know where they're going driving slowly up and down the streets looking for their rental. Guests being loud at night when trying to find the property. Loud music and parties. Intoxicated guests. In short - if they wanted to live next to hotels they'd live downtown and not in an HOA. They move to the HOA to get away from the downtown scene.

This sounds like an extreme.  I'm not proposing to change the landscape and what the properties I do have noise and parties have not been an issue.  I want to be a positive part of the communities and so far my properties have been.  I don't live in a destination location, but it is a place that people from the local area want to be.  Again, I envision five families working together to cost share a property.  Not five fraternities. 

If it works out, awesome, if not, on to the next.  Thank you again for all the post, if anybody else has any ideas I appreciate them all.

Quote from @Monique P.:

Hi Jacob,

I agree with Bruce, if you can show up or call the HOA to find out their stance on 30 day rentals this would help you figure things out better.

Ask to see the HOA's Bylaws and CC&RRs (Combined Community Rules & Regulations) to see if there is language that allows rentals/leasing (without restriction).

If there is, determine what the criteria is for amendment changes to the CC&RRs. Is there a clause that states 51% or 75% of the membership (homeowners) must agree to change a clause?

Then find out if rules were to ever reverse, do the CC&RR's have a clause protecting existing rental permit owners so they are grandfathered in despite any changes in the future.

Also, check the OTA's to see if anyone in this desirable lake location are advertising their 30+ day rental. Ask neighbors, realtors, etc. for feedback on the culture in the community. Maybe this HOA only allows 6+ months rentals and nothing less. You need more information so you can make an informed decision about this property or any other property you like in an HOA.

Maybe this is a unicorn property and it will work? Good luck!

We appreciate the post!  

Quote from @Collin Hays:

Quote from @Jacob Stevenson:

Appreciate the responses, there's a different opinion I'd love to hear it but sounds like there's just better ways to make money and buy property.

The best way to make money is to be honest. Trying for a "workaround" of rules is dishonest. 

Do you like to do business with people trying to do a workaround?

I think using the word dishonest is a little bit of a stretch. I think the HOA is trying to protect from something they don't understand, I want to work within the parameters of the HOA but with a different mindset than anyone else has used.  I think we can achieve the goal of a family-friendly community and having a house that I can get paid for by using a co-op method.  

Maybe that's not possible too, I like to operate in the realm of possibilities though and an hopeful someone has experience in something that is acceptable to the HOA and my goals. 


Appreciate the feedback from everyone so far.

STR off the table.

Is there a way or has anyone heard of a structure where there is an ownership group that efficiently creates a time share on a property?  My thoughts is 5 families that get one weekend a month for 5 years for 7k a year.  After 5 years I have ownership.  

Thoughts?

I feel like every STR I own came with opposition. For that reason I don't completely agree with the idea of only go where welcome. Even the long-term rentals I own people in the neighborhood have told me they don't want rentals on the block. People don't like the idea and have the mindset that they would always prefer a homeowner in the house.

Proper management and vetting of tenants can win people over but I think it's also human nature they'll never agree that it's better than what they thought should happen.