All Forum Posts by: Joe Kol

Hello BP!

I recently returned from a vacation in South Texas and a possible investment was shown to me as a vacation rental property. It was just an RV in an RV park charging $200 per month for the spot in the RV park. I am wondering if anyone has had any luck in renting vacation properties for only part of the year. (South Texas is only viable to rent for half a year, to hot for vacation during the summer) Any thoughts on renting properties for part of the year only? This ties into my main idea:

I am considering a long term plan of purchasing rental properties (year leases) in prime vacation locations around the US. (Texas, Flordia, Cali, etc.) likely 4-12 units in each location. I am considering leaving a unit open in each location for showings and for my own personal use and pass on my vacation expenses to my LLC. Then my personal vacations become 'business trips' ... if you see where I'm going here. The minimum goal would be for these rental properties to break even, so long as I have a place to go in the cold winters and hot summer months.

Has anyone done or heard of something like this? Is it worth the work to have a "free" vacation unit available whenever and wherever I please? A management company would have to run these properties, which isn't a thrilling idea to me, but would be necessary.

I advertise my units with an application fee, but dont charge them anything. At first I didn't charge a fee, and advertised this, then I scheduled 13 showings for 1 day and only 2 people showed up (One guy was 2 hours late). 

Charge them a fee. It's not about the money, it's about not wasting your time. Only serious people will respond to your advertising. 

I think the lesson here is:

Never disclose your financial situation, other units, or other tenants with an existing tenant.

sorry, not seeing it. maybe because i am new to the site and havent gotten it all figured out yet. is it not something for all to see?

This is some good information, further research I completed, led me to believe Minnesota requires an attorney for an eviction with an LLC, contradicting what Dan said. The reason being:

You are allowed to represent yourself in a court of law, but representing someone else or another entity is in the act of practicing law and must be performed by someone authorized to practice law. 

I plan on meeting with a couple of lawyers in my county and asking them the same question (im sure they will say you need an attorney :P) I will also ask some questions around the courthouse and post what I discover. Given the community here, I hope we can get some solid answers, for many states.

Just sent out 2  "notice to vacate" letters and I really hope it doesn't come to eviction. 

thanks for the input, that did help clear some things up for me, i sure hope i don't need to find a lawyer come February 1st... still not sure what laws Minnesota requires for this though.

Just wondering, I am a landlord in Minnesota and some people say; "in my area an eviction from a property owned by an LLC must be completed by an attorney. My main question is, if i want to evict someone from my property (which is owned by my LLC) in Minnesota, do i need a lawyer to represent my LLC? or can I perform the eviction myself?

Also, if anyone knows a list of this requirement in different states and how that varies that would be much appreciated to help the rest of the community that is not in MN.

Been in commercial real estate for just over a year, looking for ways to reduce apartment building costs and how to keep tenants happy