All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

Did you sync the direct booking calendar into your AirBnb calendar? I would definitely advise against that. 

More of a simple screening tool, and at least I have some kind of idea for who to go after if there are damages of fraud. 

Better off being a cohost. Minimal risk and upfront cost (liability withstanding). I would not sign a lease and buy a bunch of furniture to potentially make $350/month. 

You don't! Ideally it matches the name on the booking and the credit card. Could be from a stolen wallet, although I don't see that being likely months in advance. 

Day of booking? Sure, definitely suspect and I would probably turn it down. 

Had a few Houfy bookings. I just ask for a photo ID at time of booking. Worked out fine. 

Kinda nice because now you get to be the bank and collect payment on your terms, instead of the OTAs using the guest's for their own liquidity need until they pay you out. 

IIRC you do not need the cost seg study to be completed before the end of the year, although you do need to have your rental "in service" before the end of the year. For the "in service" requirement, it looks more robust if you actually have a few completed bookings that you were paid for before the end of the year. 

Many services offer this, a simple google search should find you a firm. 

Disclaimer: Not a tax or legal professional. 

As mentioned you can do a lot with outdoor space without breaking the bank. String lights, fire pit, grill and some chairs go a long way and look great when lit up in night-time photos. Hot tubs and pools have the most well documented ROI. Turning a garage into a game room will probably pay for itself relatively quick.

The general consensus is that kitchens are relatively low ROI. If you have other great amenities that people can enjoy together then the kitchen will be an afterthought.

I use Turno as well. 5% is not cheap but to not have to put the bandwidth into scheduling, especially now that I have more than 1 property while also having a day job. 

Cleaner on my first property was constantly texting me with requests, schedule changes, personal issues/TMI, super long messages etc so moving over to Turno has been a nice respite. 

I've only done B. Not sure if I'd call them home runs but they seem to do well. I would consider A if the location was great and there was some low hanging fruit that was clearly holding them back (bad decor, management etc). 

Biggest gamechanger was going from 1st to 2nd property was getting a property with 5 bedrooms. Views are 4X and conversion is double over my 2/1. 2- and 3- bedrooms are the squishy middle with tons of competition, but when the potential guest needs to sleep a large group the pool shrinks dramatically. 

Obviously there are mature markets where this no longer stands out. 

What @Michael Baum said. Switching to a LTR would be the last thing I would do if a situation like that were to resurface. I also agree that most people are not going to go along with the charade again. If it is something truly catastrophic, then owning a few extra properties will be lesser on my list of concerns. 

From what I recall, most people who asked for mortgage pauses were given them. It's all government money backing the loans anyway.