All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

Quote from @Cindy ALexander:

Quote from @Mark Miles:

Originally posted by @Vera B.:

Debating on which town to buy a modest single family home to Airbnb in Northern (western) Michigan. Holland, Muskegon, Charlevoix, or Petoskey?? Anyone visit or have an opinion? Thanks in advance!

Hi Mark,

It is quite obvious you have never ventured any higher than the 45th Parallel. The gorgeous Tip-o-the-Mitt has multitudes of great boating, sailing, fishing, sail boarding, wreck diving, hiking, biking, music and art in the park and navel gazing opportunities from early spring to late fall. The color that blankets this area in Fall is nothing less than breath-taking. The bounty from all the farms means scrumptious, organic fruits and veggies available to professional and home chefs alike. Winter host 3 fantastic ski resorts, miles upon miles of snowmobile trails, snow shoe trails, cross country trails, sleigh rides and toasty bonfires and hot chocolate. Spring brings brilliant wildflowers, budding trees, lovely morel mushrooms and the joyful antics of the wildlife youngsters. Oh, did I mention the delectable plethora of restaurants and pubs, the many art galleries, museums and theatres, the seasonal festivals? There is ALWAYS something happening that is inclusive for everyone.

Absolute fistfuls of money to made with equivalent or better incomes than you quote.  Sorry you missed out on the opportunities!

 You realize that you are replying to a 3 year old post, right?! 

Makes sense . . . to be clear I wasn't asking in the context of it affecting STR occupancy, more so that it makes the overall Disney experience have that much less value for the occasional visitor and therefore less willing to travel a long distance for it. Although I could absolutely see them being awful and cheap guests given by how they carry themselves. LOL

Quote from @JD Martin:

Does Disney World have a cheap season pass program? Disneyland is packed with season pass holders, and some parents were even using it for after school care because they knew their kids would be relatively safe with all of the security and adults. I go for work every 2 years for a conference but would never pay out of pocket to go there at that price and crowd level. Even on a rainy October morning it was still a traffic jam to get into the parking lot at opening hour. 

They obviously had to scale it way back with Covid and there were rumors that it would not return to the pass numbers of before but who knows. 

Agreed with everything above. Don't jump straight into the $1M dream home. Maybe look at properties that are a few blocks back or even a few miles inland. If this is something you plan to use, buy into an area that you like with a 10% down 2nd home loan. 

If you are not planning to use it, then invest in a growing area where the price is close to or slightly below the national median, that way you have far more room for upside growth. Choose correctly and you will make far more from appreciation than cash flow. Look for the home in the neighborhood that maybe needs some updates (within reason and budget) that is surrounded by pricier homes. In 3-5ish years you can 1031 those profits into something better and eventually get that beachfront dream property that you also want to use. 

1) AirBnb does not like to remove reviews, however since the guest cannot actually answer the various review questions regarding check in, value and cleanliness then you should have grounds for having it removed. That said, if there is someone here who has had this exact scenario and it did not go favorably then I would defer to their experience as a more likely scenario, but even then I would still fight it. 

2) I certainly would not have given a full refund. You kept those dates blocked off for them and now you would be out that revenue and hoping for a last minute booking to make up for it. I would maybe do 50% if I was feeling charitable and there were other expectations that were stated and not met, but even then if they were so close-minded as to not even step foot in the place then I would probably tell them to pound sand. 

I dealt with a similar situation recently. My place is in a similar neighborhood (Greenville SC) however the house is uniquely positioned on an odd shaped lot where there is actually a significant distance between itself and the neighboring properties. I only share a lot line with one guy and he is a mellow and friendly guy who says hi to the guests. Across the street is a high end condo complex, and kiddy corner there is a large lot owned by a a land rich guy who has a lot of random machinery and vehicles laying around which I admit, looks crappy, but is not a danger in any way. Other than that, there are a few outdated properties visible from my place but nothing distressed or with undesirables lurking around. I also have an aerial drone photo showing the block with easy landmarks in the photos and description, so a 3rd grader could find my exact place on google street view in minutes. 

At close to midnight of the first of 2 nights, the guest sent a refund request for half of the cost complaining that she didn't feel safe and that the shower wasn't draining. Since she was right about the shower (which I later fixed) I did accept the refund request without protest, but otherwise I would've refused. In the review (4 stars), she praised what was nice about the property while also leaving backhanded comments about the neighborhood and said there was nothing to do, whereas if you walk literally 5 minutes you are at one of the most popular restaurants in the city plus at least a dozen other places for food, coffee, drinks etc and downtown is a 5-7 minute uber ride. 

Moral of the story: Don't give into these guests, because even if you give them what they want they will still throw you under the bus. 

Sounds like a good property. At the very least it sounds like a safe appreciation bet, so even if you break even on expenses over the course of the next 5 years you will probably do quite well, especially given the growth that the Carolinas are seeing. 

As you look at the price of competing listings, their asking price is mostly irrelevant without taking occupancy into consideration. Check their calendars and see how booked out they are for the next few weeks and months. If their calendars are wide open, especially during peak season, then they are charging too much relative to the quality of the property. 

AirCover only helps you while the home occupied IIRC. So if a fire sweeps through or your place gets robbed between guests you are SOL. 

American Modern has reasonable rates but there is no theft coverage. With $20k+ worth of furnishings in your STR this is something you should bear in mind.

I like Proper and have had great interactions with them. Deductible is only $1000 and they cover theft. Hopefully they don't raise my rates that bad, but I'm sure that day will come eventually. 

@Richard Warner have you ever been? St Lawrence Gap has great sand and restaurants but I'm not sure how the numbers would pencil out because beachfront hotels are relatively reasonable there (by Caribbean standards). Bathsheba would be good for surfers. West Coast looks like Martha's Vineyard and is priced to match so maybe you could compete with the super expensive hotels there? I would gladly seek out an STR in that area.

Thank you all for the suggestions! I've added similar wording to what many of you recommended above into the day-before-check-out auto message and the post-check-in follow up message. 

Quote from @Mike Dymski:

I asked my family for a 5 star review on me and what I could differently...and it did not work out well...

haha! When my wife complains about something I cook (she grew up with maids so it's ingrained in her from seeing her parents deal with them) I tell her to leave a Yelp review.