All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

Florida is tough because of hurricane risk. You can get the insurance, it just won't be cheap, plus you pay a premium for STR insurance. This could haunt you as rates get higher and higher, then you may have trouble unloading the property because the buyer has a tough time finding affordable insurance. I was looking at STR policies for the Stuart area and they were $500-800ish per month, and this was several miles inland.

The nice thing about Florida is that the southern half does great during the winter months, which is not true for most vacation markets in the lower 48. 

Looks like you live in SC where owner occupied property taxes aren't too bad but they can be somewhat pricey if not. NC seems more reasonable and I don't think they differentiate between owner occupied and not IIRC. 

I use the August and I'm happy with it. App is simple and intuitive. The lock mechanism is on the inside so the weather doesn't affect it. Still works if WIFI goes out. 

Not sure if the competition all do the same thing.

 Be sure to download screenshots of the listing and all the photos. 

Looks great! Good advice above. Would also add some decorations with color on the walls, it helps your photos stand out. Otherwise you are pretty much already there

In California you can get into trouble for disconnecting utilities, so that's off the table. 

Are you allowed to start renovating without their consent? If you aren't up to code, then do the work to get it there and make it as unpleasant as possible. 

Oh sorry- only one bathroom for the construction workers? Bring em breakfast burritos every morning . . .. . 

I agree . . . . And I would phrase it along the lines of, "Would you mind sending me a photo of your service dog's certification tag/license? I am more than happy to accommodate certified service dogs and their owners, however I have had problems in the past with people claiming non-certified dogs as service dogs. Thank you in advance" 

If they really are a person who requires an actual service dog, then I imagine that they are more annoyed with people claiming ESAs as an equivalent to service dogs than are with having to comply with the above request. 

What a drama queen. Wants better quality but also wants to be more affordable and competitively priced with hotels . . . . lol. I usually don't get a full kitchen, separate living room, front porch and backyard with a hotel room so why should a STR be priced competitively with a 200 SF hotel room that has none of that? In the rare case that you do have those amenities in a traditional hotel you usually pay a high premium for them, so why should it be any different with STRs? He's not comparing apples to apples.

Markets determine price potential, not hosts, and hotels will eek out every dollar they can from their customer just like hosts do. 

I find it is reasonably good at pulling past performance data. Predicting that forward is something that no platform or algorithm can do. Far too many factors. 

Even with a rentalizer estimate, that estimate is only as good as the comps it pulls in to make an average from them. If the comps are relatively similar to the quality and location of your listing, then it is reasonable to assume that yours would have performed about as well. However if it is pulling in comps that are clearly in a better location, better view etc then you have to take that into account, and same goes on the other end if it's pulling in dumps. 

I like to run estimates based on one less bed/bath than the property I am considering. If those numbers work, then it's reasonable to assume that it should work at least as good with an extra bed/bath, nice decor/furnishings, service etc 

Great list, spot on 100%

All stuff that I have thought of at some point so having a hard time adding anything else, except that your decor should match the theme of the surrounding area. I don't want to rent an STR in the desert and see photos of white sand tropical beaches, and vice versa. It just looks dumb. In some cases people are traveling there from far away and the decor should fit the vibe of the area. A few hundred bucks (if that) spent on Etsy or Ebay picking up items that fit the theme of your area, such as horse shoes and spurs for a desert property, goes a long way. Hang some prints of local natural and historical landmarks, or maybe an aerial photo of what it looked like 50-100+ years ago.

I’m tall so I love the CA King but I don’t like the lack of options. The Hotel Signature from Costco is the only reliable set that I like but they are pricey (~$100).

Don’t get me wrong- with Amazon you can find everything you just have less options and pay more for them, and if you need to replace something same day in a pinch you could be SOL. I have standard kings and was able to replace a bed frame same day with a delivery from Wal Mart, no way are you doing that with a Cal King. 

I don’t think it’s worth $50k to get a slightly bigger bed that looks shoe horned in. Queens will do. 

And yes- cleaners typically wash linens off site, so you need at least one spare set that they can change right away.