All Forum Posts by: Julie McCoy

Formatting got all screwed up, I'm going to try to post again how I actually want it to appear. :p 

Wow - I've done a good bit of research on locks as I prepare to add them to my STR, how have I never heard of RemoteLock before??? It sounds like exactly what I need, thanks! One question - my STR is in a rural location and wifi isn't always reliable, will these locks function even if wifi drops out? (obviously I wouldn't be able to change anything remotely without wifi, but existing codes wouldn't have a problem working, I assume?)

How long have you been using them?

I did some exploring of real estate in Mexico a couple of years ago - and I learned the laws governing real estate there are quite different than the U.S.!  A very informative website is mexperience.com.  Be sure you do your research regarding all the pros/cons and things to be aware of before you commit.  

Regarding your specific questions, I don't think you'll get enough of a benefit from a higher floor to justify the additional cost.  Personally, unless there was a view, I wouldn't care a bit which floor I was on for a vacation rental, especially when it's a difference between 2 and 5 (and I agree that lower = better for access via stairs, if there's only one elevator).  

I don't believe there are U.S. lenders who will finance Mexican property, though you may be able to get financing through the developer.  

I have no experience with condo developments or pre-sales so I'm afraid I can't comment there.

Good luck with your investment!

I think regulations will vary wildly from place to place, so a custom strategy is probably necessary. There's one thing that is always good to do, though, which is HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY. If sudden STR regs come on your city it might get bumpy anyway, but you don't have to lose your shirt.

Personally, I'm focusing on markets that have strong tourism and established STR history (pre-dating AirBNB etc), that have occupancy taxes in place already. Then, the issue has already been addressed by the state/county/city, I know what the deal is, and it's unlikely to change (or at least change dramatically) - the gov't is already getting their cut so they aren't likely to mess with a good thing.

It seems that urban areas are the riskier ones from a regulation standpoint, but from a cash-flow perspective they can be more reliable because of the variety of travelers they cater to, not just tourists.  

So, do your research for your market, know that everything is a calculated risk, and have an exit strategy.  That's my recommendation. :) 

@Paul Sandhu has the best deal going for sure!!!  But @Avery Carl and @Luke Carl you've got a pretty good arrangement going on too... :) (don't know why it won't let me tag you, Luke!)

Looking forward to it @Avery Carl!  I'm making progress... 

This is a niche I'd like to pursue more - I live in Hollywood, so there's a pretty good market for actors/crew coming into town for jobs, auditions, things like that.  My landlord frequently rents out his unit to top-notch tenants in town for weeks/months at a time.  Just looking for the right property/owner to sign a master lease with.  (the house across the street just got sold and is set up wonderfully for this sort of thing - the new owner has already expressed an interest in short-term rentals in general, fingers crossed he'll be willing to accept my proposal of letting me rent some/all of his space!)

I have a great husband/wife cleaning team that I got referred to me by my property manager (also a STR owner) - I pay them $20/hr. My house is s 2/2 + loft, about 1300sqft, and I rent it in 1/1 or 2/2 configurations. Usually $60 for the 1/1 and $80 for 2/2, both including laundry loads.

I have drip coffee makers as I've run into problems with Keurig machines being temperamental.  Also, my rental is geared towards families - a pot of coffee is faster/easier/cheaper than ~6 Keurig pods/keeping up with replacements!  I buy the big bags of (quality) ground coffee at Costco, and a couple of assorted boxes of teas to keep on hand.  I think it's a nice unexpected bonus for the guests, and doesn't cost me much or need to be replaced often.  I also provide sugar, olive oil, cooking spray, and a spice rack as my house has a full kitchen that guests like to use.

Properties of that sort definitely get higher nightly rental amounts, but be sure you consider what your vacancy rate is likely to be, since there's going to be a significantly smaller number of families traveling together than traveling separately. Also, consider the impact that school will have on a property that is geared towards families. Yes, groups of adults travel also, but carefully consider how much demand you're likely to get in each season. (I'm running into this with my 3/2 STR outside a national park - booked solid all summer, but once school started back up, demand for that many beds dropped off, and I had to figure out how to attract more couples to fill the gaps)

Once you've got a decent idea of vacancy, crunch the numbers to see what kind of ROI you can expect on a big house like that vs. something smaller. In the market where I'm currently shopping, I got stars in my eyes about some of the annual gross rents for bigger houses... but when I looked closer, I realized that I'd be paying twice as much for a house that wasn't yielding twice as much gross rents (not even factoring in higher operating costs). My $ has a higher yield with a smaller house, in my market.