All Forum Posts by: Justin Cabral

I live in Marco and also own a vacation rental there. I purchased it before the market went crazy. I try to follow the 1% rule. It is difficult to hit that with prices where they are today. I had a very good 2022 and start of 2023 but I'm starting to see some softness both in pricing and in occupancy. New STR regulations may make it a bit harder, too. I self manage but spoke to some PMs early on. At 20%, makes cash flow a bit more difficult. That said, if you can take the hit to help subsidize a vacation rental, it is a beautiful place.

-Make sure the property is in a good location first and foremost; close to amenities/attractions; use google street view to make sure it is not on a super busy street, across the street or adjacent to a distressed property or low rent business etc (probably not an issue at your price point)

-Run the numbers with all the free tools mentioned; good idea to play around with subtracting a bathroom and bedroom within those searches to be sure there are no outliers skewing the data and to be more conservative at the low end of your estimations

-Check the comps for neighboring properties; how full are their calendars and at what price; also average review rating for location and what comments the guests are leaving about the area (safety, noise, proximity)

-Extra points for properties that are surrounded by more valuable homes; makes appreciation and profitable exit plan more likely 

-As for monthly bills, sometimes this is tough but by your 2nd property for the area you should have a decent idea. Just make sure you are accounting for all the various categories of bills you will have aside from the obvious utilities (lawn care, pool care, snow removal in cold areas, consumables, higher insurance cost etc)

Use multiple data points to figure out gross; PL, airdna, rabbu, and most importantly the enemy method. 

For other costs, reach out to local utilities, they will typically tell you what the bills or estimated bills are. 

Also a good agent should be able to you help you with line items too

 Sure,  I use AirDNA as a starting point.  They have a tool called Rentalizer.  It is free, however the free version will simply spit out a number which some sort of algorithmic average of the closest comps.  It can at be times be very accurate, or very inaccurate.  I have a the paid version which actually shows me the comps so I can more accurately look at them and take in the ones that are closest to the subject property and throw out the others.  From there, typically I have real world numbers from similar homes we manage as we have many all over the Tampa area so I sort of take all that data in and assign a range.

 Totally understood! While you are considering the further south markets, I am about to contract a canal front 4/3 in Apollo Beach for $925k that will produce $160-180k in gross revenue.  Try to make sure you find something that is getting close to those numbers.  Best of luck!

Thank you for your feedback. You are correct in noting that Cape Coral currently lacks access to sandy beaches since the Yacht Club is closed for rehabilitation. Based on your points, I have decided to redirect my attention to Bonita Springs, Fort Myers Beach, and North Naples instead. Given the high demand for contractors and the lengthy and complex permit process, I will also be adjusting my search criteria to exclude rehab houses.

I am flying down to Fort Myers next week and plan to spend a week there checking properties.

Hello Justin,

I'm a realtor in Vero Beach working Sebastian (probably further north than you'd prefer) down to Port Saint Lucie. There are a number of communities that fit what you're looking for and I'd be happy to see what I can find for you. STRs in this area have a very low vacancy rate as well.