All Forum Posts by: Kathy Cooper

I'm not in FL but have found Foremost to be half of Proper Ins recently. Yes, apples to apples. Not sure why. Foremost has been a good co. for me so far. Easy to work with. Yes, STR insurance is something to make sure you figure into your numbers...

Hey Meredith,

As your "woman-owned" approach is most likely well intended, I too see it as a counter productive move you may want to rethink.  I find that men are just as valuable as women ;)  I don't think it will go too well in this industry. I choose to work with anyone qualified and reliable, skilled, etc... to work well together, not excluding anyone. 

All the very best tho...

Hi Padam,

I have been renting to traveling nurses in San Antonio and have found them to be very good guests. They have specific needs such as washer/dryer in unit and are concerned about a safe area as most are women traveling alone in a new area. It's a changing market, as they are not getting as much money for housing as they had been. The hospitals can be a bit cut-throat with them as well, cancelling their contract. This is why many will want to rent for one month and extend when they know the second and third month are secure. I have had a hospital cancel their contract just before they are traveling down. I quickly found another guest and was as kind as possible in a refund to them. 

Furnishedfinders.com is a good site if you haven't found them yet.

Be good at your numbers...there are plenty of places to learn in good books, and online. Put your money in your first property, not a "teach all" workshop system, as they will be selling a $40K mentorship in the end (not worth it). And, good luck! Think for yourself...no one will do it for you.

I do STR and separate accounts would be a nightmare for me. You can have one checking account for the LLC and get your Quickbooks set up using Classes for each property. This will allow you to tag each property while using one account. There are good instructional videos out there somewhere... I personally want to limit the number of checking accounts I have to balance each month.

Good customer service is important, yet ignored alot I suppose. I believe a STR manager/owner should look at the overall picture and not just the booking bottom line. I definitely would have honored the booking and have taken the financial hit because it was my mistake. There is something to "false advertising". Our listings are advertising certain prices and we should honor them. It is really bad business to cancel because you didn't' manage holiday pricing. Booo

I manage 3 STR's in San Antonio, and it is a great market. You will find most rentals are weekends, as it's a tourist city, turnovers are Sundays, to mid week. There is also a big market for monthly furnished rentals due to the influx of relocates, military and traveling nurses, etc... Your big markets are conventions, downtown tourism, amusement parks, Lackland BMT. STR market can be very misleading in SA area, as many low-end listings have flooded abnb. There is a recent concern I have seen in the quality of guests, so I recommend presenting a nicer property in the higher price range. There is a good market for that and it brings in better guests. Nightly rates have jumped in the last year. Abnb floods SA but I find VRBO brings in a much better quality of guest stream. I really like dealing with them better as well. You get a person to talk to on the phone and they back the owner in a difficult guest situation, which is tremendously beneficial. Feel free to message me if you'd like to talk by phone.

I echo Joe Villeneuve's reply. I don't know if you should do this or not, but not knowing the numbers is very careless with your hard earned cash. Become great with estimates, in detail. You can end up loosing alot of money if you're not careful, in fact, it's almost a given. Crunch the numbers properly then decide. If they are good, go for it!

I can relate to your post. I have renovated and held a couple properties with my husband, but ventured solo on a third. What I learned as a woman investor is that construction is a man's world for the most part, women are a different working relationship. What it sounds like to me is beginners luck...you have learned a hard lesson. You seem to already know what you need to do, establish contacts to call upon when needed (your team). Don't just have one, have a whole rolodex. This is an industry where there are many dishonest people looking for the gullible. You do need to protect yourself by taking the right precautions. 1) several bids - always (they will vary a great deal), 2) half up front half at completion (just make sure you hold onto a good amount - murphy's law...they won't complete it if you don't). 3) make sure they are licensed and insured, 4) if they tell you a project doesn't need a permit, find out for sure yourself. 

My first remodel on my own was a learning experience. A contractor walked off the job and stole my new carpeting. I was happy I held the last payment which saved me. 

You can do this, you're just learning from your mistakes. I bet you won't do the same thing a second time, will you? Stay strong and good luck. Feel free to contact me for a sound board.

Kathy

@Dennis M. I understand your opinion but I must point out that they use psychological sales to build trust. I had a lot of people at lunch about to go for it. Whan I told them about their tactic, which is very powerful by the way, they stated that was a feeling they had but felt these people would guide them to make sure they made enough money back to cover it.

BB comments say they do just a little more than tell them to read certain books for their Investments.