All Forum Posts by: Kimberly Gopp

Happy to chat with you and your Wife. Flip flops on the ground here!
Otherwise known as thongs to ya'll...here in the south "thongs" have a totally different meaning. hahaha - I resided in North Co San Diego in my 20's and can absolutely tell you that you will miss that climate. But we will make that up with no state tax and every house has air conditioner/ Forced air :)

That VA loan is valuable and sounds as tho it's no longer a dream,,, it's happening. You're in the right place with BP. If it sounds like a commercial or paid ad, this is not.. Diving into BP for me provided a map to follow - that map takes you all over the place but its a solid map that you keep none the less thru this journey... In my experience sometimes those around you or extended family don't really "get it" nor do they wish to chat about something they feel like is un-obtainable and too risky. So this ( Bigger Pockets Community ) is the place where likeminded are gathered. So stay on this map!

DM me if you would like to chat about the market here. Its pretty vast and unsure of your strategy and your "WHYS". I would for sure like to discuss the pros and cons on getting that re license also.

Everything Ken said plus 

plaster walls, no insulation, higher electric bills, walls sweating when its humid in florida and the resident leaves front door open, damp smelly houses, Pealing paint, wood rot, old windows, crawl space under the home, bdrm and closet doors that don't close properly, electric locks that the old front door doesn't like as the door is not aligned correctly, Cyrstal knobs that fall off, old thermostats with 2 lines but my new thermostat needs 3 lines, critters in the fireplace.... OMG the list goes on. 

I think the charm of an historic home out weights these issues... NOT but the cash flow is great if you find the right deal. 

Keep it. Buy/Hold. take the loss - make it up on another investment 
There are Tax benefits here and potential Appreciation coupled with residents paying the debt. You probably got a great rate also in 2022.

You have an Asset the minute you move out ( it's a liability now) - Lenders like this and so will you on your balance sheet and tax return. Flash forward 5-7 years - Most likely you will be cash flowing and debt was paid by resident and you will also have a loss to carry over on your w2 income. So did you loose $ all said and done?  Yes, that loss carries over to your own federal taxes! 

Creative strategy -Monthly Pet fee?
Break the lease for a fee ( are residents in need for just 6 mths or under 1 year ?  - capturing that fee - does this cover your annual loss? 

Not sure you will look back in 5 years and say... SO glad we sold it! 

Is this your only investment? Experience also comes into play when looking for a DCR loan for future investments vice a loan from a big box bank or government backed loan.

I wish you luck and happy to help motivate you over the phone on why you should keep it! 

You also have the option of paying NO capital gains if you sell it within 5 years after move out. Thus if you do sell it in 3-4-5 yrs ... there is no tax on any profit. Build/Hold Ashley. 

I am not a tax professional just relaying what we have experienced ourselves :) 

I am only doing MTR but, No that info you got on STR is not accurate.
STR are allowed in Duval - Jacksonville. Atlantic beach is the only area I understand to have a min of 90 days for a STR. 
Correct me if I am wrong? Are there any STR owners that would like to chime in on being aware of any other area in Duval county restricting STR's ? 
An HOA's can restrict you if the home's neighborhood has one.

@Marc Shin

As for a MTR. I don’t believe anyone cares what it looks like on the exterior. Most exteriors front pic are not even shown when marketing a MTR.

The Interior and backyard pics are what will determine if they like it.

If you paint… as already mentioned. You are adding an extra expense every 5 yrs to repaint. It’s an investment home… Don’t over improve for MTR. An outdated home WILL rent as long as it’s clean and the interior is thoughtfully furnished with every day living in mind.

The value for the resident is generally more about location with relation to a commute, comfortable furnishings, an accommodating owner/landlord, a fenced yard if residents have pets and affordability.

No one cares about curb appeal. Your neighbor is not going to be your resident.

Less is more with regard to having maintenance of shrubs and landscaping. Keep it simple!

All in one ac units can save on space for new install and a bit cheaper. But really just means the air handler is outside- I believe these are the systems mostly used for trailer homes. We purchased a home that has this type of ac system for a 3/2 built in the 1950's

I agree with @Jake Baker on mini splits. We purchased a mr cool 3 head system. Couldn't be happier with it. We also have a Mitsubishi in a studio. Mr cool system was a DYI kit. 

CRAIG-LIST -it works for me. Filter out the scammers.  Present your self as a real person offering a great value. Depending on volume of postings will depend on how many and how often you need to renew your listing. but for my area of CL. Post in Temporary/sublet housing and Apartments/Housing for rent categories. You can do 2 in each category per email. Do 1 ad in morning then 1 in evening. Next day 2 days repeat this. You will need to use another email for the last two ads. Then each morning and night check to see if need to renew listing. The CL mobile app is helpful for this.

Last inquiry from a CL ad was a mom - sounded stressed as dealing with the logistic nightmare of relocating her family across county. I answer call. She says "Hey, my daughter sent me this link from CL to this home and I am calling to see if this is a real house for rent or if it is a scam. 
 Love those calls!  We connected and I calmed her fears. Unfortunately her "unknown" desired move in date for the relo isn't ideal for me to lock her in to a property. However, I know she will call me 1st when she gets that desired move in date firmed up. Good luck! 

Here are some hopefully helpful tips and a few questions. 

Are you a" short" term rental or are you a "mid" term rental? 
How does an owner run both simultaneously?  
Annually, Does the higher nightly rate but higher vacancy rate push off the highest operating income? 
Does the Mid term monthly - little to no vacancy rate push off the highest OI? 
Pick a lane/niche and stay the course. Don't give up!

A travel nurse or relo'ing resident, student/intern can't rent from you if your calendar has a night or two locked up in the middle of their desired stay. Hope that makes sense. more on this below. 

ZILLOW- I have found paying the $29 fee to Zillow for a premium listing is worth it. Your listing placement will jump to the top. Refresh the ad periodically. Content is a big factor also. Are you an owner listing all the NO's... The Rules... its a turn off. Be accommodating, welcoming with your ad. What's the biggest value for your resident? Flexibility and solving their individual needs/logistics. 

Are you able to use photoshop or an app to add some keywords to your pics. Allows your value to stand out.  FULLY FURNISHED" "Utilities Included" attached is an example of mine. It's tough to filter these furnished units out on Zillow and if you don't pay that fee - your listing may not even come up when a potential resident is even using "Furnished" under keywords search option. Paying for premium listing is worth it. If someone locks in rental before listing expires out. You may have some days left in ad - just push out the availability date to when it is opening again to attract those potentials that are planning way ahead. Listing goes away I believe after 90 days? Most of our rentals have desired move in dates of just 2 weeks out. In most cases we do not hold a unit for someone nor do we allow a move in date reserved mths out ( like airb) unless we have a confirmed hard move out date. That would be a travel nurse. After 13 weeks and then their renewal of another 13 weeks.. you know have a good solid move in date for your next resident. 

Can you waive pet fees, if pet friendly and advertise no pet fee. No other fees..Large pets? Who the heck will rent to residents with 3 large dogs? We do. Damage deposit will cover any pet damage. Find out their problem and solve it ...they will rent from you. It's not always about the $. It's who can accommodate our unique situation, everyones is different. The hospitality element plays a huge role. 

FF - I am very active on here. I would have said" refresh your calendar at least every 3 days" but, if you are syncing your calendar with your airb listing..well read on 

I was immensely disappointment when speaking with a rep from FURNISHED FINDER to hear that FF allows for Airb listings to sync their calendar with FF. At midnight every nite your calendar will automatically refresh for you. Disappointing for many reasons. But not going on that rant right now. Any reps from FF that would like to discuss happy to do so. It's hurting our potential residents trying to find a mid term rental when the calendar has availability but for only a week or so. Residents come to FF to find a longer term stay. If they wanted a week or one month they can go to airb and prepay for their stay. It frustrates them. They call me and tell me this. They are frustrated. I listen, I acknowledge, I solve their problem and get a resident! I wish a banner would call out theses dual types of listings but I would really rather them not allow for Airbnb listings on FF site and stay in there on lane as well. So there was a short rant after all. FACTS

Set FF leads filters to UNMATCHED leads also. Some people can push up the budget because they find some other value you are offering. I will dump the rate if it does not have another resident waiting to move in. Better to take less cash flow than be in the hole on the unit. Reach out to un matched leads with your value. Once you get more units you can offer to stay at one to wait for other property they desired to come available. Our residents stay 6+ mths but again we are NOT on airb we are a true mid term rental. I can share our link on FF with our profile of units. Some are marked not available for a while ( these are nesters - I call them - for various reasons they are just hunkered down and happy with their units and our free southern hospitality. A snap shot of some our residents currently... An executive chef - he travels with a ballet company and feeds them - A family in before school started and leaves when school ends for their out of state move. USPS contract workers building a robot to sort mail, Travel Nurses, Professionals relocating, A medical group rotating out their new surgical Dr. residents for training in jax  :) A husband of 33 years that got pushed out by his wife - hoping to go back.. but he is still renting from us ...yikes - no judgment! 
Every year off season I get a baseball player to comes to stay to be close to his son. The need for mid term rentals is there. It takes a hustle and some hospitably but totally do able. Flexibility is the ability you need to embrace. 
Also, get leads on the phone as a first method of contact if you can. Conversations with a person land so much better than a message thru FF.

Also it is helpful to know that most Corporate Housing companies or Insurance Agencies that are trying to find housing for their customers and reach out to you, they do finds leads on FF.  they will not accept your listings as an option if you have it also listed on airb. This weekend I have a family moving in to one of our properties due to their own home got some major water damage inside. The Insurance company asked if we were an airb property as they will not house their customers in airb listings. So another good reason to pick a lane. 

Loft? Is this a separate private unit, anything shared? Happy to review your ad just send the link to me directly. 

What are the terms? We offer our residents the option to terminate their agreement with just 2 weeks notice. This offers a great value for them. 

Is there a BP contributor or moderator that can comment on BP mobile app? Where did it go?
There was one and it was awesome but, now it seems to be gone. 

My pro account was downgraded to free account. Was set for auto renew. When trying to add it back the link does not link to the payment portal. Thus, PRO "Monthly" and "Annual" payment links do not link to the payment portal. The Pro "PLUS" payment link is working but unfortunately the PRO option is not. 

Hidden doors have push latches. Perhaps this would be an option. Good luck Bill.