All Forum Posts by: Katie McCartney

I just bought my first STR last year. My recommendations is to find a lender and insurance person in the area you are looking in for a STR. They should be familiar with STRs and how they all work. I didn't and I'm kind of paying for that mistake. I always advise people for professional help when investing. Find a good competent Tax Accountant, REALTOR, and Lawyer. Tax Accountant, unless you are familiar with tax law, is crucial in my opinion to keep you out of trouble. Lawyer to help you establish how you want to set up your STR Contract. REALTOR again should be familiar with the area. Look to find if there are Facebook Groups that are in the area of your STR also. They are generally good with the questions aspect of running a STR and services in the area. Good luck. Let me know if I can be of further assistance. Katie

Thanks!  I'll take it under consideration.

Hi, all! I have survived my first year as a STR host. I have been using exclusively VRBO to gain guests. I was wondering if you find it is worth the time to expand out to another listing sites like Flipkey? It is the "slow" season for my vacation rental so I was wondering if the bother of syncing calendars is worth the effort?

Thanks for your wisdom!

That is a hard question to answer. It goes back to your relationship with the person. Your "obligations" end with your business relationship. Since I am assuming the agent did not send you the FSBO and you don't have a mutual or contractual agreement on how these are to be handled, in my opinion it's fair game.

You may want to have a frank discussion with your Buyer's Agent on your expectations in the relationship.  It will help dissolve some of these gray area issues and hopefully help in forming a better business partner and not just a Buyer's Agent.  Investor needs are different from the general public.  Realtors should be considered as a vendor/business associate.

@Amnon N. I can help you assess sales price in Columbus, Ohio.  I can assist in helping you out in the process of selling in Columbus, OH.

Also, I have connections in Rochester, NY that I can suggest to help you there too.  Let's connect and talk.  PM me.

Katie

From my experience, it all depends on the state of mind of the buyer and the seller to how a low ball offer is viewed.  There are sellers that are emotionally attached and cannot fathom a low ball offer.  Then there are buyers who just throw offers to see what sticks.  And then you have everything in between. @Bill Gulley have both valid points.  I think the main aspect here is that you are doing business.  You present a professional and courteous offer.  You stress that this is a business deal that you are trying to conduct.  If that person won't view it in that manner and won't move forward, cut your losses and move on.  Move away from the emotional aspect of the low ball offer yourself and show yourself to be a professional investor and you will get the respect needed.

@Rajesh T. , 

Hi! I am a Realtor in Columbus.  Would love to connect with you!  

It is about as good as an ad in the newspaper.  It is much cheaper than an ad in the newspaper; but, to me it is about the same results.  Facebook and Twitter are totally different in how to collect people and how to market the campaign.  Blogging is good in my perspective because you can use it to send it to your current book of clients and past clients as a follow up in a newsletter.

@Christopher Malone I think it all depends on what you are looking for as a Real Estate Agent.  There is a comfort level with a larger broker; but, there is also worth in a smaller brokerage.  It all depends upon your goals and needs for your Real Estate practice.  It's like the iPhone vs Android debate.  My question is always what works best for you?  Don't matter what you choose because they have access to data.  Hope this helps.

@Patrick H. It is hard taking the plunge from a full time job to working for yourself.  I truly sympathize.  I was there 7 years ago.  It was a great help to have my spouse have a steady job too so that I can focus my energies on my job and not "worry" to much about my not so steady income being on 100% commission.  It's a leap of faith; but, if you plan for it and take into account what you will need to keep you happy and healthy, it is the best thing in the world.  I would suggest The E-Myth Revisited as a read. I think it has good sound business advise in starting your own company.  I hope you make it!