All Forum Posts by: Kristopher K.

@Julie Merritt, I'd be interested to see how this works out if you decide to do it.

I am leaning toward a 7 night min for next season - I end up doing the turn overs myself right now because of the cost and also dependability. You do have a better market out there though and the check-in/ out times are pretty good for a Sunday switch. I'd imagine you'd get a pretty good deal for Sunday cleaning!

Hi @Kenneth Silva,

I have one of each. 

For the Boston property - it's my only one and I don't see getting another anytime soon. It's also my best performing but we bought it a long time ago.

For the Cape property - it's actually a mix. 2 units, one year round, one seasonal. The seasonal has worked out well. As @William Leahy pointed out, I also see some good activity in what used to be shoulder seasons. My last rental last year was October, first this year was April. 

That said, I am at my limit for the year rounder and am really thinking of turning it seasonal. I'm hinging on my second eviction for non payment in less than a year. I'd be very hesitant to mix my seasonal with a long term off season renter. I have heard there are a lot of off season workers that this arrangement could work for but I'm not there yet.

Kris

Hi @Julie Merritt,

I have one in Dennis Port - I see more requests for Friday than Sunday. This is only the second season it's been up and I do have a 3 night min right now so that might have something to do with it. I'd imagine your check in/out times might influence what people do to. That's a long ride back on a Sunday, if the guests are driving. I have thought of the Sunday to Sunday myself but I think I've seen more traffic on Sunday than Saturday on average - going off cape.

Kris

@John McRae I think it depends on your deal. In my case it didn't make a big difference in the overall scheme but it seemed to help persuade the seller that I was serious. Plus I only went 10% down instead of 20-25%.

Hi @John McRae

Great idea - it's how I acquired one of my properties. I don't have a spreadsheet or anything, what I did was outlined for the seller a couple of scenarios with the sale. One was a typical buyer with inspections, financing and the things entailed including time. Another was (and probably not applicable in your case) more of a developer/flipper - tear down rebuild. They would presumably offer lower than I. The third was my scenario - he does nothing other than a new septic. No inspections and no other contingencies. I gave him a higher rate than a regular mortgage, 10% down, and a balloon at 5 yrs. We did have attorneys go through it all etc. He thanks me just about every month. It has worked out pretty well for both of us so far, it's been 3 years. 

I'm not sure of how things have changed legally since then or what the rules in NH are so you'd need to account for that.

Good luck!

Kris

Hello @Rashad Gibson,

I have a 2 unit property that I've been working on for a couple of years on the Cape. One unit is seasonal one is year round. I think they have potential, but you need to be aware of all they entail.

Turn overs, furnishing, septic systems, flood insurance, and evictions. Also listing prices are in line with second homes, not really investments so finding the 'right' property can be tough. They also stay on the market for a good amount of time so selling as an exit strategy might not be the best route if it needs to be done quickly.

That said, it's been a great learning experience and depending on how you structure the set up they can be profitable. I like having the mix so I know someone is there off season to keep an eye on the property. I also know housing stock there is hard to come by for the year-rounders so if the seasonal doesn't work out I do have that as an option.

Kris

Hi @Patricia Jones

Welcome to BP. I just posted an article from today's Conway Daily Sun regarding short term rentals and whether they should be regulated in Conway.

Check your condo bylaws and be sure you can do short term rentals. Some associations do not allow this. You also need to look into lodging taxes and how you will handle turn overs. Who cleans, replenishes linens and paper goods, inspects after each rental and more. 

I've looked at getting into the Conway market because I love going there and there is a lot of potential in my mind; but right now rental/management fees are keeping me on the sideline, and it's simply to far/much for me to do myself without systems in place

Kris

I received the Conway Daily Sun today in my inbox and had a little twitch after seeing this headline. "Town Mulls Regulating Short-Term Rental System". The article is too long to paste in here, I'll try a link.

http://www.conwaydailysun.com/newsx/local-news/123..

They mention the state of NH is looking at this as well. There's discussion of a few nearby areas too. Has anyone seen the discussions or been following this?

I know properties such as condos can limit this activity but would be curious how much regulating can be done in a place supported by tourism. The article mentions in Portland, ME you need to register as a landlord. I have a STR property in a different state and I do need a rental permit each year, but it's not a new regulation relative to the AirBnb/Homeaway trends.

Hi @Andre Farah,

Depending on where you are you need to also look at insurance - mainly flood, also occupancy rates may vary and the market might be much different year round vs seasonals. There are also shoulder seasons to consider.

@Devin Beverage brings up some good points, and honestly I think there needs to be more info here before you can tell if this is go/no-go. What are your goals, self managing, marketing, using?

Utilities can vary, insurance can vary, rates and occupancy will vary. I've seen PM rates from 10-15% to 40% and they provide different services. Are you furnishing? What are the taxes? Do you need linen service, cable, and wifi?

You get the picture. Search BP for vacation rentals and tighten up your numbers a bit. I know in my market I would be hard pressed to start at that number for 3 units, with that mix if I were looking for cashflow.

Hope that helps a little.

Kris