All Forum Posts by: Lisa Lincoln

I know the mountain towns, in the area your looking, have a shortage of long term rentals. Not sure what property your looking at but if it is the place across the street from the cottage I don't know that it attracks quality tenants. It's a tuff market market but you can get good renters. There is also another 4 plex in the middle of some industrial businesses Lake Arrowhead. Also a 3 plex in Green Valley (possibly under contract). Location/Location/Location

@Carlos Martinez all ordinances are online and pretty logical. They even have images of what is acceptable and what is not to pass inspections. When you have it inspected, they will also help you to comply. Your not really alone in having to figure this all out, you might have to call and ask a few questions. Also my hired help usually meets the inspectors for all their units and she has learned a lot and shares this with me. Your right, you do have to build a list of skilled contacts and resources. Let me know if you need any references.  

Lake Gregory, CA & Big Bear Lake, CA

@Christian R Estrada I do self manage my properties, my 1st property in Big Bear (pre- internet savey sites) I had a property management company. My tax guy scolded me every year, saying they are taking 50%, it was a mix of made up fees. Things like, extra towels (when there was towels in the house), the change of a light bulb and they favored their properties over mine. They even "borrowed" major items, like the VCR (during that time), needed it for a place didn't have one (for their visit). I would find the new vacuum was now 8yrs old (maybe they switched it). Found the furniture re-arranged, Why???, found the renters burned a hole in the floor and they didn't take from deposit. The management companies use the same companies anyone can use to get your property online. The big ones like airbnb, vrbo, turn key and others I'm not thinking of. Many communities to help you, airbnb even has a magazine now. I have friends that start with the management company and then realize that it is not that complicated. Find a co-host and you can be more or less involved. Happy renting!!

I have an Airbnb in Crestline and Big Bear. Big Bear gets more traffic, rents every weekend at a higher rental rate and Crestline is popular in the summer but on average is rented 3 out of 4 weekends in a month. Renting for 1 night minimums helps, just make sure you have the support needed to accommodate same day check in, check out.

I agree with @John Sharpe Crestline is easier to get to! only 15 miles of mountain driving compared to 34 miles of mountain driving to Big Bear.

Thanks for sharing the great news about incorporating Lake Gregory..

Co-hosting through Airbnb might be a good option for you. This way you can participate in the transactions if you want or just let the co-host handle everything. You have more visiblity with this option. 

@Angie B.  Are you still using Wave? How many units are you managing with it? would you still recommend it? did it scale with the growth of your business? have you discovered any other options?

You could check out RentalHero.io, or freshbooks.com. I looked at Rental Hero and it does primarily support rental properties and expenses. I've used Freshbooks and this is great if you are contracting out work and billing others. I agree that Quickbooks is a power horse and the learning curve is high, maybe it's better as my experience is a few years old. Let me know if you run across somthing that works for vacation rentals as I too am looking for the right software to use for 2018/19.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Big Bear Lake.

Purchase price: $101,500
Cash invested: $36,000

Vacation rental in Big Bear Lake, near booth ski slopes

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Vacation rental

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Broker

How did you finance this deal?

loan

How did you add value to the deal?

remodel

What was the outcome?

Great investment

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Big Bear Lake.

Purchase price: $101,500
Cash invested: $36,000

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Vacation rental

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Broker

How did you finance this deal?

loan

How did you add value to the deal?

remodel

What was the outcome?

Great investment