All Forum Posts by: Melissa Romano

@John Majoris we typically buy TCL Roku TVs but some guests do you have difficulty finding the volume button on the side, so make sure that you note how to turn up the volume with these remotes.

@Omni Casey amazing! Congratulations!

@Joseph Shipka what about a cash out refinance? We’ve been able to pull a lot of equity out of our properties this year to buy more but also keep the asset.

It's definitely a great market but also very competitive/expensive as others have noted. I receive a few messages a week from BP users looking for a $400K turnkey 3/2+ vacation rental with a pool, and that deal simply does not exist in Scottsdale. I've been able to find some nice homes $400-500K in Chandler/Tempe that could make good vacation rentals, but the yearly revenue is going to be lower than Scottsdale. If you're looking for a project, single-family homes in Scottsdale can be found in the mid-400s from time to time, but "turnkey" homes are going for 600-700k+ and then you'd need to budget to furnish. Personally, I'm a fan of condos (fewer HOA-friendly options but they are there for $200-250K) as they are more affordable and give more flexibility in case of regulation changes -- renting out a 1-2 bedroom condo for 30/60/90+ days seasonally will likely be easier and generate a better cash-on-cash return than a 4 bedroom home.

@Chris O. Hostfully is free for guidebook only for one property so I would make minimal changes to my “main” guidebook, PDF, and share a shortened link. Honestly, I would send the PDF for both since my guests were usually a little older and less technologically savvy.

I sold all 3 (and my long-term rentals) at the end of 2019 to cash in on forced appreciation through renovations and to take a break as I was self-managing all. The units/homes that are done well continue to perform, and I have seen brand-new listings open calendars to fully book immediately. I'll send you a direct message to discuss. 

My husband and I are starting to look for a second (summer) home in Durango, CO, and would love to find something we can rent out as a vacation rental when we are not using ourselves. We prefer to stay close to town and discovered Ferringway condominiums. We submitted an offer a few weeks ago on the one active unit, but our offer was declined since we offered sight unseen and the seller didn't take it seriously (just go with it; the whole situation was really bizarre) even though my airline pilot husband planned to fly up to view and inspect as soon as the offer was accepted. Does anyone have any leads in Ferringway? Does anyone want to sell? Do you know of any other complexes in Durango close to town where HOA/city restrictions would allow us to rent out nightly more than once every 30 days? I'm a licensed agent in Arizona and am planning on taking my Colorado exam in the next few months but am happy to pay another agent if someone can get a deal done. Wholesale deals/wholesalers welcome. The condition doesn't matter as we've completed a few renovations and prefer a project.

As others have mentioned, you'll likely need a larger home to touch the $1000/night booking. However, that very likely means a "party house" with more cleanup, pool maintenance, risk, and headaches from neighbors calling the police or you to complain about the noise and drunk people in their neighborhoods. I owned (and have sold to clients) one-bedroom condos in South Scottsdale in complexes with no rental restrictions units that brought in $400+/night in the busy season and were easy to keep 100% occupied over the summer when very few people are vacationing in Arizona. Happy to help if this is something you would consider. 

@Brian Gerlach I second Hostfully. When I was managing three of my units at a time, I didn’t actually pay for a subscription with multiple guest books but rather saved each book as a PDF. It was excellent because I was able to very easily reuse content I had created for other templates. The calendar software i used either automatically sent to Airbnb guests or sent me a push notification to manually send to guests through Vrbo (I believe these messages can now be automated, but I am taking a break from hosting and I’m not quite sure)

@Casey Boerger DMing you shortly. HOAs are tough but there are a few complexes that don’t have rental restrictions.