All Forum Posts by: Michael McKay

Depending on how many vacation rentals you have, it may make sense to invest in some property management software along with a good VA. You could use:

• Smartbnb to auto reply, leave reviews, etc.
• VR Easy to notify staff and cleaners of turnovers
• Virtual Key- integrates with VR Easy and most electronic lock to change codes for each guest automatically and email them the code
• VA to answer questions and screen guests based on a process/guides

I buy  this mattress for all our furnished rentals and regularly get comments on how comfortable it is. I second everyone's comments about the importance of mattress protectors on all matresses.

I currently lease apartments in Jersey City from landlords, who allow me to sublet them as short-term furnished rentals. We run 14 units and attach an addendum to every lease in which the landlord gives us permission to do this.

As far as things to look out for:

• Check your local laws and regulations. I recommend consulting with an attorney on this, as these laws can be confusing.
• If you are in an HOA, make sure to check your bylaws.
• Make sure the operator you are leasing to has commercial insurance that covers vacation rentals/short stays. Most standard insurance policies do not cover short stays.
•  If you have a multi-family, ask the operator what precautions they have in place to make sure other residents are not disturbed. We have strict screening policies as well as noise alert devices, which notify of us if noise goes above a certain decibel level for over 3 minutes.
• Are you paying the utilities or are the tenants? Keep in mind that vacation renters often use more utilities than normal tenants, so I would ask your tenants to cover utilities.

If you follow the above and your tenants are professional operators, you shouldn't run into many issues. We have a great relationship with all our landlords. Also, since your tenants are living in the other room they will be keeping a close eye on guests/subtenants.

@Olga Shkolnikova I sent you a pm. We currenlty manage 14 short-term rentals in the Jersey City area.

I have a policy through Lloyd's of London, which is who underwrites Proper's insurance. I did it through my insurance broker, since I already have a policy with LLoyds for one of my other rental properties.

@Yinna Wang I just saw this. I hope you enjoyed the Meetup!

Thank you to everyone who came the other night. It was great to meet everyone and I hope you all learned some valuable information.

Looking forward to seeing everyone tonight at 6:30!

Looking forward to seeing everyone next Wednesday. We will have a QA after the speaker's presentation, so feel free to come with any questions.

Hiring a professional is worth the cost. You may be at 100% occupancy, but what if you could increase your nightly rate by $10/night with better photos?

The cost of a professional photographer (about $200/night in the NYC area) would pay for itself in 20 nights.

Just two weeks until the Meetup. If you haven't yet, please RSVP HERE on Meetup. The event is free, but we like to get a head count for the venue.