All Forum Posts by: Glenna Wood

@James Fitzsimmons You nailed it. The 600 lb gorilla is Disney. Rather than a SFH which will be more work and $$, look into a condo close to Disney with on site management. There are a slew of them. Might be a break even.

Or... Make your $$ at home and buy into the Disney Vacation Club. I would have if I were in my 30s. Long term it's a quality deal that gives you prepaid time to places all over the world and you can leave it to the kids. I wouldn't touch any other timeshare.

I've had OBX property for 14 yrs. $40-60k gross for a 6 BR in Corolla with a pool is too low. If the seller claims that is net I would look mighty hard at the projected expenses and number of weeks rented. The smaller property sounds better to me. Lower up front cost and higher return on your $$. Also you would have the option to convert to LTR if it turns out STR isn't your thing.

These places are in two very different markets so there is some apples to oranges here. What kind of vacation experience do you wish to offer. OBX is beach experience period. IMHO is sweet spot is 5 BR, enough room for couple of siblings, their kids, and the grand parents. If there is no pool and hot tub, cut the gross rent by half. 5 BRs will spread the pool/HT operating costs over more BRs than 3 or 4. You are competing against thousands of other beach houses. Wilmington would be a more diverse experience and likely offer more ways to market the property.

Coastal NC is STR friendly. IDK specifics on Wilmington. More urban areas seem to eventually head to more restrictions.

I shy away from any "the seller will do after closing" agreements of any kind. As you see they are difficult to execute. If the inspection shows faults, reduce the offering price so you can correct it. If the seller is to "fix" anything, spell it how the repair will be done. I've had some really wonky things done as repairs pre closing and realized what I thought was a reasonable repair was creatively circumvented by a cheap seller. It's hard to walk away from the table at preclose inspection.

@Patricia Steiner laid out a good process for you. Most contractors don't like to take the time but make sure your invoices are more specific than "fixed leak". Stating "replaced faulty flashing around chimney" or etc would have more bite in small claims court. Good luck and I hope you prevail!

I use a Bissell Spot Bot to hands free deep stains in carpets while I'm scrubbing something the kitchen. Then use a pro for houses with more carpet. 

The paperwork wouldn't be that different. Use a state agency or Board of Realtors lease with several month terms instead instead of year long. I've had great luck with repeat snowbirds renting my personal beach house. No agents involved. If something breaks just call your usual repair people. As home owners themselves they know "things happen". Their mindset is enjoy a restful winter in a nice house in a sunny clime not party hearty for a weekend.  

Depending your personal use, another rental source is to rent a month or longer in the summer. Most beach areas are rented by the week only during June-Sept. Anyone staying longer pays week x # of weeks.  Rent it for a month+ at 3/4ths the x weekly rate. 

The income helps pay the insurance, taxes and a month or two of the mortgage perhaps. For tax purposes you'll need to split personal versus rental use for your expenses. This is not a max investment cash flow strategy but a peace of mind, take care of my house, and help me pay the costs while building my equity.

I would skip fractional ownership for several reasons. They are hard to sell. If I need to replace a coffee pot, I wouldn't want to have to consult anyone else about that expense or the brand or size or style etc. How do you agree on big expenses like roof redos? The fractional ownerships I'm familiar with allow any owner to rent their weeks. So now you would REALLY have no idea who's in your house. Even if you agree as owners to not rent doesn't mean that they don't have family members who are careless good balls. I shudder at the thought of "who shot John" conversations over wear and tear damages. 

But Amelia Island is a nice residential beach area with a classy reputation  I agree with @Sarah Lorenz that better houses get better clients. If I wanted to get income on a house I was fussy about and used alot, I would find some snowbirds who to rent 2 months minimum. Be at the house to give them a personal tour and check them out. By putting eyes on, you develop a cordial personal relationship. Many retirees have pets though. Through the years I've had less trouble from furry guests than the juice box or solo cup crowd.

Bottom line if finding your kitchen stuff or furniture rearranged every time you go to the house bugs you, then STR is not for you for that house.

I have good service and resonable fees with Madison Trust. But as you see maintenance and transaction fees vary across custodians so it really depends on what assets you will hold and the activity you are going to conduct in your SDIRA.  Then pick accordingly. 

@Michael Baum Love the makeup washcloth idea!! 

i allow pets and switched to mission style furniture with wooden arms and loose back cushions. Sewed my own slip covers in denim for easy cleaning. One time I bought a nice Sunbrella sofa and loveseat for one of my larger, nicer beach houses. Looked terrific but it was stained at the end of the first summer season.

IKEA is great for kitchen items and textiles like dish clothes, towels, duvet covers. I've stuck with plain white Correlle in my own home and 27 yrs of rentals. I hit outlets, eBay to keep a stash. Hurricane Michael clobbered my house last fall. The only items left on my lot were 2 Correlle bowls and a casserole lid. Not a scratch on them!

Congrats on building tiny houses! The more acceptable they become, the more it will help counter the current overleveraged McMansions on postage stamp lots. I'm in a rural area in MD 50 miles from DC and it's sad to see the farms turn into bedrooms for DC commuters. OK I'm way off topic...

The first thoughts in my non-expert head were: 

1) why would they not buy the model as part of their potential 25 order? I would want them to have skin in the game to take good care of it if it's coming back to my yard. After people tromp through it you'll essentially be selling a "not new" unit like a demo car.

2) who's paying for transport? Seems silly for you or they to pay for round trip transport if they are serious buyers. 

3) how are you covering liability while it is off your premises? How are you covering somebody falls off the ladder to the loft?

4) are they trying to sell the concept to their community or are their plans already approved? How real is their potential 25 order or are you part of their sales pitch? If it's a sales job, are you getting enough compensation? If you see it as good advertising for your product, what marketing materials of yours can be included during the open house? A sign, brochures? Can you get in on a local TV human interest segment?

5) it sounds odd that they want to "have their engineers and architects" check out a finished unit on their premises. If I'm going to check out your building practices and quality control from a engineering perspective, I'd want to see your yard and examine what/how you're putting behind the finished walls by checking out several units in process. I'd want to meet your work force and check out your QA processes.

6) Hailstorm comes through. Somebody backs into it while it is being transported.  It gets vandized while on their property. You or they submit the damage claim to which insurer?

7) it will be sitting on their property. With or without utilities hooked up? Could they have somebody bunk in it? Normal wear and tear is so hard to define. It leaves your yard new but how do you best define acceptable condition back to you? You may wish to add that they include this unit in  the 25 order. Again incentive to take care of it.

8) paperwork wise I would guess that a simple lease would cover it. This is out of my orbit so this is not advice... But may be a good investment to work with your attorney to create a lease to rent your units for off premises use. Somebody may want to rent as transition housing or to check if they can be comfortable before they commit to buy one. If you are not far from an interstate, you could set up a few units on your property to rent as AirBNBs. Great advertising. But again I wander off topic...

Best of luck on your tiny house business!

Sounds like you've covered all aspects then. I hope it will be a winner for you!!