All Forum Posts by: Peter R.

As someone doing STR in a fairly unrestricted way in Brevard, I wish you the best of luck in this @Krista Goodrich and if you need anything from your neighbors down the road I'm always around to help in any way I can.

If you do go with a non-connected lock please change the codes often, I often compare it to a hotel in that if the front desk told me the previous occupant's keys still worked during my stay I'd be sort of annoyed.

FWIW, we use ResortLock from Lockstate (no affiliation, just what we use) on all our properties.  Fairly low fee for what we get and we don't have to go through an automation system to make them work. (Although we do use automation for other things, mostly SmartThings.)

They aren't well reviewed on Amazon and the like, and I get why, but once you get them running, they only need Wifi to get new codes occasionally, I have it set to wake up and check twice a day to save on battery.

PM me if you have any questions on them.

In my experience, no.  I have never had a request for one (beach STRs) and I've focused on providing high quality TV sets with lots of HDMI ports and all the streaming services built-in. 

I've had many people comment on liking not having to go without Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc but so far nobody has asked for a Playstation or Xbox. 

I also blanket the property in mesh wifi points so they can connect from the bedroom to the beach.

@Marc Middleton I'm not familiar with the lawsuit but I am with the area, being down the road a bit, mostly in the Melbourne Beach area.

The towns that dot A1A are a mess of laws and conflicting regulations and as such I've just stayed out of it entirely but only buying and renting in unincorporated Brevard County.  

Not that Brevard's stance couldn't change but so far I've found that Brevard County itself seems more interested in bringing in tourists and tax revenue rather than placing restrictions on STR.

The added benefit is my renters get amazing beach experiences, sometimes they are the only ones on the beach, no crowds.

It has downsides too though, harder to attract renters looking for that higher profile beach name when searching.

We also use the Lockstate locks like @Caroline C.  The interface is really easy to add guests and the codes automatically expire.

Wifi Locks were also a big selling point for us.  We have great blanket wifi using mesh network points which makes it easy to add and update the locks without any intervention from us.  The ZWave stuff was...hit or miss and you have to have an automation hub near each lock or daisy chain some ZWave transmitter devices.  Wasn't worth the hassle.

We still use some automation but not for locks.

Only downside to Lockstate is they can be fussy when entering codes.  Slow and deliberate is the way to go with that keypad, something renters learn by the second or third try entering their code and then no problems after that.

Yes we've done this a few times @Clayton Oakley we tend to buy the property on a 30 Year Amortization with a 7-10 year balloon which gives us more than enough time to refinance once the property is up and running with provable rent history.

Personal preference of the seller varies wildly, some want full asking but don't care about as high of an interest rate, some want higher interest and are willing to discount the list price.  

We've never had a problem getting them up and running.

Quite profitable, yes.

Where you buy, how much you pay, how much you can rent it for per night, if there are local laws prohibiting STR, if you even like dealing with guests...all questions you need to research before you can really get a sense of if this business is for you.

Heh, @Michael Kugler I wish you the best of luck, no sarcasm, I really do. I'm both a STR owner and in the SaaS space in my day job so I have an idea of what you're going through right now and I hope for the best for you and your product.

PM me if you ever want a second set of eyes or thoughts!

Condotels are interesting for sure. But something else to keep in mind, even if you purchase under an HOA friendly to STR now, it may not always be the case. Board changes are frequent sometimes and new regulations can pop up at any time with an HOA.

However, in Florida, the State Legislature passed a law essentially saying if a city/county doesn't already have a law on the books regulating STRs they can't start now.  So if you're looking in an area that already allows them or doesn't specifically prohibit them, it's far less likely they will prohibit them in the future.

I have no experience in Orange County but I'd beware the laws there. In addition to county/city laws, some communities have bylaws in their HOA prohibiting vacation rental use, or any leases less than 6 months, for example.

About half the guests I have usually make some sort of trek to the Orlando parks, or up the Space Coast to see Kennedy or a launch of some sort.  So non OC rentals can still take traffic with guests destined for theme parks it's just not their primary focus.  Just food for thought.