All Forum Posts by: Rachel Mellies

But yes the listing wasn't my favorite by any means. Being an out of state investor we've had to rely on our PMC for so much of that and they didn't do it how I would've. I would've loved to find something local that I could've managed myself cause yes I would've made the listing way better and kept up on the yard work and stuff. But sadly my state the numbers don't work for getting into REI right now.
hopefully it’ll all work out. It’s been a stressful 6months getting a rental, rehab and listing. but I hope the tenants don’t fall threw and all works out. We did convince them to do an 18m lease so we can get the renewal in spring and not at this super slow time of year.

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https://www.zillow.com/homedet...

I’m aware there’s not great things about the location. But I’m told it’s a nice area and community enjoys it there. There is rental competition (but where in Indy isn’t there? And many still do fine) but those comps are all 15-1700 ish and I dropped mine under that.

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This morning my PMC did email me saying they have a tenant now wanting to move in later this week! They don’t have the best credit but have good rental history. So we’re looking all that over today and see if it works out.

My PMC tells me the market is slow for 1 due to the time of year and 2 because their market had a big shift this last spring and summer. Housing prices went up and so did rents and therefore now renters are staying in place. Good tenants are offered the same price to renew with many landlords where if the switch landlords their price will rise a lot. So I’m told there’s just not a lot of movement.

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Quote from @Lauren Kormylo:

Some other things to think about - with arbitrage, they buy all of the furniture, linens, kitchen stuff, TVs, decor and everything else needed. If you run your own STR with or without a property manager, you will need to buy all that, and it really adds up. Just look around at all the things a full house needs. With LTR the renters bring all their own stuff, but with STR you will have to buy it. Along with furnishing the place, you will be paying for all utilities, internet, cable, and supplies such as TP, paper towels, laundry detergent, etc. So there are a lot more costs with STR.

You can manage an STR long distance, with smart locks, a smart thermostat, a good cleaner, and handypeople you can count on. I'm in AZ, my STR is in Delaware, and I self manage.

Do you have your rental listed with a property manager for LTR? Why do they say it isn't renting?

Thank you! That is a very good point. I cannot afford to furnish the whole place. This is why I wanted to wait to do an Airbnb, I have much to learn still!

my rental is listed with a PMC. They don’t have an answer for why it’s not renting other then the renters market is slow right now.

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Quote from @Craig Glendenning:

Hi Rachel!

I understand that it is scary to not be able to get a long term renter in, you do not feel ready for short term self-management, and along comes a company offering to provide you with what is effectively a long term lease, which feels like it will solve your immediate problem. Here are some questions to ask yourself that may empower you to reveal the right answer for yourself:

- Can I demand a month-to-month lease with this rental arbitrage company, so that I have control to back out?

- Am I ok giving up control over which tenants stay at my property? If not, can I construct the contract with this "rental arbitrage" company that states that I am set up as a co-host (airbnb terminology) so I have visibility into the communication stream and get veto power if a guest seems fishy?

- Is "managing the property manager" going to be stressful to me?

- Can this company provide me referrals that are legit, and not "plants" just there to gush about them?

- If I can get this arbitrage thing month to month, could I simultaneously work on setting up my own AirBnB listing, systems, etc. by asking people (ahem, this Craig guy who self-manages 2 STRs on AirBnB) on biggerpockets how to do it?

Food for thought. You came to the right place, and you are wise to not jump in to a relationship with a "facebook friend" : )

Thank you so much! This was very helpful!

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Quote from @Trent Reeve:

Quote from @Rachel Mellies:

Quote from @Dave Stokley:

Quote from @Rachel Mellies:

Quote from @Paul Sandhu:

Scam or ripoff. However you want to interpret it.

So that business idea isn’t a thing? No companies do that?

No, it's very much a thing. Lots of companies do it. But there are better ways for you to get into the STR market.

We’re just kind a desperate to get a renter in and it’s not happening. We are out of state investors so someone would have to manage a STR anyway. And having the rent paid every month despite if the Airbnb went well or not sounds like a risk free way to give it a try?

where is your property located?

Indianapolis. Zip 46231. It been listed for rent since late august and we were told it takes 2-4 weeks. Im just getting worried we’ll get stuck with a vacancy at this point for a long time since it’s almost holiday season and people don’t move much during that time. We have other things in the works and really need that property leased.

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Quote from @Dave Stokley:

Quote from @Rachel Mellies:

Quote from @Paul Sandhu:

Scam or ripoff. However you want to interpret it.

So that business idea isn’t a thing? No companies do that?

No, it's very much a thing. Lots of companies do it. But there are better ways for you to get into the STR market.

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Quote from @Dave Stokley:

Whatever you do don't rent it to a company like this. It's called "arbitrage" and it's the least profitable thing you can do with your property. If you're interested in seeing how it will do as a short-term rental but don't want to do the work you should just hire a STR management company that will charge you 20-30%. But, unless you're really opposed to doing the work, as someone new to the STR game it might be a good idea for you to do it yourself for a while and learn the ropes. Never be afraid to learn!

Learning isn’t the problem. We’re out of state investors so we’d need someone to manage it no matter what. I wasn’t going to try Airbnb anytime soon since I need to research it a lot more but my property also isn’t renting out as well as expected and getting really stressful. So the idea of someone willing to at least give us rent for awhile, plus at the same time getting to see how it did as an Airbnb seems cool. But I could be terribly wrong, thus I came here for thoughts from ya’ll experts :)

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Quote from @Paul Sandhu:

Scam or ripoff. However you want to interpret it.

So that business idea isn’t a thing? No companies do that?

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All Forum Posts by: Rachel Mellies

Rachel Mellies has started 9 posts and replied 29 times.

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