All Forum Posts by: Robin Rinaldi

Thank you @Alancha Thompson!

Hi folks, I'm jumping onto this thread because there are very few Bahamas forums here on BP. Anyone have a realtor or even a good website to recommend when starting to search and get a feel for properties in the Bahamas? Thanks!

Ashvin, I just spent months researching and looking in the Poconos and am in contract on a house in Lake Naomi. From what I've seen, Albrightsville and Tannersville are both much more affordable than Lake Harmony, Albrightsville in particular is still close to Lake Harmony and to the nearby ski areas. Tannersville on the other hand is close to the outlets, casino, water parks, and Camelback. But you have to be careful which neighborhood in Tannersville you look at; some are distressed and haven't rebounded from the 2008 crash yet (if you can believe that). I recommend getting a realtor who knows the area well. I can recommend Jeremiah Noll, he's been great, owns several properties himself, and has really given me an education in Pocono vacation rentals. If you google him, he comes up as the first result. Good luck!

Of course, and I definitely choose lake/summer for myriad reasons. But my point is: objectively, logically, if this is the reality in this market, then you simply cannot get both the winter and summer crowd. You must choose one or the other.

Oh I'm definitely going with the cheap cabin now, don't you worry! To be fair, it wasn't a realtor pushing me toward that 265K house, it was me myself and I. Lesson learned. So, not to beat a dead horse on this ski-house/lake house thing, but since almost no property has both, what does a girl do? Buy a lake house with summer amenities for the predictable heavy summer crowd and forego the skiers in winter, or buy a ski-out condo for the skiers and forego the summer crowd?

@Ken Latchers, Interesting about Stroudsburg and E. Stroudsburg, I was wondering if what I was hearing about a resurgence was hype or not. I'm also interested in a theme I've heard a lot in this thread: that you need to be *right up against a ski mountain* to do well as a Poconos rental. I find those condos and houses inside the Camelback developments downright ugly, along with being cookie-cutter. Jack Frost/Big Boulder have nicer developments for sure, and the advantage of being close to Lake Harmony, because if you're on a ski mountain for winter guests, that means you're not on a lake for summer guests, so it seems to me it's either one or the other—summer guests or winter guests—unless you (a) do something like Lake Harmony that's so close to Big Boulder or (b) shoot for something in a lake community that's just a couple of miles from skiing. I like the intersection of 80 and 380 for that reason: You can be on a lake but within a few miles of Camelback, Kalahari, Mt. Airy Casino, outlet shopping, etc. But this idea of no one renting your house unless it's 1/2 mile to the ski entrance confuses me. Why? When I go skiing, I'm totally willing to drive 10 minutes to a ski resort. I have lots of ski buff friends who will literally drive five hours in traffic every Friday night to get from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe and stay at a ski house 20 minutes from the slopes. Well sure, Camelback is no Tahoe! But are East Coasters really that resistant to getting in a car for 10 minutes to go ski? I guess I don't understand the psychology.

@Alex M. Really interesting. I grew up south of Scranton just outside the Poconos and spent a lot of time at Lake Wallenpaupak. The first time I went through Milford as an adult, I thought, "this is a great little town, I could live here." I know Honesdale is going through a mini-revival right now, too. Both those places are a bit far north for my commute, which is very specific to my mom's house. But I've definitely wondered about Stroudsburg, which also seems to have new wine bars, cafes, arts events, etc. And its location on the Delaware Water Gap couldn't be better. It doesn't take long to get to the woods either; a few miles outside of downtown and it's rural. What are your thoughts on Stroudsburg?

Yep, the property I liked was 265K. And like I said, I am only looking at the Poconos for geographic/family reasons. It’s not really my long-term plan. So I’m thinking to switch course: buy a 100K cottage cash, do some cosmetic updates and bells and whistles to make it stand out on AirBNB (and increase value down the road), and hope the rental income covers the taxes and private lake dues. I’ll spend a lot of time there so it’s worth it, much cheaper than paying for an AirBNB twice a month. I know a realtor/contractor/flipper in the area who’s seen this model succeed. I’ll team up with him. Plus, I want to learn how to do remodels (cosmetic ones, nothing crazy) and this is a good place to start. Really glad I read this thread (and ran some painful spreadsheets!) before going with my initial plan. 

Good points, as usual Mark! I rent in the Poconos and I don't take lakefront because I actually don't want to pay that much. I figure I can always walk to the lake, or the pool, etc. But for sure those averages are highly leveraged by lakefront revenue. And the "small house" approach, I have definitely seen that work. A guy I know bought a 70K cottage in Albrightsville, 20 minutes from the nearest ski lift or any attractions really, and he makes a good profit. It might be much smarter and more conservative to go with a cottage for half the price, and market it as a spot for couples or small families perhaps.