All Forum Posts by: Senta J.

Thanks for your input Nathan and Erin!

Since we are just starting out as hosts we are still setting up the website and have not put together a floor plan or video tour yet but will do so in the coming days. We didn’t realize we would need it so soon.

It would be nice to get a month long stay in the off-season and wouldn’t want to turn away a legit guest, even if it’s a little extra work since we’ve only been live for a few months.

What are your thoughts on having them go through a regular application and screening process, like we would do with any long-term renter and then have them sign a lease?

I was trying to find more info on this from other people who have mid-term rentals but have not been able to find much out there. 

Hey Everyone,

We are in the process of taking over the management of a vacation rental we have in the Poconos and a prospective guest asked about booking it for 28 nights but he wants a virtual tour first.

I’m assuming a virtual would have to be done outside of Airbnb’s platform and sounds suspicious. I asked him if there was something he wanted to see that is not covered in the pictures, he said since it’s a new listing without reviews he wanted to see it first hand. I directed him to the old listing that is still being managed by the old management company that has 3 reviews that are all 5 stars and explained that we are taking over managing it so the reviews don’t get transferred over.

What do you all think? Is this a scam? If not, should we do the virtual tour?

Assuming he is legit, would we then go through the same process as a long term rental with a full application, background check and lease since they would have squatter’s rights for a stay that long?

I’m assuming all this would need to be done outside of the Airbnb platform, right?

Thanks in advance for any input you can provide as we are new to self-managing STRs but have LTR experience.

Senta

We actually had a packet with pictures but he wouldn’t take it. He said he’s been doing this for 17 years and doesn’t need it.

Thanks for the advice, Russell. Could it be that the lender is looking for a low appraisal and that’s why they came back so low?

Thanks for the responses. Once we did an in-depth review of the report, we found that the appraiser used comps that are not 2 unit properties but said they were in the report. He listed some comps as having 4 bedrooms 2 baths, when they were really 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. The square footage of the comps in the report were inflated to more closely match our property. He ignored properties that were rehabbed and only used properties that have not been rehabbed as "comps". This appraisal report is pure fiction.

There are a number of egregious errors, omissions and cherry-picking of comps in the report. What can we do about this? It seems unethical and illegal to make the numbers conform to some predetermined number.

Is there a governing board for appraisers or just the real estate commission that oversees them? Is it worth filing a complaint?

Hello,

I'm hoping someone could offer us some advice. We had a 2 unit property completely rehabbed and it is currently fully rented and cash flowing. We are in the process of refinancing the hard money loan we have on it and the appraisal came back at about half of what we estimated. 

Since there are no other fully rehabbed 2 unit properties in the area, we didn't have comps. We used SFRs that were flipped and discounted since ours is an end-unit townhouse and didn't have as many features as the flipped homes. We expected it to come in a around $200K and it ended up appraising for $105K. 

The comps the appraiser used are 2 unit properties that were not rehabbed. The appraiser added in few thousand for cosmetic items but did not add in any value for the new roof, electrical, plumbing or HVAC. 

Is there some way I can fight this appraisal without having to go back to the same person who appraised it? Apparently the lender spoke to him and he is unwilling to increase it at all. 

This amount won't even cover our hard money loan on it, we will have to come to the table with about $25K to pay off the hard money lender, not to mention our own money we have invested.

I would appreciate any advice on this issue.

Thank you,

Senta

Thanks, @Jonathan Vetter. We don't have Spectrum here. We have Comcast and Verizon. I thought about maybe trying to set up a hotspot through an old iPhone and get the video up that way.  If I do that, I can just move the phone and don't have to deal with cable companies. I'm just not sure how the prices would compare.

I'm glad that worked for you. What type of cameras did you use?

Thanks for your help, Don. That sounds like what I need. I just have to figure out how to get short term wifi at the properties.

We are currently using Livewatch Security with still images in our flips which has been working great until we were burglarized over the weekend. The burglars were pros and knew that the system needs a few minutes to upload the pictures and they disconnected the cellar signal before the images could upload and stole the panel which stores the shots so we can't see who it was. Luckily the alarm must have scarred them off because they didn't take or damage anything inside but they did get the a/c unit. With this experience we realized we need video streaming inside & out, which is not supported with a cellular signal so we would have to get wifi. Does anyone know the best way to get temporary wifi for a flip just for the security system, without getting into a long term contract? Also, what is the best way to set up video streaming? We were thinking of just buying an off the shelf system that has night vision & is motion activated from Costco since we already have a monitored system through Livewatch. Thank you! Senta

@Account Closed Thanks so much for the information, Michael. That's very disappointing. 

I spoke to an investigator at the MHIC office and he said they may not even investigate a complaint from someone with more than 3 properties. He said it's a gray area and their office is intended to look out for home owners. So, even if you are not seeking reimbursement from the Fund, they still may not take action against a contractor known to be defrauding people.