All Forum Posts by: Shannon Strickland

@Lucas Schlund

I just read an interesting article about the Detroit STR market environment on Steadily's blog. It was interesting, and anyone entertaining the idea of operating there should read it be warned.

Operating an STR in my county is illegal, yet I see many homes on the platforms. I must abide by the law and trust that mandate enforcement occurs even though I don't see signs of it. Ignorance of the law excuses none.

There’s not a satisfying amount of juice in the Detroit market. I heard a podcast that mentioned an established vacation market in Michigan. Can you consider somewhere else?

@David N.

Congratulations on nearing the finish line for renovating and launching your first STR.

I’m guessing the ski community is highly seasonal and has deep-rooted family traditions of return vacationers. If that is true, many will have already booked their annual trip, and I don’t know that booking window. But many booking windows across the country have compressed, and you will get bookings if you are seriously competitive. This first season is for you to gain hospitality and property management experience and reviews. Next year people will have reviews to read to help them decide if they trust you with their hard-earned money. So, reviews now will translate to revenue potential later. There’s no shortcut.

Hire the highest quality photographer you can, and make sure they capture the “money” shots showing what is most appealing to your target guest demographic.

You mentioned that you are not looking for advice on pricing, but the questions were about pricing. Revenue management is a skill. As a new STR investor, hire dynamic pricing to help you manage revenue. They will help you ensure you don't accidentally leave money on the table by helping you study your competition and by raising or lowering your rates so you can compete better. Additionally, offer 20% off to the first few guests.

@Tar-U-Way Bright

I too house hack and learned everything I could ahead of time from BiggerPockets (e.g., bootcamp, forum, books). The BP forum is free and some contributors have nothing to gain and want to see others thrive. The rest is learning by doing. I recommend RentRedi as a PMS. There you will be vetted as a landlord, you can set up each bedroom as a “unit,” you can personalize prequalification questionnaires, and you can choose 2 different levels of background check. Once you move forward with someone you have vetted and feel comfortable with co-living, you can use the message templates to inform your tenant, upload your lease for e-signing, and collect a deposit and rent. The Help Desk responds quickly when you message them.

PS is for a particular type of investing, which are probably the PM, and I wonder if you are permitted to live there. I would not house hack while allowing someone else to place my housemates. You will know best by your vetting and gut with whom you could live. So, to answer your question, you are better off completing being your PM if you will house hack?

This year, I had a tough time finding property insurance for my only short-term rental (STR). I was ready to follow the company's recommendations. According to their experiences with legal cases, they want to be able to defend the property owner in court, and one way they mentioned is by not providing alcohol. I believe they wouldn't have insured me if I had gone against their advice. We may not hear about such cases anecdotally, but I got the impression that litigation does happen.

My RE attorney implored me not to include any consumables.

Or their under-aged kids consume it and blame you.

Hey @Shawn C.,

My real estate attorney is very aware of squatters' tactics in Virginia, which is why we were advised to collect rent weekly. So far, we have only hosted traveling medical professionals (TMP) while we live in and rent out part of our single-family home (house hack). Some TMPs told me they were tired of paying online travel agency fees and were happy to find Furnished Finder.

Hi @Shawn C.,

I have been using RentRedi (RR) to manage our only medium-term rental (MTR) property for over a year. I recently considered switching to KeyCheck but decided to stick with RR for two important reasons: 1) RR allows for weekly rent collection, which is recommended by my real estate attorney, and 2) RR has lower credit card processing fees for tenants. My local real estate attorney made significant changes to the state-specific lease I originally had to accommodate the unique situation of house-hacking and county laws. I was shocked at what I didn't know and am relieved now. Looking back, I'm grateful that Ashley Kerr recommended RR during the Rookie Bootcamp, and that I followed her advice. I'm also relieved that I hired a local real estate attorney to help create a county-specific, legal MTR agreement for our house-hacking situation. In addition, the attorney informed me that short-term rentals (STR) are illegal in my county, so that will not be an exit strategy for me. As a result, my Furnished Finder calendar looks promising for travelers seeking a genuine MTR experience in my area.

Hopefully that helps.

This has been an insightful thread—thanks. OwnerRez has helpful recorded webinars with both platforms, where they give suggestions to improve ranking and conversions. Five weeks ago, I made most of the changes VRBO suggested, and the next day I got one booking, but I haven’t had a booking from them in four+ weeks now. That was my catalyst to add Airbnb this week. It looks like I’m in famine mode in the slow season, which I didn’t think would arrive until winter. I’m very much looking forward to spring!

The day this thread was started, "Thanks for Visiting" released an excellent podcast, #389, with tips to reduce risk. It's one of the few that I've listened to twice.