All Forum Posts by: Betty Snowie

I just sold 2 of my vacation rental properties in Lake Havasu City. I was dealing with some pretty serious family health issues this last summer when vacation rental in our area were blowing up! I couldn't keep up with the activity and still deal with the personal issues. I raised my prices thinking that might dissuade renters, but it didn't. I made lots of money through this activity, but it wore me down. Selling turned out to be the best option for me as sales prices soared and I was able to make over $100,000 for holding that one property for just over 1 year. That was over and above what I earned from the rentals! The second property wasn't as good, but still made decent money on that sale as well. 

If you need the name of a local realtor, I have been working with Jon Groth with Coldwell Banker. He has his own vacation rental property, just one, and he is very understanding of the needs of owners.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Hi! I am using just Vrbo and was rented every single weekend from the end of March up to and including Labor Day. Average rate per night for the 3 bedroom homes is $330-$370 (higher rates Thursday thru Sunday. I discount 10% for 7 nights or more and 55% fo4 28 nights or more. I also discount more for snowbirds but that's mostly to accommodate prior guests. I try to keep prior guests coming back with an additional incentive because I like the known quantity (and no parties or damages!).  

Sharing contacts is tricky as I don't like to do that unless I have their approvals. LHC is small enough the sometimes these people get overwhelmed with too much work. I will say that I was pretty happy with Happy Home Cleaners, but found someone privately who has worked out well. But she wants to cut back so I won't give out her info unless she agrees. Same with my pool guy. But Priority Pools is a good alternative to my guy. I had one other, but darn, can't think of their name. They are warranty company for Pentair so they will likely get involved should you have warranty work.

Thanks Teresa! That is definitely one of my options and at this time a pretty solid one! 

The bottom line is that my rental properties were super busy this summer when, then to add to the "normal" stress, I was hit with major health issues (cancer) for hubby and a daughter. 
Dealing with all that was bad enough, and then as a final straw the bathroom ceiling caved in at one property, with a guest in residence! A pan under the A/C in the house was cracked and leaking on to the wallboard for long enough that mold was on the ceiling side. 

I lost my guest as the house needed to be treated and repairs completed, plus I had to buy and install a new A/C. It was truly beyond it's end of life and I had that factored in to my budget, but it was the timing. I was ready to crack! 

While all this was going on, and covid was changing the world, property values here in our lake community were soaring! As I was at my wits end, I put 2 of my houses on the market. On the day the listings went live, there was a call 4 min later with a verbal offer, made good before noon the next day! Closing is approaching and I'm feeling a bit lighter!

The second house had an excellent offer in less than a week. I won't go into details, but let's just say I either got greedy or I wasn't ready to sell this one. I ended up letting the deal fall for $10K. I might regret it, but I still have the house and I can still rent it out.

So now I am considering where to put the windfall I will be getting when escrow closes. I already have one spec home under construction which will become a vacation rental if timing is against me and it doesn't sell. I am considering picking up a lot in a new area and seeing about flipping it likely by next spring/summer. 

Whatever I decide, my life will take a turn, either a curve or a hard U-turn. We'll see!

Thanks Marlen! I'm on it!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $275,000
Cash invested: $170,000

Three bed, 2 bath home. This home was completed renovated inside and out in 2019. Inside I created an open concept kitchen/living room, redesigned the master bath, replace all flooring, custom cabinets, completed renovated the guest bath, painted in/out, added stone base to outside. Added heated pool, putting green, horseshoe pit, two bocce ball courts, fire table, & gazebo. There is an attached 3-car garage plus paved side parking for even more toys.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Adding to my portfolio of vacation rentals.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Good realtor keeping an eye out for something with my specifications: close to home being primary, size, age, and in need of renovations.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

I did more than originally planned. Demo'd all flooring, took down a wall between the kitchen and living room, did a total redesign of the master bath, complete paint, total renovation of the backyard including adding a pool, putting green, bocce ball courts, horseshoe court, gazebo and patio for fire table. Also just recently changed to a whole house water system H20 Concepts. I was thinking re-sale for that upgrade as well as cutting out the required maintenance for the water softener & R/O.

What was the outcome?

This is the first year it has been available. I had snowbird renters lined up and they have committed to returning next year at a higher rate. The summer rentals have been off the charts! Even is someone cancels, it's rebooked within 12-24 hours!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The challenges in this area, especially since covid, is finding the deals. At this time there is extremely low availability at any price range, and those that are on the market are generally snapped up by out of state buyers looking for their personal vacation homes. An escape from being isolated in their homes.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I have been working with Jon Groth with Coldwell Banker.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $275,000
Cash invested: $170,000

This beautiful home was completed renovated inside and out in 2019 and is the perfect vacation home for you. The heated pool, putting green, horseshoe pit, two bocce ball courts, fire table, gazebo are just the icing on the cake. There is an attached 3-car garage plus paved side parking for even more toys. The open floor plan allows seamless entertaining possibilities.

The main/master bedroom has a California King bed, while the 2 remaining rooms are each furnished with a queen-sized bed offering comfortable sleeping for up to 6 people. The open concept kitchen/living room has vaulted ceilings and is furnished with a reclining sofa, two chairs, and a large TV. The kitchen is perfect for cooking and dining as it is equipped with all new appliances plus all the extras you might need: microwave, toaster oven, slow cooker, blender, mixer and more.

This home is situated with easy access to US Route 95, a grocery store, gas station, and is close to both Sara Park and access to the lake. Guests can enjoy an afternoon on the lake and later get your BBQ on using the large BBQ island in the private backyard overlooking a heated pool, a putting green, bocce courts, a horseshoe pit. There is also a gazebo, a fire table and a dining table for al fresco dining.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Adding to my portfolio of vacation rentals.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Good realtor keeping an eye out for something with my specifications: close to home being primary, size, age, and in need of renovations.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

I did more than originally planned. Demo'd all flooring, took down a wall between the kitchen and living room, did a total redesign of the master bath, complete paint, total renovation of the backyard including adding a pool, putting green, bocce ball courts, horseshoe court, gazebo and patio for fire table. Also just recently changed to a whole house water system H20 Concepts. I was thinking re-sale for that upgrade as well as cutting out the required maintenance for the water softener & R/O.

What was the outcome?

This is the first year it has been available. I had snowbird renters lined up and they have committed to returning next year at a higher rate. The summer rentals have been off the charts! Even is someone cancels, it's rebooked within 12-24 hours!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The challenges in this area, especially since covid, is finding the deals. At this time there is extremely low availability at any price range, and those that are on the market are generally snapped up by out of state buyers looking for their personal vacation homes. An escape from being isolated in their homes.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I have been working with Jon Groth with Coldwell Banker.

Becauses of my busy renovation schedule last year (I did renovations, this one and a more complete renovation), I have only used Vrbo. Most of my rentals tho' seem to come from referrals. We have so many snowbirds and so few good homes.  And word gets out when a good one is found! (Mine, lol!)

This year I was planning to take on extra help to do the office paperwork/check ins-out/manage required maintenance. With that off my plate I was planning to go after marketing on as many platforms as feasible and try for basically back-to-back short-term bookings. With Covid, that all fell by the wayside. 

My guests from last winter have all re-upped for this coming winter season. One guest that arrived in March extended to the end of May and they are planning to return in Sept for 2 months, and again in the spring. Another prior guest is returning for 2-3 months this summer. 

I guess what I'm saying is I seldom have needed to use any marketing platform, but I plan to position myself for more of the short-term rentals over the summer months, once we are clear of covid. I'd like to maximize my potential on these rentals.

I also have another project in the works. I am working with a builder to build a high-end home for re-sale, however, if the market doesn't come back as quickly as I'd like to see, that one will also go on the rental market.

That is HUGE John! Congrats! I will let my contacts know about it and if any hits come up I will touch base with you. Will it be on Vrbo or AirBnB? Perhaps you can post your property number once it's live so I can forward the info to others. Best of luck but with that large a property, I'm sure you won't need luck!

Congratulations John and best of luck! There's always a need for vacation rentals at the lake! 

So how big is big? I often get inquiries from realtors especially for the larger family reunion type rentals. Would yours fit into that category? If so, how best to contact you about referrals to your property?