Originally posted by @Nico C.:
Originally posted by @Annie Peng:
Originally posted by @Nico C.:
@Alanna Schroeder
Hi Alanna! Mine are in San Diego, CA. To be honest, while they produce great returns, it has not been a passive investment experience and I cannot wait to be done with them.
What do you dislike about STR? I am on the opposite side really liking it.
I am a long distance real estate investor and I am also active duty military. Real Estate MUST be a passive experience for me. That said, I have a couple frustrations with STR:
-Local legislation has mandated a 10% monthly Transient Occupancy Tax on my GROSS. They also force us to apply annually for a business permit, conduct inspections, and incur a number of other business related fees that cut well into my profit margin. Many Hosts simply choose to not observe these rules, but we do and it really hurts our business.
-My HOA is taking steps to ban AirBnB and as an absentee owner I am at a huge disadvantage as far as representation at these HOA meetings.
-While I have automated as much of the experience as possible, I find that I am consistently being drawn into various issues. (This has less to do with STRs and more to do with my property managers)
-AirBnB tends to side with the guests on issues like damage to home and complaints from neighbors or HOAs. I really don't like their hands off, figure it out on your own, customer service approach. I do not think they are especially transparent either. We discovered, following the resolution of a conflict with one of our guests, our listing has disappeared from the listing page for our area. Airbnb stated it was some kind of irregularity and "fixed the glitch." I have read in their forums about other hosts experiencing strange repercussions following conflicts with guests that impact business.
The returns are fantastic - but as Notorious BIG stated, "Mo money, mo problems."
Totally get it! When you break it down to your hourly time it might not be that different....lol!
Hopefully the appreciation makes it all worthwhile!
As for the HOA, let me know if you have any questions...I have been through it all with my HOA including serving as president of the board. Honestly, its a lot of people with no experience and a huge bias running most associations. If you have any specific questions I am happy to assist if I can. I was in commercial real estate for 20 years so I have a decent understanding of how to make things happen!
