All Forum Posts by: Brian Oney

Did Sarasota recently change their STR regulations? Last I checked they are 7 day minimum not 5 day. Doesn't sound like much but can definitely be impactful.

Not so much about the rental agreement itself per se, but more the way that OwnerRez has the guests fill out the rental agreement. It collects their email address as part of the booking process.

Unfortunately I have a number of things connected to my ST hub, but fortunately the only thing that worries me is the front door lock. So worst case either I replace it or at least figure out how to activate early the upcoming guest codes.

If I had the money I would add a number of ductless units.

But since I don’t we have a main HVAC and then a ductless for the living room and loft that was added on by the prior owner (and the HVAC wasn’t sized for). We may end up adding a 2nd ductless in the large main bedroom as well.

The ductless units are like much higher efficiency than the HVAC unit.

Oh and to piggyback on John - our first STR was 2.75%, 2nd one is 5.875% and the HELOC to fund the 2nd one is 8.25%

Depending on your Short Term Rental (STR) location, I'd recommend building least 3 months of reserves for slow periods, maybe up to 9 months. Just look at COVID to see why. Personally I've gotten excited about some of our success and then realized it's better to pay the mortgage if the government says we can't rent it for X months rather than lose the property.

To your question, we did a HELOC instead of refinance in large part because of the flexibility. The rate is adjustable but you can tap into it multiple times (up to your credit amount), especially if you end up paying down the principal early on.

Don’t jinx me! Haha

I have had to replace the sensors once already, but otherwise still working. And honestly I think I may upgrade to Pentair or something when we have enough reserves established because it isn’t a big enough issue to worry about just yet.

Whenever I get tired of HeaterReader I will likely upgrade to the Pentair automated solution, as it would allow me full control of the Pentair VS pump that I recently installed. Also doing the automated solution makes a lot of sense if you have more cool stuff with your pool like lights, fountains, etc...ours is just a basic pool.

I installed a HeaterReader and it has been mostly good. Some issues with connectivity from time to time…think it’s about $600-$700, whereas the Pentair/Hayward systems are $1500-$2000 usually. I think they may give you more features.