All Forum Posts by: Waverly Rennie

hi there- I have several older homes in the Tampa area and have learned a bit thus far. One house for which we paid an annual fee of $250 to do I am not sure what ended up needing to be tented for termites, which they did for no additional charge. I waited too long to get it done and there was quite a bit of damage on some of the exterior woodwork (it's a stucco house) so i paid a contractor to fix it as part of painting the exterior. Just bought a place- again, stucco- with definite infestation so had it tented for $1200 (a cottage and a separate laundry house) and then will supposedly be termite free for a while, while paying $250 a year to keep an eye on it and maybe do occasional sprays around the exterior? With the one I just got tented, another company offered to spray around the exterior and put some barrier stuff for $850 then do occasional sprays around the exterior. As you can tell I don't really know that much about what they are doing but most people I know in my neighborhood go through tenting occasionally. It just seems to be the cost of doing business.

Sorry I can't be more helpful with the specifics. Best of luck.

I just did a very small kitchen with quartz that was a smaller slab in the scratch and dent section (no defect, just a small slab) at a granite store in my area. The counters, backsplash, install and sink totaled $1134- no effort on my part since i have zero DIY skills or time. Turned out nicely- probably too pricey, and the photo doesn't show it, but the counters look super nice with little sparkly bits in them, and are pretty tenant-proof. This is an AirBnB property so was trying for some bling in an otherwise pretty blah kitchen (just repainted the 1950s cabinets and put on new knobs.)

Hi @Ben Smith- I am newly/semi- based in Dunedin and am trying to figure out banks there. I ended up using BOA (my bank for the last eon) for my biz account, just a simple checking account. If I don't have an average balance of $15k for the month they charge me $35 service fee for that month. I am also new -ish at running a business so I am learning a lot too. One bank I definitely DON'T like is SunTrust because you can't rename transactions- so it just says check 302 or check 193, whereas in BOA I can rename the check to say Fred the plumber etc. On the other hand I realized that although I have changed the name on the online statement, the mailed statement still says check 302, so I am doing screen grabs or printing into a PDF my online statements so i can remember what the checks were, and also doing screen grabs of the cancelled checks when I think it might be a good idea. Anyway, I am not sure I am doing it all the best possible way but live and learn, right? and that's why we are on these forums- learning so much from everyone's experience.

Good luck with your yellow letters!

Hi Paul and thanks for your response. I have been pretty lucky with managing the places from over here partially because i actually do most of the management from here, and have been over THERE a number of times- for set up, for occasional checkins etc. 

I am paying a local woman way too much- 15% of one house and 10% on the other- to basically just be there and be on call, not really a property manager. She is also my cleaner, and I pay her very well for the cleaning. She does get occasional phone calls from the guests when they have a problem but I handle all the inquiries, bookings, managing the rates, etc.  So I have a lot of communication with my guests, and I am emailing my PM a lot ("these people are celebrating a graduation so can you put fresh flowers and a note saying congrats" "These people want to check in early, will the place be ready?" "I noticed the fridge wasn't cold when I went by on my way to the airport, can you see if it is making ice now? If not, please buy a bag of ice, put it in the fridge, and call the repair people). 

The PM notifies me when there's a problem e.g. the washing machine dies, or the fridge, - the dead fridge she handled, and I ordered a new washing machine from Lowes on line and told her when to be at the house to get it installed). It is working out pretty well all in all, since I am almost always on line even when I am on a 5 week bike trip across Europe, except on a long flight to Asia or Africa or on safari with no internet.

No one will manage the way you want them to- just silly things like putting 2 little bottles of conditioner in the toiletry basket instead of one shampoo and one conditioner, or checking to see if some places in the yard were cleaned that might not be on the normal checklist but because of recent weather you think there might be a problem. But on the other hand I haven't done as good a job in managing e.g. making cleaning checklists and photos and establishing a list of routine management tasks for her- it's been more reactive management. 

I think I am doing ok, still putting together my numbers  from 2015 but I feel it's a good return, and certainly better than standard long term rentals. It's surprising the number of people that need a place to stay for a couple of weeks or a month while visiting sick family members, or waiting for their house to close, etc. So being in a "vacation location" is only part of my client appeal.

Looking forward to seeing your biz plan- who are you shopping it to? Because it's STVR income, most standard banks seem to be nervous about doing a cash out refi. I am going back to the states in a few weeks and am going to try to find some local banks instead of BOA, my long term bank, who can't accommodate unusual circumstances for a cash out refi.

Best, W

@Paul Kessenich how did it go? I am also looking to put together a business plan for my STVR- I have been doing it for about 18 months and am expanding, and have used up all my cash, so need to start looking at leveraging. And I am just the worst-looking person on paper- living overseas, married to a Canadian, no W-2, just 1099s, so I have some work to do.

It is fun stuff, though, and I think that at least for the next couple of years it will continue to be a lucrative strategy.

If you are willing to share or PM, I'd be interested in what you have come up with!

I get my sheet sets at Costco, 540 count cotton for somewhere around $50 a set (don't remember exactly.) I have had lots of compliments on the sheets= they are what we have used for 10 years at home-start out smooth and nice and they get even softer with age. I get white so i can bleach them every time we wash them. Nice suggestion on using a sheet on top of the comforter- we do sheet, then light cotton blanket, then duvet in a white cotton duvet cover which gets washed/bleached after every guest. Ended up finding better deals for those online- they were expensive in Target or other stores and Costco doesn't carry them. Same for bedskirts. Good luck!

I have had a couple of places in Florida as STVR for over a year now- I tried listing on Tripadvisor for about 3 days and got a series of inquiries from people who wanted locations in other states, so I gave up. 

I find that VRBO gives me older, longer stay and more well to do clients, who book more in advance and are willing to pay higher rates. I paid the lowest possible annual fee for my VRBO bookings (~$400 for one, and got a promotion code for the second which dropped it a bit) and maybe I am not getting high placement because of it- they made me so mad when they then added the guest fee! I have my prices a good bit higher on VRBO, probably above market rate, so maybe that's why I am not getting bookings now during low season.

On the other hand, most of my bookings are coming from AirBnB, with lower rates and shorter lead time.  I have found that when it is low season and rates are lower, you get less desirable guests- I have had three in the last two months (low season) who were not good- two of them smoked despite my no smoking policy, and one of them didn't put down the dropcloth on the sofa so their dog kind of trashed the sofa. Other than that, I've had great guests and great experiences. 

I am learning to listen to my gut on guests who seem like a pain. If they don't even say hello before saying is your place available, or don't sign off with- looking forward to hearing from you or something like that. It's not worth it. 

I have used a polite formula that I copied from some AirBnB guidebook or forum to decline a request for reduction in rates, something like "Our cottage is priced based on market rates- sorry it doesn't fit your budget. Have you tried xyz? best of luck" or "Thank you for your enquiry and request for a discount. The cottage is already discounted since it is low season. If our rate doesn't work with your budget, you might consider xyz"

Good luck!

Hi all- just bought a tiny house to try out as an AirBnb in the back yard of a Florida cottage I have been renting out on AirBnb- value add, right? the cottage has been renting well partially because it has a fenced back yard for dogs, which many people want. I am going to put up a privacy fence to cut off the tiny house's section of the back yard so both units will have privacy and the TH renter can have a dog too. It's all under the radar since you aren't supposed to rent for less than 3 months, and although you are allowed to park your RV in your side or back yard, you can't live in an RV. 

I bought the house last week for 20k including delivery so I figured it's a gamble I can live with. Got it delivered into the back yard and found the truck couldn't maneuver it into the location i wanted so am having to try something else to move it into place. I was told by the guy who built the TH that you can hook the toilet up to the sewage pumpout between the house and the street- he showed me an RV at his workshop that had a flexible hose that ran from the black water valve to hook into a connector on top of a sewage pumpout and it seemed like it would work. Don't know yet but if all else fails, I will go with a composting toilet.

Our town hasn't figured out what to do with TH so I am trying this out on the down-low, but hoping that we might be able to figure out how to do it in a legitimate way. I could see a lot of ways it could be used- make money on hipster AirBnB'ers, or socially progressive low cost housing. All interesting stuff! Best of luck figuring out how it might work for you. 

Hi there @Robert Shoffner At first I really didn't know where to begin, so I called a couple of places who had signs out that were renting out places and that led to someone who was starting up a STVR management company since the one lady that had been doing it was taking fewer properties on. I should have known that was a sign that this is hard work!  The people who I ended up having as managers I'll call them G&T actually approached me through VRBO- they saw my listing and that I was an out of town owner so they proposed their services. I have had a few people enquire through VRBOAirBnB if I wanted management. I also had a neighbor who does very well with renting out single bedrooms in her house through AirBnB ask me if I wanted her to manage it but for some personal reasons I didn't take her up on her offer. This seems to be a very common thing- you fall into managing for other people.  G&T started with their own, then a friend asked them to do theirs, and another, then they started approaching people, as they did with me. It's a hospitality industry, not rentals, so there is a lot of work but I enjoy it. I am currently managing two properties in Florida while living most of the time in Africa with the help of a woman who was my housekeeper but who has taken on more responsibilities and works as my boots on the ground. I am paying her 15% which is way too much since she doesn't do the guest booking end of things, she just does what I ask her to do in terms of please clean on x date, get this fixed, print this welcome letter

 and bring some cabernet for the next guests, get the yard raked, etc. When I get back to the states in October, I will be managing two new cottages we have gotten, and I may start managing properties for others since once you are doing one, you learn the ropes and develop systems. It is amazing how much less intimidating this all is now that 1) I watched G&T do it and 2) I have done it myself and 3) I spend a lot of time reading other people's ads and calendars and books and blogs. A very helpful little  book I read on how to be an AirBnB  host was by a Dutch guy Jesper something, and there is Paula who has Afford Anything. Google those and that should give you lots of useful info. Hope this has helped and good luck. 

i just saw this happen here in Florida- a house that was going to auction (and I was going to bid on it) got "redeemed" by the seller who apparently was approached by someone who gave her the $ to pay off what she owed, and that person got the house for a better price than they would have probably during the auction. I guess the owner was motivated to avoid having a foreclosure on her record, or maybe the buyer gave her a bit on top. A very painful lesson for me to learn- I really wanted that house! I should have found that woman somehow and solved her problem. good luck!