All Forum Posts by: William Stokes

The wording is a lot different than the course material. I did an online state exam prep and the test was a breeze. I know I didn't miss more than 5

Welcome Malcome. I wished I'd learned earlier to put the video games down and pick up a book about investing in RE. I hope that you obtain the knowledge you are looking for to make informed decision about your investments.

it truly depends on your local market. You can actually schedule conference calls with reps from each company to show you hard data so you can make that determination yourself. As far as making the decision on which one to go with, that answer is simple. All of them. From VRBO, homeaway,  Airbnb, Flipkey, etc. Their pricing may be steep, but my advice is that you can't afford not to. Airbnb may be big where you live, but I'm a guest of yours from OBX NC. Homeaway may be the go-to place for me, and where I'm used to booking, so to truly fill your calendar, you want to be everywhere your target audience is looking. There are platforms that make this easier to accomplish. And this is what separates the serious VR owner from the second home owner who occasionally rents it out.

Where in Fl are you located?

My partner previously worked in PCB, but they were in the luxury rental market and it was very seasonal. Most of their homes were in Rosemary Beach with some stragglers as far as Seaside and beyond.  It was about 12 weeks of peak season with April to August being the busy times of year. Spring break really only affected traffic because spring breakers were not allowed in the rental homes. Snow birds weren't exactly flocking to PCB in masses to get warm (Compared to other areas of FL) because it is well above the frost line and its common to be in the 40's and 50's during the winter.

Honestly, not so much for a 1 person staying 1 night. If the hotel is $125 a night for a standard room, you are paying that plus the tax. If the VR is $125 a night, you are paying that plus the $150 cleaning fee, plus the security deposit and/or the non-refundable damage insurance. Now an Airbnb host may be cost effective, but that is not a vacation rental by definition. The business  traveler will see the most bang for their buck by placing multiple people in one home. A hotel that sleeps 2 comfortably will be $125 a night per room and a vacation rental that sleeps 4-6 may be $210 a night. And from my experience, VR owners and managers may be willing to waive part of the deposit, extra persons fee, or even the minimum stay amount for business travelers. You just have to ensure it is still cost effectivene after the cleaning and additional fees.

Hi Matt,

Question. Are you seeking this home as your primary residence or as an investment home?

Really quick, there's no such thing as a realtor's license. Just wanted to throw that out there and get it over with before everyone else chimed in. But saving on your commission by having your real estate license and MLS access by becoming a Realtor is a benefit if you are purchasing properties on the market. Of course, it is an ongoing expense, so if you don't plan on practicing actively then it may be more beneficial to have a Realtor friend to connect with who can set you up with a few searches.

So I occasionally browse the Craigslist "housing wanted" section to look for potential tenants. You know... for a realtor, 1 rental contract pays your gas for the year, another pays for your phone bill, another pays for your BP pro membership, etc. I know it's like scraping the bottom of the barrel, but you do occasionally find the qualified, good quality tenant along the way (Mostly for seasonals). But as I read everyone's horrible sob stories, when I'm done wiping the tears from my face, I think that they'd be better off dealing with a landlord directly because they won't clear anyone’s application process around here.

Of course then I think about the BP community and I say there's no way in hell most BP landlords would let these people stay in their homes. I even actually saw a post (which prompted this question) where the person said "I am not looking for real estate agencies, I'm looking for landlords. I don't want to work with the middle-man." I think to myself, well your plan is flawed because 1, the middle man is free for you and saves you lots of time, and 2, landlords in this area do extremely well without the need to directly search for tenants. It’s usually the other way around.

But of course we all know the reason they don’t want to use the middle man is because they have a credit score that’s crap, a criminal rap sheet about as long as a BPpodcast, and a shaky stream of income that we don't even want to know where it comes from.

So my question for landlords is, how accepting are you for the folks that have to give you a rundown of their "situation" before they even move in? My philosophy is that if you have to make an excuse about yourself before you even sign a lease, then you will do the same every month when it's time to collect rent. But I want to hear how the guys who've been there and done that handle this particular tenant. Who has actually given the sob stories, criminal pasts, and unique income situations the benefit of the doubt?

Become a landlord. Purchase a multi-family property, and live in one of the units. If done right, you can live for free/have positive cash flow essentially while renting out the other properties and even a room in your space.