Category: Airbnb Updates

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S**t Is Getting Real – I Posted In My HOA Homeowner FB Group And Got People Fired Up

Ok, s**t is getting real! I typically don’t get involved with my HOA. I pay my dues every month on time and they don’t hear from me. I abide by whatever they have in place. This HOA however, has been insane to deal with. They are the only HOA in the two different resort communities I own in that are causing issues. Issues like not abiding by the law and thinking they are above the law.

So for everyone who is interested, I thought I would post the entire chat in the Facebook group. I am stubborn, I will admit that. I am stubborn when I see something that is wrong and won’t stand for it. This HOA has been able to get away with anything since they opened, and it is time for someone to step up and tell them they are wrong. That someone may just have to be me.

Before you begin reading, if you didn’t catch my last post, read it first here!

Before reading the remainder, if you would like to read the executive order put in place for short term rentals in the state of Florida, click the link.

A little context before you begin reading on who some of the people on the board are:

  • Ken – Board President
  • Kimberly – Crazy Homeowner On the Board

Enjoy 🙂

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To read Part 3, click the link below! The story continues getting even more wild!

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Calling HOA To File Lawsuit!?!?! Short Term Rental Update – Ol’ Faithful

That’s right! Before you start asking questions, let me explain a little bit. I am going to be filing a lawsuit against my HOA at one of my short term rental properties. Here is why.

I have been doing some research and talking to a lot of people about the situation I am in with Ol’ Faithful. To give a quick update of what is going on with Ol’ Faithful, checkout one of my last articles.

The other night, I was talking to my parents and talking to them about what is going on. My mom made a good point that I should call my uncle who is a real estate agent in Phoenix. He has also been a real estate investor for over 40 years and knows this business inside and out.

Here are some of the emails I sent back and forth to the HOA GM yesterday. You can make your own judgements on how they are handling the situation 🙂

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The GM of the resort continues to defer to the law put in place by the governor. So I decided to take the actual exert from the law signed into order and sent it to him in the below email 🙂

 

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Here is something that did frustrate me. I specifically asked the GM if I could rent to first responders, and he even said no to that!

At this point I am sure he is very tired of me. But he also don’t understand who I am and that I can be very persistent when something is wrong. Which is this exact case.

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What I Did This Morning

First, I called my uncle this morning and explained what was going on. I talked him through the executive order that was signed into law and all the email communication that was sent back and forth with Conrad.

My uncle has been investing in real estate for over 40 years. He is one of the highest rated real estate agents in Phoenix. So he has dealt with pretty much everything.

After explaining the situation, he told me just email the HOA and say you are going to sue them for any and all damages based off exactly what the executive order says that was signed in by the governor. He said there is nothing they can do to go above the government if the HOA bylaws don’t state anything of this nature that they can or would have the authority to do. I read the Bylaws and couldn’t find anything in there that states they are allowed to do this.

Now that I knew they were in the wrong, I decided to just try something. Me emailing the HOA president obviously didn’t work, but I wondered what would happen if I just called the security gate to let them know I have someone checking in tomorrow and staying for a month.

So I called the security gate. I told them I have someone checking in tomorrow. The gate security guard asked for the guests name, check in time, and how long they would be staying.

I gave the security guard the information and asked if my guest would be able to get in tomorrow morning. They said yes. WHAT?!?! Really? Okay bahahah

What’s Next

So now here we are. The day before my guest is supposed to check in for 31 nights. The security gate has told me the guest will be able to check in. Awesome.

I know the guy who is going to check in (I actually randomly paired up with him in golf last weekend). I gave him all the information to get in and told him to call me if there are any issues.

Looking forward to my guest checking in tomorrow without any issues and now being able to bring in $1,600 this month for Ol’ Faithful!

Key Takeaways:

  • Talk about what you are doing and the things that are happening in your life. You may forget some of the people you know who have knowledge and expertise who could help out. 
  • Always be respectful in all communication to people. Even though I was frustrated with the GM of the resort, I tried staying professional in all my communication with him. 
  • Stay positive! Control what you can control. 

Checkout PartII below to continue reading about this crazy story!

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3 Thing I Am Doing In My Short Term Rentals To Generate Revenue

It is a very tough time in the economy we are living in today. There are 3 things I am doing in my short term rentals to generate revenue. They are outlined below with each of my properties. These are by no means the only things hosts can be doing during these tough times, but I have found them to be successful for me.

Here is an update so you can see actual numbers from my account as of a few days ago:

Airbnb Earnings April

That is right, last month was impacted from close to $10k in revenue to just under $6k. To read more about last months impact, read this article where I talk about the impact Disney closing and the pandemic has had on Short Term Rentals in Orlando.

That is not a typo. My income for this month through Airbnb is $20.

What I Am Doing To Generate Income

Here is what I have done already to begin generating income from my properties.

Ol’ Faithful: I am currently going through arguments with my HOA to allow me to rent out the home. The HOA sent an email to all homeowners stating they would not be allowing any new guests for the foreseeable future. More updates to come.

Turquoise: I had a guest staying at my place for 14 days. He was scheduled to checkout this morning. Two days ago, I reached out to him and let him know if he wanted to extend his stay, I would be able to accommodate. He asked to extend his stay for 30 nights and I gave him an incredible price of $950 to do so. This will pay my mortgage for the month so I will only have to eat the utilities.

Triplex 1/1 Airbnb: For my triplex, I had guests check in 6 nights ago. They were originally staying for 11 nights and scheduled to checkout next week. When they had first arrived, I spoke with them a little to get a sense of what they were doing in Orlando. They mentioned they were between apartments and weren’t able to find anything just yet. I reached out to them this morning letting them know they were welcome to stay for more time if they wished to. They immediately jumped on the idea and booked my calendar out till the 26th of this month! Another $450 in revenue for the room! On the 27th, I have a guest checking in for 30 nights. He was actually a guest who stayed at my place a few weeks ago, and we agreed to $850 for a one month booking. At the time of speaking with him, I was more than happy to allow him to stay for a full month. A lot of things were still uncertain then, and I am glad I got him locked in for all of May.

Final Results

All in all, I have been able to take a $20 revenue month and I have turned it into $1,750. I am still working to get someone into Turquoise for the month to add an additional $1,600 to the revenue for the month. The goal this first month is to get the mortgages paid through people renting. By the middle of this month, I will re-evaluate what to do with Turquoise and Ol’ Faithful.

Key Takeaways:

  • When things change, always figure out what the right pivot is. For me, pivoting to 30 day rentals is perfect. I know the STR game will come back to Orlando in a matter of time. For now, pivoting to 30-60 day rentals will allow me to continue rocking and rolling. 
  • I have said it once and I will say it again. Focus on the things you control. I have 0 control of my HOA at Ol’ Faithful being a little ridiculous to not allow new guests in. I am continuing to fight them, but their decision is completely out of my control. 
  • Don’t forget to utilize asking your guests who are currently staying with you. If it weren’t for me making connections with them and keeping communication channels open, I wouldn’t have any of my places booked right now.