What is the VRBO like up on Winni & Winnisquam?

[JasonG]

Originally Posted by greeleyhill

VRBO/Homeaway is very popular on Winni but when you say you are considering small beach homes, do you mean many cottages on the same piece of land or different properties around the lake? Reason I ask is simply from a maintenance perspective. It would be a full time job to travel around the lake maintaining your property. Homes on VRBO can do quite well (cover expenses and then some) but it all comes down to what you pay for the property (more importantly, what your financing costs are) and what you can get for rent. You have to do you homework to see what a fair purchase price is and then, what kind of rent you can get by comparing similar properties on VRBO. It's also worth thinking about the property being a year round rental vs just summer rental. We find that our June/July/Aug rental income gets us to break even, and all the off season income (skiers, pond hockey tournament, fishing derby, snow mobilers, leaf peepers etc) is extra to pay down the mortgage, make improvements and do repairs. Like I said - it's a math problem or more accurately - a finance question. You can definitely make it work but do your homework to understand cost vs. income. We've found it to be an exciting endeavor meeting lots of great people and building investment equity at the same time.

Thanks for the thoughts on this. We have been looking into this recently with the Myrtle Beach area. But the tourist season there is a bit longer and I think even higher volume. But like anything, I am assuming the smaller cottages are easier to buy/rent out due to lower cost for us and the renters? Vs a $800k home, which I could not swing anyway!

[Descant]

When you buy at Sanibel, Myrtle Beach, etc there is a condo rental program and a management plan. Very little of that around Winni, so you have to be on top of everything yourself. Some real estate firms will do property management, but mostly, in their heart, they are real estate firms, not property managers.
The first year I had a (Weirs) Condo, it rented pretty good for the summer. Nothing in the fall. It was a lousy snow year and we had cancellations and said to ourselves, we won't ski either. Following winters, we rented cheap. long term. Much less hassle, then took the high priced short term folks in the summer.

Lakefront properties can be very price volatile. You really need to buy in a local recession and have some staying power. Not now.
Buy a nice 3-4 family or two, and use the profits to rent a beach house for a couple of weeks for yourself.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Descant

When you buy at Sanibel, Myrtle Beach, etc there is a condo rental program and a management plan. Very little of that around Winni, so you have to be on top of everything yourself. Some real estate firms will do property management, but mostly, in their heart, they are real estate firms, not property managers. The first year I had a (Weirs) Condo, it rented pretty good for the summer. Nothing in the fall. It was a lousy snow year and we had cancellations and said to ourselves, we won't ski either. Following winters, we rented cheap. long term. Much less hassle, then took the high priced short term folks in the summer. Lakefront properties can be very price volatile. You really need to buy in a local recession and have some staying power. Not now. Buy a nice 3-4 family or two, and use the profits to rent a beach house for a couple of weeks for yourself.

Sickened by a series of promising, young, but thoroughly deadbeat renters, I took a 75% cut, and advertised my lakefront home for a full year—paid in advance.

I got a prompt response, but the renter turned out to be a "kept woman"! After a year, she eventually moved to a new home nearby, but I'd gained a full year without anxiety.


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