I have stayed at a beautiful beach house in Surf City on Topsail Island in North Carolina since 2004. The first decade looked like myself and my family going during two prime weeks of the summer. We've seen shooting stars, turtles laying, turtles hatching and have gone crabbing, flounder gigging and done a whole lot of surf fishing.
In 2016 my friend with the beach house moved to Missouri. I didn't want him to sell the house and he decided to hand me the keys. My goal was to raise around $40,000/yr for him to cover the costs of owning such a property.
He had used a property management company in the past. I definitely see the benefits to having such a company. You give them the keys and the stick money in your bank. It's wonderful other than the 27% fee they take off the top. I think they provide a great service and I am not bashing them. They have a lot of expenses and I don't think they're greedy or even getting rich. Heck, they may even be underpaid.
Setting up AirBNB
I looked at VRBO but AirBNB appealed to me since it had an easy to use app. I wanted to manage the property in as little time as possible.
I met up with a woman named Angela who owns a cleaning service. Each Saturday, she makes sure around 70 beach houses are cleaned between 10AM and 3PM. She texts me if there are any significant problems.
I discovered a lined service and listed them in my AirBNB listing in case someone needs linens.
I installed a digital deadbolt on the front door which I can manage from my phone. No keys required - they get crusty and rusty at the beach anyways.
AirBNB has a low fee to the property owner of 3%. They charge the buyer fees, collect the taxes and pay them also. Speaking of taxes, don't forget the AirBNB reports your income to the IRS.
I proactively take care of any insecticide issues myself when I am down at the beach. I'm there fishing in the off season which gives me plenty of time to wrap up any other maintenance such as HVAC work and coil cleanings and replacing wall sockets, etc.
Other than the constant turnover, everything goes really well.
To minimize communication I proactively provide everyone with every bit of information they could need. Most people arrive at the beach and run into the waves right away and I never hear from them other than a message that the place is beautiful or that they've checked out and left me feedback.
Why I only manage 2 houses.
I love entrepreneurs and have met most all of the business owners on the island and become friends with most of the neighbors. I quickly learned that there is a need for an alternative to the classic property management agencies. However, I already own a separate successful business and I'm definitely not ready to just go manage houses.
I have documented everything I provide homeowners here on my page about Topsail Island property management. In a nutshell - I take up two prime weeks during the summer and rent the place for top dollar as much as possible. I do visit in the off months. That's really my payment - being able to hop in the car and go visit whenever I'd like. I work from a laptop, so, why not. I hope to eventually get leads from my blog on Topsail Island but it has yet to happen.
Finding someone to manage your AirBNB
I don't expect to find anyone here on ActiveRain, but yes, I am available to manage 1 more oceanfront house on Topsail Island. I already have 1 and a friend has me check in on his place in Emerald Isle from time to time and I honestly do not have time to manage any others.
That said, finding someone responsible like myself is pretty rare, especially someone who has your best interests in mind. You can, however, usually find someone who is up to this task if you pay them. You would then add them as a co-host. Here's how you'd find one.
Do you rent on AirBNB?
I just used AirBNB as a tenant for the first time earlier this year. I visited Banner Elk, NC, and it turns out that the homeowner was a real estate agent. She even left her card on the counter for me (and farm fresh eggs in the fridge!)
If you rent on AirBNB I'd love to hear your success (or horror) stories. So please feel free to comment below...
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