Shampoo & Booze 48: Renovation Stage 1 COMPLETE

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The renovation has been taking up all of our time- hence the lack of podcast. However, we're happy to say that the first stage of unglamorous work (framing, some flooring, windows, siding) is done. On to stage 2 of unglamorous work (electrical, insulation, HVAC, drywall, finish plumbing)! See photos below of some of the dirty work we've had our hands in.

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Shampoo & Booze 47: Renting Long Term vs Renting Short Term

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Mike and his wife, Brenda, have worked full time jobs for the past thirty years. They have also been building a small real estate empire in their hometown in Michigan as they've bought up duplexes, condos, and single family houses. These are all full-time rentals to long term residents. But recently they decided to buy a beach condo in Florida and try doing vacation rentals on Airbnb.
In our conversation Mike shares the differences between these two kind of rental strategies and, more importantly, goes deep into his numbers. We've thought about possible buying local houses to rent full time, so Mike gave us some good perspective. He tells us how much work each kind of rental takes which helps us decide which one works best for us.

Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

Check out Mike and Brenda's super cute condo on the beach:

Shampoo & Booze 46: How to Deal with the Off-Season Slump

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We live in a part of the country where people like to go on vacation. The big attractions are hiking in the Shenandoah National Park and floating down the Shenandoah River. The popular season starts around March when Spring is creeping in and ends around November when the beautiful Fall leaves finally all disappear. December, January, and February are usually pretty quiet.

In this episode, we brainstorm ways to attract people to our rental during these quiet months. While we can't imagine being fully booked, our goal is to at least attract the people who want to escape the city and have a quiet winter weekend. We will take advantage of the quiet time to do maintenance and some heavy cleaning, but letting our asset go empty for any length of time just feels wrong! Please share any suggestions if you also live in an area where bookings drop during a certain period of the year.

By the way, here's the link to that article we mention about ocean front property on the East Coast being a dangerous bargain because of future flooding from Climate Change. (Or a great deal if you don't believe in it.)

Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

Shampoo & Booze 45: Update of our Renovation Project w/ Photos

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We are almost done with stage one of our renovation project on our second rental. This means we have gutted the house, built out and added almost 400 square feet of new space, and put it under a roof. It only took us a month to do this. Stage two is doing the electric, plumbing, HVAC, and insulation. Stage three is sheet rock, laying down the floors, and finish work. Can we finish and get it rented by Springtime? Let's see!

Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!