Rental property on beach

[ikubak]

Anyone here ever owned or currently own any beach rental property? I've seen other threads on landlording, but I was curious if anyone out there has ever owned a beach rental property and how that worked out for them. The prices for condos on the beach have come down substantially and I'm starting to think they may be a worthwhile investment at some point.

 

[rgarling]

I have done this for 20 years. Expenses are very high, but you might be able to come close to a positive cash flow. Also, the market is fickle. It is easy to get in right now (lots of sellers), but when the time comes for you to get out, the market might be the same way, which will hurt you.

 

[Arif]

Check out www.vrbo.com and look up the area that you're interested in. That should give you an idea of what places are rented for. Also you can check out the calendar for some of the listings to see how busy they are at that price point. Seems like the lower the daily rate the higher the occupancy but I'm sure the expenses are higher too.

 

[CoolChange]

I am currently considering doing something similar (but, with a slight twist) in the south Florida area somewhere between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami: Buy a condo and make it my permanent residence for tax purposes since FL does not have state income tax.

I currently travel extensively for w*rk (building up additional funds for RE) and plan to continue to do so, probably even more so, after RE (so much of the world that I have not seen/experienced). I am thinking that renting my owner while I am away might allow me to cover much of the cost of owning/maintaining the property.

I would also be very interested in thoughts, tips, warnings, similar experiences, etc.

 

[mf15]

I have owned the top half of a duplex in Ocean City NJ, one street to the beach since 1988, bought at top of that market, of course. Taxes and insurance are high but with depreciation it can through off some income. It was paid off years ago.
It is a short rental season basically end of June through end of August. I rent through an agency they charge 12%. Work out your numbers to see if it is somewhere near breakeven. I am usually fully rented have two weeks open at this
time, hopefully they will rent. We charge around 1500 for prime weeks, it is an older
property 3 bedrooms two baths, nice second floor deck facing the ocean.
We are also at a cross street and a lifeguard is on our beach so it is nice for
families with kids, they do not have to walk far at all.
Back then I bought as close to the beach as I could afford, nice bright house with
a good view, cathedral ceiling, I never put in central air have window units.
By todays standards it is a tare down, but it is nice enough with a good location
to get decent rents. Since it is a condo difficult to tare down unless both owners
agree, or someone owns the whole property.
As they say location location location, pick the right town and the right house
the right distance to the beach. We looked at about 50 houses before we found
the one we liked and could afford at the time.
Old Mike

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I am currently considering doing something similar (but, with a slight twist) in the south Florida area somewhere between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami: Buy a condo and make it my permanent residence for tax purposes since FL does not have state income tax.

I currently travel extensively for w*rk (building up additional funds for RE) and plan to continue to do so, probably even more so, after RE (so much of the world that I have not seen/experienced). I am thinking that renting my owner while I am away might allow me to cover much of the cost of owning/maintaining the property.

I would also be very interested in thoughts, tips, warnings, similar experiences, etc.

Any particular reason you are leaning toward the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami
area? I would consider the Gulf coast because it is a little more laid back and has lower real estate prices. Naples is a little more upscale but Bonita Beach and Ft. Myers Beach are nice areas.

 

[CoolChange]

I am a big fan of the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is proximity to Miami International Airport (MIA) since I currently travel a great deal. I also believe this area has the potential to be more profitable for renting when I am away. However, I have not completely ruled out the Ft. Myers area.

 

[BUM]

I live at the beach and I'm surrounded by rental properties. I'm friendly with several owners, and keep an on things for a couple of them. None of them seem to enjoy being landlords. They commiserate a lot. DW and I have thought about renting our place for the summer but so far (10 years) have resisted the temptation. My take on the topic is, distance yourself emotionally from the property, and let an agent do all the work. Never mind profit, don't expect regular income for a couple of years. The best tenant might be a local who works in the area (year round income).

Just my 2 cents.