Seems more rentals with major issues this year (2024)

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 8:35 AM

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 9:34 AM

Is it just getting posted more or are there more rentals that people are having major issues with this year - refrigerators not working, pool unusable, AC not working etc.
If i rented an already grossly overpriced rental for the week & had major stuff going on that doesn't get resolved, I would be freaking out.
Sorry, but a PM sort of shrugging it off & ignoring it would not be acceptable. And if they can't have enough staff to handle the problems, they shouldn't be taking on so many properties
Most people work hard all year to enjoy a week off. It shouldn't be ruined by a bad Property Mgmt co.

Ragging on the PM = shooting the messenger (the majority of the time)

If, say, that fridge is not working /sealing and the property owner says "NO...that fridge is fine, it's the renters/user error" to the PMs request for a replacement, then nothing happens

The best solution, as the seasoned folks on here know...is a long standing/returning year after year relationship with a cottage/owner/PM. Do your homework...not a true indicator, but many of the covid buys are now owned by folks that are "deer in the headlights" with the actual cost of upkeep for an OBX cottage. Folks sold sight unseen/no contingency cottages - often w significant issues - to new "we're gonna make some serious bank!" owners - many first time coastal owners.

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 9:47 AM

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 10:02 AM

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 10:36 AM

LLC's

I’m thinking ANY homeowner that has their cottage in any rental program anywhere runs it under the “protection” of an LLC?

If one “runs” their rental, “wide open” (no LLC) the risk of renter “JimmyBob” falling off your porch after consuming a 30 pack, and then filing suit because the railing was “loose” is real. You might end up caring for JimmyBob the remainder of his life.

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 12:23 PM

We have had a hotter than usual June, which does mean slightly more temp related HVAC and other failures and a lot of warmer items in the fridge for hours after filling when guests make common fridge loading mistakes or don't pre chill their beverages.

We were squared away on our HVAC and other issues because we did pre season maintenance, but we did have a water heater valve start to leak. Luckily the guests noticed it, and we were able to get the plumber out and the work done within a few hours. $40 part with a several hundred dollar final bill d/t labor and emergency call out, but way better than letting it worsen. WH is less than 2 years old, so valve should have been fine and was okay when checked in Spring. Just a fluke.

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 3:59 PM

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 5:18 PM

Next is if the rental company knows about a appliance issue they then have to find someone to fix it. Sometimes their hands are tied because the homeowners have chosen a brand that is hard to service ( Find a LG appliance guy on the outer banks) Also if they have bought it at one of the big box stores the warranty is through them and it can take weeks to get a repair, they are not calling Manteo furniture and getting a service call in a day or two.My advice to homeowners is to shop local and pick appliances that are durable and serviceable.
HVAC... if the system is not in 100% working order the first rental it will only get worse as the season goes on. There is a big IF in the equation of the owner routinely services the unit it will last longer and perform better. I can tell you from personal experience a $125 spring service and coil cleaning goes a long way to keeping systems running.

The flip side is renters routinely run the AC at 63 degrees with the windows open when it's 90 degrees outside because they are either fools or figure "it's a rental I'm going to do what I want to do with my week" All that does is beat the unit up and make the electric company rich. Once caveat is with electronic thermostats many home owners will get messages that the unit is running and not cooling or if they have a window switch that will shut the unit down if windows are open and the unit can not keep up.

Rental companies are also tied because of their agreement with the owners they may have designated specific providers for certain things like appliance repairs or HVAC. Those vendors may be very busy Some homeowners are very responsive some are not so much it might be hard to get an answer. Most rental companies have the authority to make repairs as needed without the homeowners approval but again that is on the rental company

Refrigerators not cooling on turnover days...
You have to let the fridge catch up....Remember before you checked in the last renters checked out. They had the door open for a long time emptying the fridge packing stuff to go home then taking all the ice for their cooler to go home.
Once that happened the cleaner opened the fridge and let it stay open while they cleaned it again not allowing it to cool or make ice.....
Then You showed up and the already struggling fridge is opened again while you load up your now lukewarm food into it and wonder why there is no ice and its not holding temps...give it 24 hrs and it should come back up.

Lastly I will touch on management companies. In the last 5 years many of the smaller companies that were very good at property management have been gobbled up by larger companies and they are doing a terrible job. ( Vacasa comes to the forefront of that discussion) They literally don't have enough people to work and don't care when they are called to action. They ignore the homeowners just as bad as they ignore the renters.
The owners can make the house a great experience but it takes a great cleaner and a few maintenance people to make that happen.
I will say that in our home when we come down for 2 weeks in the spring probably a good 1/2 of my vacation is repairing or lining up service calls for maintenance or repairs.

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 5:24 PM

LLC's

I’m thinking ANY homeowner that has their cottage in any rental program anywhere runs it under the “protection” of an LLC?

If one “runs” their rental, “wide open” (no LLC) the risk of renter “JimmyBob” falling off your porch after consuming a 30 pack, and then filing suit because the railing was “loose” is real. You might end up caring for JimmyBob the remainder of his life.

I am guessing but I see a lot of houses here for sale and have sold dozens and I would say maybe 30% of the time the owner uses an LLC or forms one after the purchase. Some do, most don't. Most PM's require the owner to have an umbrella policy, maybe that helps.

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 5:46 PM

I will say that in our home when we come down for 2 weeks in the spring probably a good 1/2 of my vacation is repairing or lining up service calls for maintenance or repairs.

I owned a vacation home in the mountains of Va. for 30 years. I say "vacation home" because my wife and I were the only ones that vacationed there. We spent a couple of weeks and 15-20 weekends a year there. Almost every... single... time we went up there, there was something to fix. It was non-stop.

I can't begin to imagine the upkeep required of a house that is a) at the coast and b) occupied ??% of the year by people with "not my house don't care" attitude.

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 10:11 PM

I will say that in our home when we come down for 2 weeks in the spring probably a good 1/2 of my vacation is repairing or lining up service calls for maintenance or repairs.

I owned a vacation home in the mountains of Va. for 30 years. I say "vacation home" because my wife and I were the only ones that vacationed there. We spent a couple of weeks and 15-20 weekends a year there. Almost every... single... time we went up there, there was something to fix. It was non-stop.

I can't begin to imagine the upkeep required of a house that is a) at the coast and b) occupied ??% of the year by people with "not my house don't care" attitude.

Date Posted: 7/10/2024 10:37 PM

I will say that in our home when we come down for 2 weeks in the spring probably a good 1/2 of my vacation is repairing or lining up service calls for maintenance or repairs.

I owned a vacation home in the mountains of Va. for 30 years. I say "vacation home" because my wife and I were the only ones that vacationed there. We spent a couple of weeks and 15-20 weekends a year there. Almost every... single... time we went up there, there was something to fix. It was non-stop.

I can't begin to imagine the upkeep required of a house that is a) at the coast and b) occupied ??% of the year by people with "not my house don't care" attitude.

It’s work but it’s worth the effort. We self manage and rent through. VRBO.
We don’t accept every rental request and also reward repeat renters who follow the rules. It has taken a few years but it works out.

I think that is the way to go and much more personal. When we rented our home, we had the renters phone number and we had back up companies that we had contacted to do work in case something went awry. The PM would contact us about the problem and we would call our back up company and discuss what needed to be done. We always stayed on top of it and didn't want the renter to be put out. I think with VRBO, you can just forget the PM business and get down to business with the vendors that you know and get the problems settled. And not have to pay the 20 percent or so for the PM. We're not idiots and can handle it ourselves. Wish we had done the VRBO the whole time since we were so much into it and practically handled it ourselves. I just hated it when the PM charged us for bee spraying at $75.00 a shot in September when the guests complained about the bees when we didn't even rent it in September. We only rented June, July and August. Hmmmmmmn

Edit: and the $200.00 "covid" fee in April of 2020. We never had our place for rent then. They said it was for the extra calls made then. We never got that credited back to us even though I ranted about it. That was our last summer renting forever.

Date Posted: 7/11/2024 7:09 AM

Date Posted: 7/11/2024 9:10 AM

Is it just getting posted more or are there more rentals that people are having major issues with this year - refrigerators not working, pool unusable, AC not working etc.
If i rented an already grossly overpriced rental for the week & had major stuff going on that doesn't get resolved, I would be freaking out.
Sorry, but a PM sort of shrugging it off & ignoring it would not be acceptable. And if they can't have enough staff to handle the problems, they shouldn't be taking on so many properties
Most people work hard all year to enjoy a week off. It shouldn't be ruined by a bad Property Mgmt co.

Date Posted: 7/11/2024 10:04 AM

No more broken fridges than in years past, just more visible to the masses.

PE is creating equilibrium in the world purchasing everything that can be purchased - vacation homes, medical practices, storage facilities, etc. Having young finance bros running PE groups owning many homes to consolidate expenses has a cost. The lack of care is one of those costs. Renters can vote with their feet and move on the Cape Cod, DE, SC, or FL.

Date Posted: 7/11/2024 11:14 AM

Social changed the game. Years ago, renters had no avenue to vent other than a call to the PM. Now its multiple FB groups, this board et al to vent and shame.

No more broken fridges than in years past, just more visible to the masses.

PE is creating equilibrium in the world purchasing everything that can be purchased - vacation homes, medical practices, storage facilities, etc. Having young finance bros running PE groups owning many homes to consolidate expenses has a cost. The lack of care is one of those costs. Renters can vote with their feet and move on the Cape Cod, DE, SC, or FL.

What the bros are doing on the Cape is beyond comprehension....so if anyone thinks they can save money vs OBX, it's not happening. Heck, one place we know just hit $100K for a week.

As to LLCs and the "protection" afforded vs "not"...it's not just a "big corp" thing...a single cottage owner can get wiped out financially when the "wrong renter" enters your place, injures them selves (through your "fault") and sues ya.

Date Posted: 7/11/2024 12:48 PM

Or a new unit delivered and installed the next day like our friends in Ocraco*ke. The renters called the PM who got it okayed and the new one was in the next day. They knew it would fit because it's what they already had from Manteo Furniture.

"GE Electric Stacked Laundry Center with 3.8-cu ft Washer and 5.9-cu ft Dryer" (26.75" W)

Date Posted: 7/11/2024 4:47 PM

Tim is right though.... most homes get compliments... and I would say most tourists great as well.

Date Posted: 7/11/2024 5:54 PM

"they are not calling Manteo furniture and getting a service call in a day or two"

Or a new unit delivered and installed the next day like our friends in Ocraco*ke. The renters called the PM who got it okayed and the new one was in the next day. They knew it would fit because it's what they already had from Manteo Furniture.

"GE Electric Stacked Laundry Center with 3.8-cu ft Washer and 5.9-cu ft Dryer" (26.75" W)

Date Posted: 7/11/2024 6:31 PM

Date Posted: 7/13/2024 8:34 AM

"they are not calling Manteo furniture and getting a service call in a day or two"

Or a new unit delivered and installed the next day like our friends in Ocraco*ke. The renters called the PM who got it okayed and the new one was in the next day. They knew it would fit because it's what they already had from Manteo Furniture.

"GE Electric Stacked Laundry Center with 3.8-cu ft Washer and 5.9-cu ft Dryer" (26.75" W)

EXACTLY.
We had a refrigerator that had a front water/ice dispenser that would just rust under the dispenser. We refinished it every year for a few years and finally the wife got tired of looking at at and we bought a new stainless steel fridge from Manteo and when it was delivered they had already put notes that due to the width of the upper door into the house from the under stairs they would have to remove the doors and hinges to get it into the house. They had put the notes in for the service call from back in 2008 when that fridge had been delivered. I do not complain about the price when you get service like that.

Shhh, Alexy. Next thing you know private equity will buy up Manteo Furniture.

Date Posted: 7/13/2024 9:25 AM

Remember the end of 2021 when VACASA stock was around $200 per share?

Vacasa (NASDAQ: VCSA)
$4.46
(-0.7%)
-$0.03
Price as of July 12, 2024

52wk Range $3.82 - $16.74