Real estate reality

[Nutria]

And that is wonderful that you have had great success with them. It is your statements like "Vacation rentals have their negatives. People tearing up the place isn't one of them" I have an issue with.

With your real estate success and your franchises that are even more successful, one can easily make the assumption you are an intelligent person.

So why taint that with idiotic statements that you are smart enough to know aren't true? A respectable statement would be "I know there are horror stories of vacation rental properties being trashed, but fortunately I have not experienced that with my properties."

Instead you suggest those stories are myths and constantly argue any negative statements about real estate. It make it difficult to take you seriously.

I wonder if his vacation homes are sufficiently expensive that he doesn't get many renters with young children, thus "suffering" from "anecdotal bias".

[scfr]

Perhaps some just have a better knack for this type of business.
Just because not everyone is as successful at something doesn't mean it's not possible.

Not every great athlete is on steroids.
Not every straight-A student cheats.

[disneysteve]

I know rental places really take a beating.

Vacation rentals typically do NOT take a beating - that is a huge myth.

This is an example of your bias and not reality. A simple google search and I can find many horror stories about an owner's vacation rental getting trashed.

However, many of his statements suggest it is a non issue. A myth. That is total BS!

TH never said or suggested stories of rentals getting trashed are a myth. What he said, which I quoted above, is that rentals don't typically take a beating. I think that's a perfectly reasonable statement. As I said later, if rentals routinely got seriously damaged, nobody would ever want to own one. Of course you can find horror stories online. That doesn't mean it's a common occurrence.

Can we please learn to disagree without being disagreeable?

[TexasHusker]

Again, congratulations for your success. None of the above changes the fact that it does indeed happen and is far from a myth. And there is no doubt in my mind you are fully aware of that and that you have been fortunate.

The friends I have that own vacation rentals love to talk real estate and have many acquaintances (both online and off) that they "talk shop" with. I have heard second hand stories about some of the things their acquaintances have dealt with.

Do you not have any acquaintances that you talk shop with? If you do, do you not hear any horror stories? For a person that loves real estate investing like you do, do you not belong to any online RE forums?

The impression I have is that you get into the RE vs Stock market debates so often on here that you shy away from ever discussing any of the negative aspects of RE Investing. And I think that is a shame and a disservice to those that might have a genuine interest in RE Investing.

Real estate has a number of negatives that I have actually described in detail. Getting your house torn up by guests isn't one of them. Is it a risk? I suppose. But so are floods, windstorms, fires, and other acts of God. They are a much higher risk than guests tearing up your house. The type of people that bust out a grand or two for a week's stay are likely not the types to trash houses. Those types are probably at the econolodge.

[disneysteve]

I wonder if his vacation homes are sufficiently expensive that he doesn't get many renters with young children, thus "suffering" from "anecdotal bias".

What makes you think the cost would mean no children? Don't rich people have little kids?

And I looked at the one home he posted the link for. It was $169/night, hardly an extreme price. I've certainly spent that much and more per night when traveling.

[TexasHusker]

What makes you think the cost would mean no children? Don't rich people have little kids?

And I looked at the one home he posted the link for. It was $169/night, hardly an extreme price. I've certainly spent that much and more per night when traveling.

Families LOVE our cabins. Many have been returning for years. Last year, one of the families held their daughter's wedding at a cabin. We were thrilled and honored. We actually have guests that frequent our main cabin more than we do. It's really kind of their place too !

[Nutria]

What makes you think the cost would mean no children?

I did say young children...

Don't rich people have little kids?

And I looked at the one home he posted the link for. It was $169/night, hardly an extreme price. I've certainly spent that much and more per night when traveling.

The bottom line is that if children inflict damage on rental properties at a high enough rate to be noticeable and TH doesn't see it, then there must be some reason why he doesn't see it.

• Money?
• Class (for various definitions of "class")?
• Good Luck?
• Something else?

Of course, maybe:

• children don't children inflict damage on rental properties at a high enough rate to be noticeable, or
• property managers hide the fact from TH, or
• he suffers from confirmation bias, or
• he's trolling us.

[disneysteve]

Of course, maybe:[LIST][*]children don't children inflict damage on rental properties at a high enough rate to be noticeable

I vote for that one.

Especially because of what he has said about the quality of furnishings he uses.

In the house we are staying in right now, the dresser in the "kids" bedroom is laminate, not real wood. There is a big rectangle where the laminate has been torn off. I'm guessing somebody put a sticker on there and the laminate came off when the sticker was removed.

Put that same sticker on a real solid wood dresser and rip it off and you'd probably just need some polish and elbow grease to remove the adhesive residue but there wouldn't be any permanent damage.

[TexasHusker]

I did say young children...





The bottom line is that if children inflict damage on rental properties at a high enough rate to be noticeable and TH doesn't see it, then there must be some reason why he doesn't see it.

• Money?
• Class (for various definitions of "class")?
• Good Luck?
• Something else?

Of course, maybe:

• children don't children inflict damage on rental properties at a high enough rate to be noticeable, or
• property managers hide the fact from TH, or
• he suffers from confirmation bias, or
• he's trolling us.

Idea: Stick with Fidelity Target 2040 Fund.

[TexasHusker]

You gross 115k but what is your number after property tax/hoa/insurance/maintenance/home warranty/lawn care and interest?

About $75K-80K.

[TexasHusker]

Ah, I see. I have assets as well. But since they are in the market, that means they could lose 40% of their value in any given month. While his assets are likely to appreciate significantly over the long term. Wish I were as smart as you guys, then I wouldn't have bought a house that lost 30% of its value in 2009 and has just now recovered to what it was worth 7 years ago. But after transaction costs, is still under water 10%.

You make it seem so easy.

A personal residence often is not a particularly good investment.

[corn18]

A personal residence often is not a particularly good investment.

Yeah, I'm just a koala.

[TexasHusker]

Yeah, I'm just a koala.

That's disappointing. I always thought of you as Mr. Sunshine.

[StormRichards]

TH never said or suggested stories of rentals getting trashed are a myth. What he said, which I quoted above, is that rentals don't typically take a beating. I think that's a perfectly reasonable statement. As I said later, if rentals routinely got seriously damaged, nobody would ever want to own one. Of course you can find horror stories online. That doesn't mean it's a common occurrence.

Can we please learn to disagree without being disagreeable?

Steve, I quoted him in a prior post as well

"Vacation rentals have their negatives. People tearing up the place isn't one of them"

A post he reiterated after yours. I am struggling to understand why you are disagreeing so much with me on this one. No one in this thread suggested rentals getting trashed was common. You are the quote master. If someone stated that and I missed it, please by all means quote it for me.

For crying out loud, Nutria and I appear to be seeing this one the same way and we haven't agreed on anything before.

The statement suggesting that having a rental potentially trashed is not a negative is absolutely absurd. Trying to defend that statement is absurd as well.

[Singuy]

Steve, I quoted him in a prior post as well

"Vacation rentals have their negatives. People tearing up the place isn't one of them"

A post he reiterated after yours. I am struggling to understand why you are disagreeing so much with me on this one. No one in this thread suggested rentals getting trashed was common. You are the quote master. If someone stated that and I missed it, please by all means quote it for me.

For crying out loud, Nutria and I appear to be seeing this one the same way and we haven't agreed on anything before.

The statement suggesting that having a rental potentially trashed is not a negative is absolutely absurd. Trying to defend that statement is absurd as well.

Hmm, I feel like TH explained it pretty sufficiently. A trashed up rental of course is a negative, but shouldn't deter you from investing into real estate since it is so uncommon. So when we are talking about the positives and negatives of investing into real estate, potential clients that once in a blue moon that trashes up your investment shouldn't be counted as a negative for the analysis.