Buying a house for short-term rentals

[Enid43]

I am in the process if buying a 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom house to rent out in Port Republic,MD. I am nervous. The house is clise to the chesapeake bay where there is a private community beach. How many nights a year am I likely to rent the place out? How much do I pay a property manager as I live in NJ? Would love others in that area to reach out to me and let me know more about renting out in that area.

[Bhumika]

Hi @Enid43 ,

Welcome to the Airbnb Community Center!

Just wanted to drop a note that I have moved your post to the ''Help with your business'' board for better visibility. I hope you don't mind.

[Enid43]

Thanks so much. This is all so new for me and I am torn between excited and scared to death 

[Helen744]

@Enid43 Congrats Enid . I am not sure if you are planning to share with your guests or host a whole home. I am not sure what 'a community beach ' is as all our beaches, or most of them in Australia are 'public beaches'. if it is a private or restricted beach then it may have different guidelines for owners as compared to STR  owners. Is that a thing ? Good luck . Maybe get some assistance from a partner or close relative or friend initially as a 'co host'.The most important thing initially is to get to know the dashboard. Read all the rules , the advice and look around at others listings . Take your time , take your photos , choose your furnishings , stay in the space , have fun and then off you go ... H

[Enid43]

Thanks Helen. It is an entire home.  The community beach is a beach that can only be accessed by members of the community or those staying in one of the community houses. The beach has a fence with a lock and you have to know the code to access the beach. I reached out to the real estate agent and have asked her to help me figure out how to proceed.

[Pat271]

I didn’t think you could restrict access to any beaches in New Jersey. I thought public access was required. Am I wrong about this?

[Pat271]

Oh, sorry, it’s in Maryland, not New Jersey - ignore my question.

[Helen3]

Please don't rely on advice from real estate agents they are there to sell you a property.

if you want advice post on your local host group 

[Helen3]

firstly have you checked STR regulation for your area? 

No one here can tell you how many nights you are likely to let your STR business for I'm afraid - you need to do your own market research on supply and demand for your sort of listing in your location to get an idea of pricing and how many days you can let it out for . @Enid43 

setting up an STR business is a major business investment  - so don't rush into it  - do your market research and set up a profit and loss budget for set up and ongoing costs so you can estimate whether it's likely to be  a profitable business 

we are in a major recession and there are many oversaturated markets as demand crashes . 

are you able to cover all your costs if you don't get the bookings you expect ? 

[Nur785]

Hi @Enid43 Did you check with Calvert County BOCC? Most MD has a maximum 120 day policy if you are not present on the property. Calvert County might have something like that.