Hello,

I am a Realtor at Prudential Coastal Properties in Destin, Florida and I also own a vacation rental management company. Purchasing an REO with a good rental history is an excellent idea and I would love to advise and answer all of your questions. Please email me directly at erin@prucoastal.com . I look forward to helping you and at the very least providing you with plenty of information to make an informed decision.

Talk soon, Erin

Most rental companies charge between 25-30%. Rental companies are great because they handle booking, cleaning and minor repairs depending upon your rental agreement with them. You should take a look at http://www.southernresorts.com. They would also be able to provide you with projected rental incomes once you choose a few properties you like. If you decide on a property that is presently on a rental program ask for the rental income from the last two years before you make an offer.
I personally think that REOs are far easier to negotiate with a faster turn around time. The banks already own these properties and they want to sell them. Banks are not in the business of owning property and most don't want to keep REO properties on the books. An REO can take 305 days to recieve a reply to an offer and you can negotiate with the bank. Most short sales take 90 days or longer to close. There is always that property that is the acception to the rule, but you never know if you are going to get that property.
My web site is http://www.liveindestin.com. You should check it out and see if you find any properties that catch your eye. Please contact me if you need assistance.
Niki Noblin
Remax Southern Realty
850-496-4454

Hello! We purchases a rental home in Destin in 2008 so I can speak from firsthand experience. The best management company in our experience is Kastle Keepers (http://destin-dreamin.com). We had our house with Ocean Reef Resort Properties who came to us with a bad reputation but we gave them a shot. It was terrible. Repairs were frequent and expensive, and performed without our approval or consent. The house was not kept very clean, even when they knew we (the owners) were coming into town. We were embarassed to find the condition in which they kept the house. We finally parted ways a few months ago and I have been thrilled with our new management. It's like night and day!

Kastle Keepers is run by a local couple who have owned rental properties so they sympathize with property owners. Also, they can often perform minor repairs that a larger company may hire someone to perform and cost you $200 or more. Their cleaning fee is lower than many other management companies' ($100 vice $125 or more) and the cleaning fee is charged to the renter (occupant), not the owner. The house is cleaned after each guest. In the summer, most rentals are a one-week minimum (Saturday to Saturday). We have a keypad on our door so either we or our management company can generate a code to give to our guests via email. No need to worry about delivering keys!

Also, Kastle Keepers takes a smaller cut of your rental income than other larger rental companies. Most of them take 30% or more while Kastle Keepers takes 20%, or 10% if you refer the guests. I was concerned about getting less rentals with a smaller company but in fact we have gotten MORE than we did with Ocean Reef! We utilize a variety of rental sites, such as HomeAway and VRBO, and our house remains consistently booked.

Feel free to email me directly if you have any questions about being a rental property owner at flipflop08@yahoo.com!

I believe the other answer is a good answer for rental management companies. I think you could find some smaller operations that are closer to 30%. I love short sales and have had great success with them, however, they do take a while. I recently closed a so called "quick short sale" according the the listing agent and it took 90 days from contract to closing. The important thing to consider is that our market is dominated by short sales, if you rule them out, you may be missing the majority of the correctly priced market. REO's can be great but many are over priced and when they are priced correctly, you will often find your self in a multiple offer situation. I have experience with both short sales and REOs and would be happy to help you in any way. With an REO you can close quickly and hear back from the bank in less than a week. Before, making an offer on a bank owned home or short sale, I provide my buyers with a CMA "Comparative Market Analysis" this enables my customers to understand the current value and make the correct offer. In some cases we include the CMA with the offer. Feel free to call me at 850-585-1284 and I will be happy to answer any questions about REOs and short sales. Feel free to visit my site at http://www.mainsailrealtycompany.com.

Best,

Clayton Bonjean, Broker, MBA, Certified Distressed Property Expert

Hello Dream Vacationer,
There are a number of management companies in the area that do a good job. The charge is generally 30-40% of your gross revenues. They basically maintain complete control of your property for this rate. They manage cleaning, linens, etc. If you have any interest in managing yourself, you might check out VRBO.com or GulfCoastRentals.com. I would do some research into these possibilities. Dale Petersen Vacations and ResortQuest are the biggest management companies in the area, but there are also smaller ones that might charge you less--I would be happy to assist you in gathering information if you are interested--I do have experience in this area.

I certainly would recommend REO rather than short sales--short sales take a longer time, and both are as is sales--with a foreclosure you have an answer quickly and you can move forward with your plans--short sales can take months.

I would recommend working with a realtor and I can assist you with all the other aspects in your questions--I would not undertake buying REO or short sale on your own--they can be complicated and you want to be protected.

I hope this helps. I can give you much more specific information as we move through the process--I would love to work with you.

You can contact me at:

Myke Triebold
850-305-6256
MykeSaysSold@aol.com http://www.DestinHomeRealtor.com