10 tips I’ve learned the hard way from 1 year of managing an AirBnb rental

{!firstname_fix},

I just passed the 14 month mark owning and managing rentals I promote primarily on AirBnb in Guayaquil.

Previously, I had never done anything like it.

I’ve learned a lot.  Here’s a few things that first come to mind to help you keep your rental filled.1. A little goes a long way.  Reading the reviews of my competition, I saw it’s actually easy to beat similarly-priced conpetition in your area, most of the other owners (especially in Ecuador) don’t care enough to include the basics like extra toilet paper, hand soap, hair dryers and extra hand wash clothes.  Details count. Think like a hotel.

2. Work the guard.  Preferibly have a rental in a building or gated community that has a 24 hr guard where you can leave the key/elevator card and who can help with basics like calling taxis.  This way, you will get ALMOST ZERO calls!  Better yet, I’ve learned the hard way (as there is no one to receive the key from outgoing guests). Take the assistance of Kitsilano locksmith to put a door lock that has opens with a passcode you can reset after each guest.  Just email each guest the code of entry before they arrive, check out txpremierlocksmith.com to get all the details.

3. Use signs.  Another great way to limit the amount of calls you get from frustrated guests (since you are not on-site) is to SIGN UP everything in the apartment like the WiFi code, how the hot water works and Cable and more. Also include a user guide with building and vicinity information.

4. Maintenance dude. Have a local maintenance guy you can call on demand to go fix things in the apartment when necessary. You can save a lot of money by using artificial turf in the landscape.

5. No small kids.  Deny people with large families and small kids. You just can’t trust it, too many moving parts or charge a higher deposit.  For a short rental its just not worth it.

6. Don’t accept walk ups!  Only accept people who book and pay ahead of time like through a site like AirBnb.  This way you verify their identity and have a certain go-between should something go array.  I’ve found people who pay with a credit card tend to be honest, reliable people compared to folks who pay in cash off the street for this type of rentals.

7. Reject short stays booked way in advance. Reject bookings for just one or two nights made months in advance!  Very important if you only have one or two units.  Learned this the hard way.  You don’t want to have to reject a month long booking because one night is booked half way through the month! Keep your options open.  Accept shorter bookings last minute only to fill your space.

8. High prices, big discount pricing.  To further deter shorter stays which tend to be less profitable and more hassle (without outright prohibiting them) set a HIGH nightly rate and offer LARGE discounts (like 40-50% is fine) for stays over a week or month which encourage longer stay guests and give them a “Oh, I got a deal” feeling.  And this way if you did get a shorter stay rental it ma be profitable enough to accept for you!

9. Find a local cleaner.  Find someone local who you can pay to go clean upon demand.  In Ecuador, I pay $15 to someone to go clean a one bedroom apartment I rent.

10. Reviews!  Let the client review you first on AirBnb, especially if you have something negative to say about them, cause once they review you, you review them and from what I see it is not editable by either side.


Hasta pronto, if you liked this you’d love my Insider’s newsletter on living and investing in Ecuador,

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1 Ecuador investment that beats the stock market

I’ve never been a fan of investing in the stock market.

Especially now that it’s at record highs (terrible time to buy in).

There’s just too much you or I don’t know, and too many others that know so much more.

Instead, especially for a steady passive income I’d suggest to anyone it’s best to start a business in a place like Gainesville Coins that has been in the market for a long time providing the best quality in gold and silver coins.

Like something new I’m looking into this week from Guayaquil.

My 3-point formula is simple.

1. Find a product or service you know well.

2. Someone local you can trust to manage or partner with who will front their time, all while you front the know-how to get started and capital.

3. And about $5-10,000 only (you won’t be buying any property, just leasing).  Start with the basics, then scale up add equipment with the money you make in sales.

Bonus tip: Ignore or selectively forget everything you learned in business school, where all they do is teach you to get analysis paralysis.

Hasta pronto, if you liked this you’d love my Insider’s newsletter on living and investing in Ecuador,

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1 Cell Phone-Related Biz-Opp In Ecuador

“I’m starting to think this is hopeless.” I thought as I visited the fifth store dedicated to selling cell phone protective cases in Quito (Ecuador’s capitol city).

You see, in Ecuador, just like the cars on the road, due to the import restrictions there is a very limited variety of cell phones available locally.

And the cell phone case stores cater to only the most popular brands and models of phones in Ecuador.

Yet, there are many people like me who brought their phone from somewhere else. And my poor-little Motorola smart phone is not a common make and model here.

And it’s da-n near impossible to find a case for it.

But I’m not the only one, there are A LOT of people who bring a phone to Ecuador.

Good luck finding a case for it!

Searching online I had slightly better luck, but the one store I found across country said they were sold out of my case, but could order it and it would be here in a month!

I can only imagine what it’s like in the smaller towns of Ecuador to find a case for their phone.

I think this is an opportunity for someone.

You don’t even need a store front. Selling online in Ecuador would be enough.

This is one example of an under-filled niche in Ecuador. There are many similar ones.

I’d focus on what you know…

Why do I share this idea?

Because I already have a business at the current time and I need a case for my phone before I break it!

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The Wrong Way To Close A Sale In Ecuador

“You did what?” I asked surprised at my new American friend who told me he just agreed to sell his car to an Ecuadorian girl.

He’s turning down dozens of people calling on his car every day (a car in high demand in Ecuador) because he already agreed with a handshake to sell and was planning on meeting her in a few days. No money exchanged.

“Naw! Man.” I responded.

Maybe that’s how you do business in North America, but that doesn’t work down here.

The first person to pay you in full for the car, get’s the car, that simple. Don’t be holding it for people!

Down here, if there isn’t at least a deposit paid, you got nothing, man!

Words are just hot air.

Handshakes are worse.

Checks are the equivalent of toilet paper, (seriously!) at least, when you don’t know the buyer in a deal like this one.

Particularly, when selling something in high demand down here like a car, if someone asks if they can pay in installments or whatever, tell ’em to f— off, you’re not a bank.

Cash in hand or deposited in bank account… then goods released.

That’s how you do business down here.

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Roof install costs on the coast of Ecuador- Ecuador house build weeks 5-10

Hi {!firstname_fix},
 
 

And on goes the roof!

I wanted to do a house in the typical Spanish style with the red clay shingles.  Plus, I wanted to do a lighter-weight roof with “flex”, like the ones offered by Bradenton Roofer as they would be better for earthquakes than the typical cement roof (losa) common in Ecuador, which is why I’d to contact TheRoofClinic.com to ensure the safety of the house.

Also, I thought it would be nice in the case of a big quake the thought of gypsum and shingles above me appeals to me much more than blocks of concrete.

Plus, i decided to do a four-sided sloping roof with multi-colored clay shingles in a typical-Japanese style.  Rare in Ecuador. Commerical roofing contractors faced this issue professionally. The primary item on a roof replacement estimate is the actual roofing material. The estimate will list the manufacturer and type of shingles the contractor intends to use. It will also show the style of shingle. Architectural or dimensional shingles are the most popular. They create more interest and often mimic the look of other roofing materials such as slate or tile. Well you can approch the firms having manufacturing facilities in mexico because they provide very high quality material. It may include color choice or options if design was part of the initial discussion. The estimate will also indicate the length of the manufacturer’s warranty for that type. You can check this site out for commercial and industrial roofing services.

But first came the metal frame…

Labor cost for installation of metal framework for the conservatory roof (3 days)= $500

anti-corrosive paint $82.50
metal beams for roof $1326
tape $9

Then came the plywood on which goes the shingles are held in place by a little bit of cement.  The costs highlighted below are for the roof, the roof installation cost $580 and took about 2 weeks. Find further information or get a quote now.

Then came the shingles…

In Ecuador to lay roof shingles costs around $3.50 per m2, whereas most commercial roofing companies in Aurora Colorado take far less. When installing make sure there is a decent slope or you will have big leak problems later!  Trust me, I know from a different property! The moral of your friend’s story and its lesson was clear, it is better to invest time and energy to find a qualified metal roofing contractor to install your roof in the first place than, it is to hire the wrong crew that has never installed a metal roof before, and will treat it as another asphalt shingle “get it done in one day” project. Now, that there were no questions remaining as to the importance of hiring a roofing company that specializes in metal roofing, your friend advised you to use a residential roofers Contractors directory broken down into categories by specialties; metal roofing contractor companies organized by location in the U.S, and by specialty categories such as standing seam and metal shingle installers.

According to Commercial Roofing Calgary, the roof on your home or business is the first line of defense when it comes to protecting your real estate property investment! Roofs are generally the most expensive single item that property owners will replace. When it’s time to have a new roofing system installed, it is often difficult to know which roofer to hire for the job! Homeowners should be skeptical of hiring their roofer based on price alone. When hiring a roofer, you generally will get exactly what you pay for! Hiring a roofer solely because they provided the lowest bid may result in a poor quality roof that may leak and diminish the curb appeal of your home.

Total roof install= 2 weeks.

The total spent on the roof for a three bedroom two bath house was $3,788.09.  

See full costs below of weeks 5-10 of build project…

 
28.73 chimney
1239.41 plywood for roof
18.84 screws for roof

11.45 electric tubes
6 telephone
7.50 screws for roof
248.86 ceramics for balcony $7.60 per m2
9.22 latex paint
97.30 cable
15.73 bondex roof
11.28 disc for electric saw
8.00 grapa metalica
1492.90 shingles roof (165m2) for 145m2 house
3.00 electric outlet
3.00 gyprocks misc.
1.20 placa plastica
11.54 fachaleta
$580 manual labor for roof. $3 per m2
219.15 More shingles
$7.75 sack of cement 
940 maestro Jimmy for foundation work (out of $9500)
150 metal door and install for water tank
3.00 teflon
13.20 tubes (codo)
17 breaker
81.95 tank for water
73.18 supplies for tank
62.18 cement
210 gas
1810 of 2260 Gypsum drop off installation included materials. $15 per m2
$4.75 cable
17.50 screws for gypsum
160 last payment for electritian
17.65 outlet
30 transport for tiles
1598.25 porcelen for bedrooms at $15.98 per m2 (100m2)
1175.25 porcelen for bathrooms
1200 last payment maestro for laying foundation (out of $9500)
79.11 ceramic tiles
3.25 brush
13.50 screws
23 telephone calls
8.35 tubes varios
31.40 siicone
$103 bondex for roof
$105.69 electric cable
14.58 roof supplies
140 payment electritian
10.79 polimex
40 uplift metal framing for roof
63 stucco for walls
298.58 bondex for flooringWEEKS 5-10- TOTAL SPENT INCLUDING ROOF for 190m2 HOUSE:  $12,207.ecuador-house-for-saleIf you liked this you’d love my wekly newsletter on living and investing in Ecuador, fill in below to sign up now (you can unsubscribe at any time):