New School Management Approach

I kept the house under existing “traditional” management for the summer (high season), during which time I paid them 20% of gross revenue. Even paying that rate, I still often felt as though I had to “manage the property management.”  I knew I’d be doing a renovation in September, and I also took over management at that time.  We did a 6 week renovation and spent $88k updating the house.  That, plus the $68k I needed for the down payment plus closing costs back in May, meant I was in for a total of $156k in cash when all was said and done.  I got the professional photography done, launched the brand new listing on AirBNB and VRBO, and then the “dings” started rolling in on my phone as the bookings began in mid October.

Two months later, the property exceeded $20k in revenue just for the month of December.  By the mid-point of 2023, the Chateau Jolene had already done $108k for the first 6 months and had another $91k in future bookings for the second half of the year.  The 2023 total revenue finished at $230k almost tripling the property’s best-ever year under traditional management.