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I have always had the dream of buying one of those little oceanfront condos that used to be a hotel room and now is rented out in peak season; either living there full-time or traveling during peak season. Want to sit on the balcony with my morning coffee and evening wine and watch the waves roll in. Am I crazy?
Seems reasonably priced, and I don't see a problem with it, yet seems I'm always warned away from it.
Even during off season, many of the units around you will be rented out on a weekly basis. They will be there to have fun and less likely to keep the noise down. How sound proof are the units? Will you hear them yelling to each other in the hall, their overly tired 2 year old having a tantrum? Have you checked out the HOA fees?
That said, if it works for you, go for it and enjoy your morning coffee, and evening wine while watching the waves roll in.
For all the above-mentioned reasons (neighbors, noise, HOA fees), I would prefer a SFH, but then there is just walking right out on the "private" balcony and watching the waves roll in... But so many warn of disaster with this plan. I don't see how it can go TOO far wrong, even if it ends up being nothing BUT a rental property for profit?
Just a couple of other costs to remember
Myrtle Beach Business License (based on gross receipts)
Some condo associations charge an additional fees if you rent monthly, weekly or daily
Property Management fee
Cleaning fees between each renter
Potential increase in property taxes (you may also need to pay property taxes on the appliances in the rental)
Before I moved here I rented out my home (6 month minimum lease). After all expenses I probably made $300 a month.
There's another thread on this forum where people that do not live in MB who have or had owned MB rental properties discuss the pros and cons. I suggest you search to find it. There were not too many who had positive experiences.
I have always had the dream of buying one of those little oceanfront condos that used to be a hotel room and now is rented out in peak season; either living there full-time or traveling during peak season. Want to sit on the balcony with my morning coffee and evening wine and watch the waves roll in. Am I crazy?
Seems reasonably priced, and I don't see a problem with it, yet seems I'm always warned away from it.
Where specifically are you talking about? If you're talking about those little old motels down near the MB strip that are 50-60 years old, you get what you pay for. If you live there year round it will be noisy, crowded, and possibly not very safe, depending on which property and which block it is on. If you rent it out, you will get trashy people who just want to party and don't care how nice their accommodations are or how well they treat them, or IOW, one huge headache and lots of repair bills.
If you are talking one of the nicer, high rise condos in a better area, you are talking about an HOA fee, yearly property taxes, A/C and heat maintenance fees, replacement and repair fees for damage done by renters, and the list goes on.
We own a two bedroom condo in a high rise in a nicer, residential area of MB, roughly in the upper-70s avenues and Ocean Blvd. Our HOA fee is just under $1,000/month and we also pay $3,800/year in property taxes. We pay other fees up the ying yang; a yearly deep cleaning fee, a yearly A/C heating maintenance fee, a yearly new bedding fee, and probably others that I can't even think of. Our management company gets 35% of our rental income and we get the remaining 65%. We get a monthly statement online with a breakdown of all income and expenses. Every month there is at least one repair/replacement charge, whether it be a broken patio table or a few missing kitchen untensils. None of these fees are optional if you are property owner in that resort, regardless of if you use their management company or not, or you won't be renting out your unit. Resorts have basic standards that must be adhered to Since the management company does a great job of keeping our unit filled, even in the winter months, we have no desire to take over the task of trying to rent it ourselves, but I suppose you could. I'm not sure how you would screen tenants, though, since people have been known to, you know, lie, lol.
IDK if this helps or not, but that is a basic summary of our experience. If you choose to buy in a property without an HOA, add in homeowners and hurricane insurance, as those are included in our HOA fee. Always have some extra money on hand in case a renter does damage and again, the worse the area, the worse the tenants most of the time.
Maybe it's worth giving up that oceanfront morning coffee/evening wine to keep more of my pension.
I say, Live the Dream. We only have one life and it's important to prioritize and do what brings us the most joy in life. We have a small 2 bed/1 bath unit in Garden City, SC. It is lovely, quaint and safe on the second row with a partial Ocean View. We do not rent our unit out. HOA is $330 per month and we have additional condo insurance for the inside which runs about $550 per year. There are taxes but there are taxes everywhere.
I would suggest breaking it down into a process....
Decide how much you are willing to budget each month, total.
Talk to a few local realtors and explain your concerns, budget and needs to see which one is optimistic about your goals.
Work from there.
HOAs can make your life very difficult or they can be a wonderful asset that helps to maintain/increase the value of your investment. Do your research and make a good choice.
We have so enjoyed the time spent and memories made at our little place by the sea. I feel certain that you can make it work with a little time and research.
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