<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 4934" data-quote="danoodle" data-source="post: 458964"
class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">
<div class="bbCodeBlock-title">
<a href="/community/goto/post?id=458964"
class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump"
rel="nofollow"
data-xf-click="attribution"
data-content-selector="#post-458964">danoodle said:</a>
</div>
<div class="bbCodeBlock-content">
<div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent ">
Great post! I am looking into adding short-term vacation rentals to my portfolio, but only looking in the US so far. I am curious about your 15% operating expenses line item. Are you including utilities in that figure? It seems a bit low to me if you include all utilities (water/trash, gas, electric, internet/tv) as well as property taxes and insurance, not to mention regular maintenance and deferred maintenance on eventual big ticket items (furnace/ac, roof, water heater, etc). I do realize you are talking about houses outside the US so you might have fewer amenities? (no internet/tv, ac, etc) and repair costs may be cheaper as well. I reserve 10% yearly for maintenance alone on my rentals and people say that is low. Another cost to consider is the initial furnishings and decorations, as the house needs to be fully furnished and looking good. Also lawn care/snow removal if applicable.
</div>
<div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div>
</div>
</blockquote><br />
You are comparing apples to oranges. For example, my property tax is less than .2% of assessed value. WAY lower than in the US. Secondly, I only do apartments, so no exterior maintenance issues whatsover. My insurance costs are less than $15/month. My "hoa" includes trash and cam and runs about $40/m (very cheap). My utilities are water, heat, and internet. No tv's in any of my apartments, only internet (who goes on vacation to watch tv?). I do consider deferred maintenance, but it is much lower where I own property and apartments are much lower as well.<br />
<br />
Of course, you need to consider your expenses based on location.<br />
<br />
Personally I would never consider a house. Too many variables to go wrong with me on the other side of the world.</div>