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Lady D

SoWal Insider
Jun 21, 2005
6,166
193
65
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
:blink: We were going to go somewhere else and vacation instead of the beach but after cancelling decided after all that we still wanted to come to the beach no matter how it looked. We regretted cancelling! We decided we would not be happy vacationing anywhere else, despite the beach conditions. Granted we had a good time that one year in the Cajun part of Louisiana, and even though I wouldn't mind going back there, we cannot get past coming to the Panhandle to want to go anywhere else. I've heard some places will not give refunds to people who have to leave because of mandatory evacuations, say because of hurricanes. Is that true?
 

Sheila

SoWal Insider
ladydebubba60 said:
:blink: We were going to go somewhere else and vacation instead of the beach but after cancelling decided after all that we still wanted to come to the beach no matter how it looked. We regretted cancelling! We decided we would not be happy vacationing anywhere else, despite the beach conditions. Granted we had a good time that one year in the Cajun part of Louisiana, and even though I wouldn't mind going back there, we cannot get past coming to the Panhandle to want to go anywhere else. I've heard some places will not give refunds to people who have to leave because of mandatory evacuation due to hurricanes. Is that true?

Depends on the place. If you are going someplace with a a website they normally have that information readily available on line. If not ask up front before you sign on the dotted line.
 

SGB

Beach Fanatic
Feb 11, 2005
1,039
182
South Walton
SHELLY said:
You and Donna know you are successful because you know how important it is to your bottom line to keep your return customers happy even if you have to tighten up your profit margins a smidge. I'm also assuming that these properties were not purchased in the last 2 years.

Rentals purchased at last year's prices, and whose owners are attempting to make them cashflow positive, are going to sit empty most of the season and beyond.

I agree with what Donna had to say above. In addition, the only way to price a rental is to do it at a price that the market can bear and that will result in happy customers. You really can't come up with a price based on your expenses. Is our rental a profit making proposition? Not most of the time. The money we get in rental income covers our expenses, but we usually put in some type of major improvement each year which usually eats up any profit we might make. Some years there isn't a lot of maintenance, others there are. I know painting your house, such as Donna just did, and we did last year, can sure take a chunk of change. However, on paper, we have made a tidy profit in the appreciation of the house. (Location, location, location!) This appreciation is WAY more than any profit we could make. And, yes, SHELLY, we did buy before the big run up! Recent buyers certainly won't be able to cover their costs, but they can certainly offset a good part of it. Even with the recent downturn, the return on our money is much larger than it would have been if we had invested it in other ways. Also, I think in the long term our values will do very well. And as Paula is so eloquent in pointing out, we have a piece of paradise that we don't intend on ever selling. We're hoping to be able to hand down our little part of Old Seagrove to our children some day.
 

SGB

Beach Fanatic
Feb 11, 2005
1,039
182
South Walton
ladydebubba60 said:
:blink: We were going to go somewhere else and vacation instead of the beach but after cancelling decided after all that we still wanted to come to the beach no matter how it looked. We regretted cancelling! We decided we would not be happy vacationing anywhere else, despite the beach conditions. Granted we had a good time that one year in the Cajun part of Louisiana, and even though I wouldn't mind going back there, we cannot get past coming to the Panhandle to want to go anywhere else. I've heard some places will not give refunds to people who have to leave because of mandatory evacuations, say because of hurricanes. Is that true?

We've been enjoying the beach all week and I have to say, hurricanes have never entered my mind. The beaches really look great and where we've been we haven't seen debris, just beautiful white sand.

All the rental companies that I know of will refund money if a mandatory evacuation order goes out. Nothing else should be acceptable. Ask the owner or company you're renting from what the policy is. The policy of what happens with the rentals in the weeks after a storm, if the storm has done damage, is probably the one that is harder to find out. I know that last year we had to discount many of our rentals after the storm due to the missing beach accesses. We also allowed a couple of cancellations.

Come on down! We need you to pick up the economy and you need to see our gorgeous beaches.
 

Unplugged

Beach Fanatic
Jul 31, 2005
519
0
SGB said:
We've been enjoying the beach all week and I have to say, hurricanes have never entered my mind. The beaches really look great and where we've been we haven't seen debris, just beautiful white sand.

All the rental companies that I know of will refund money if a mandatory evacuation order goes out. Nothing else should be acceptable. Ask the owner or company you're renting from what the policy is. The policy of what happens with the rentals in the weeks after a storm, if the storm has done damage, is probably the one that is harder to find out. I know that last year we had to discount many of our rentals after the storm due to the missing beach accesses. We also allowed a couple of cancellations.

Come on down! We need you to pick up the economy and you need to see our gorgeous beaches.
We offer our guests 100% full refund no questions asked. Do the right thing, and your guests will reward you with future visits and referrals. This should be obvious. Keep it simple and fair and good karma will come back to you.
 

Lady D

SoWal Insider
Jun 21, 2005
6,166
193
65
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
SGB, we stay in Walton County at Inlet Beach. Not much beach on the lower part along the water to set your beach chairs out on. Probably not too bad though. I have pictures posted under the Members photo gallery of the area where we stay. Just have to go to my user id to view them. All of my pictures are titled Inlet Beach. Stairs to the walkover are gone. Man says he cannot rebuild it until the dunes are back but that is not the case entirely because the two beach houses down to the left of where we stay have new walkovers built without the dunes being present. I put several pictures on the photo gallery of near where we stay including the little love shack on the beach.
 

Mango

SoWal Insider
Apr 7, 2006
9,709
1,360
New York/ Santa Rosa Beach
[QUOTE=Donna]I would be surprised if any home purchased in the last four years was showing even a small net profit if financed conventionally. We bought a larger house (appreciably higher rent in these houses), put 20% down and financed the remainder in a tool that allows an option for paying the interest only. _________________________________________________________________

I bought 2 townhomes 2 years ago, and I broke even on the 4 bedroom and almost broke even on the 2 bedroom. Put 20% down on each and have low 5% or so 30 year fixed on both of them. (Ok, I cheated and handled my own mortgages)

I gave away the 4 bedroom last year because we had transitions in our association, and had personal things to attend to, so I booked it fully early in the season. I did raise my rate this year , and I am on the Board and we spent money on exterior renovations as well and grounds, so I guess it did get eaten up, Unfortunately I did not get repeaters this year due to the problems we had last year. But this year, I have had everyone happy :D , and a few rolled over deposits for next year. I made a point to call each family when they arrive, my housekeeper leaves fresh Mangos :love: on the table, and now they call or e-mail me when they get home thanking me for sharing the house. If I had to sell them now, I would be able to to make a profit. Not a huge one, but I wouldn't take a loss.

Oh, and my husband and I re-newed our vows on the beach for our 10 year wedding anniversary about 3 weeks after Hurricane Ivan. There was no place we would have rather been, or would have been more appropriate.

Even with the hurricanes, people seemed to get right back on the beach and on with their lives right afterward when it was safe to go back on beach.

A friend took pictures of the beach replenishment completed in SanDestin from one of the high rise condos- before and after shots, and there is a huge difference now. I think word will get out, and people will be less skittish and book earlier next year.
 

SGB

Beach Fanatic
Feb 11, 2005
1,039
182
South Walton
ladydebubba60 said:
SGB, we stay in Walton County at Inlet Beach. Not much beach on the lower part along the water to set your beach chairs out on. Probably not too bad though. I have pictures posted under the Members photo gallery of the area where we stay. Just have to go to my user id to view them. All of my pictures are titled Inlet Beach. Stairs to the walkover are gone. Man says he cannot rebuild it until the dunes are back but that is not the case entirely because the two beach houses down to the left of where we stay have new walkovers built without the dunes being present. I put several pictures on the photo gallery of near where we stay including the little love shack on the beach.

I took a look at your photos and the beach does look a little thin there, but perhaps it has gotten better since those were taken. I have to admit I never make it that far east on the beach, so I can't give you any info there. Is the walkover near where you stay a public access? If so then the TDC should be able to tell you when it will be repaired. My impression is that almost all the public accesses have been repaired. Ours was repaired just in time for our summer season, thank goodness. If it's a private walkover, which it sounds like it is, then it's up to the owner to decide when/whether to replace it.

Also, tell your friend that goes to Sandestin that the beaches there are wider than they've been for years due to beach renourishment in that area. They are looking particularly good.
 

Lady D

SoWal Insider
Jun 21, 2005
6,166
193
65
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Yes, it is thin there. And it is a privately owned place and he keeps thinking the county is going to provide the sand and rebuild the dunes there and then he said he could redo the walkover. But since that is private there, he will be waiting until doomsday. We just walk right next door and use that walkover. He has ok'd it with the owner. If you are familiar with Walton Lakeshore Drive and Walton Magnolia Ln. across from the Spicy Noodle, that is where his place is and it is beachfront. I would tell my friend but she is already in Mobile tonight and will be there sometime tomorrow morning. It is amazing how wide the beach is around the Dan Russell Pier in PC Beach. I know some beach renourishment was done in PC Beach last year.
 

lindatat

quirty
Jul 14, 2005
2,813
10
61
Too far from the beach (Chicago 'Burbs)
What's that phrase again, something like "a bad day at the beach is better than a good day"......anywhere else? I did a lot of walking up and down the beach last week and I could definitely see that some areas had been hit worse than others. But there's nowhere I'd have rather been - and can't wait to get back.
 
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