Dear Owner,
How much will I make with Airbnb or short-term rentals in Cape Town?
Today I’ll try to give you an answer. However, it will not be straightforward.
Before we share the answer to the million-dollar question, we must qualify the owner’s expectations.
Let me explain.
Kicking off, we ask the new owner what income they expect per annum from the property?
We use the owner’s answer to qualify the owner; can we meet the owner’s expectations? .
It’s very common for the owner to say;
“We do not know the market and could not tell…… you telling us what you feel we can expect as you know the market better as you say you are the experts”.
Correct! We are the experts!
And we will guide the owner eventually, but an owner with unreasonable expectations is a concern.
For example:
- If the owner expects a lot more than what we can reasonably get from the market, then we know, to rather, stay clear of the owner. Let’s assume we don’t know the owner’s expectations and it is 2 x what is reasonable. Then we are going to have a massively disappointing relationship. It will fail, as we did not know her expectations.
- If the owner’s expectations are in the ballpark, we know we just overcame one obstacle to achieving a good relationship.
- If the owner’s expectations are too low, we can panel beat the expectations; sometimes these owners tell us they only want a few profitable bookings. In the past, when we did not know their low expectations; we bombarded them will ideas to maximise income while they were not interested. And this also causes strain.
I am sure you now understand and would agree to our request to know what annual income you expect. Or would love to get.
How do you try to figure it out?
- You may want to at least cover costs monthly, or
- Cover the bond, or
- Make at least what you can do renting it out long term.
These are good starts, and we can work with that.
It’s not science. You cannot fail. Just go with your gut.
Trust us on this.
P.S. We are not real estate agents who want to make a quick buck. Our relationship must last for years. But if we get it wrong, let’s say goodbye before we fail each other.
