Buy a condo in LOTO?
 

The wife and I are concise ring buying a condo in LOTO. I'm looking for a little advise from people that have done this or spend lots of time on the lake. Ok, what we THINK we know...we want to look in Osage beach. We are looking for a condo that could use some fixing up. We want to avoid any place that seems to be heavy on special assessments. A well mangled facility is key.... That's about all we have at this point. Questions, what MM is most desirable for weekly renters ... We were thinking between MM 10-28... But in our last trip we found that the low MM seemed to have a lot of fun for people looking to go by car in the evening.... So now we are in the air about where to look. Should we look to use a management company or have a go at it with VRBO(maybe get a house not a condo). What size slip is needed... I'm thinking 10x30 min... As long as it's not a big deal if a renter had there nose sticking out. I feel a good protected slip is very important. Have any of you seen any success with this? We maybe go down 2-3 times a year... So this has to be an investment. We have no interest in being in the lake on Memorial Day,4th, or Labor Day... So premium times will be rented out.

1.) Pick location you like (we like Osage Beach).

2.) Figure out budget

3.) Figure out size 1bd, 2bd, 3bd+

4.) Make sure slip is as large as possible (35+', you think you won't get a bigger boat but you will).

5.) Make sure slip/ dock is protected by either wave break or other docks (don't want to have a slip on end of unprotected dock unless you enjoy gel coat repairs).

6.) If you wish to rent unit make sure rentals are allowed in the complex. I have never used a management company but when I rented one of my condos nightly i did it via vrbo. A lot of new tax implications being attempted by the county so be aware. I ended up turning my extra condo into a long term rental because of the hassle of nightly rentals.

7.) Association assessments can be checked out by your realtor but if you want the straight scoop go visit the pool area of the complex you are considering and ask some of the current owners and you will know real quick what you are working with.

8.) Lastly, figure out if you like ground floor unit (easy to take pets out, more social with neighbors, less stairs/elevator time), parking level unit or top floor unit (views, vaulted ceilings).

how long of term do you go? I hear of owners doing that, so you have no time to use it yourself? I'm assuming it's strictly an investment then. I can justify breaking even or losing a few bucks if I get to use the place. I should mention I will not be a cash buyer. My down payment would be used to help get the payment to where we are comfortable. I don't think I can justify tiring that money up if it's not atleast breaking evan with the ability to use it.

baywatch has his own condo that uses himself and a second condo in the same complex that he rents.

I would not buy a house to have mainly as a rental.

I have considered buying a condo at LOTO and have run the numbers. I am at LOTO 20-25 days a year.
I do get some very good deals by owning a timeshare also and average around $100/night.
I have run the numbers and without buying it outright, the numbers do not make sense for me to buy at this point.

If you need a realtor at LOTO, I would highly recommend Terry Summers.

As Griff said the rental is strictly a rental and tenant is under 12 month lease. You will be hard pressed to cover full debt service if you are financing property. I would think covering the HOA expenses and maybe 4 months of debt service is a more realistic goal. One big expense when we did nightly rentals was the cleaning costs that you don't realize you will end up spending a ton on.


Griff has the right idea with his rental approach and I do something similar in Colorado during the winter months. I spend 40+ nights a winter in the mountains but the type of property I would want to buy would be in he $600k range and when I can stay for $150 a night or lease a large house for $2500 a week it just doesn't make sense to have 12 months of debt service. For us the LOTO properties are only 2 hours away and we also have a place to leave the boat so it works out but if you are strictly doing the numbers from a financial perspective renting for the time you are down is going to be way more cost affective unless you are planning to be down every weekend 10 months a year.

I would also add, most people think they want to rent out their places when they buy them, thinking they can use it themselves when they want. Just to find out, 1) it is ALWAYS rented when you want to use it and 2) people DO NOT take care of your stuff like it was there own. When you pay to have the place nice the way you like it, it is not generally the quality you would want for renters to use.

In other words, it usually turns into a unit that is full time rental, or one that is for your personal use only.

Full time rentals at the lake (6-12 month leases) are in high demand, and the opportunities there are good, but nightly rentals are seasonal and competitive. Also there is a tax issue going on right now, so daily rentals may be an issue in the future? It is in the courts. I am guessing the owners will win, but... At some point the tax man will come calling, one way or another....

If you go 2-3 times a year then just rent someone else's unit.....

In Florida everyone has the keys fantasy....buy it, rent it, use it for free. Math rarely works out and the traffic "BLOWS." Unless I had access to private aircraft I would never buy anything in the keys (one road in/out).

My buddy was at LOTO last weekend from St Louis. He stayed with a friend and rode around in his Formula all weekend. So I asked him Monday would he buy a place there. Answer: No way, even winning the powerball he would just rent for a week or two a year.

At this point the math is not working out.... But we shall see what our realtor comes up with. I'm really starting to lean towards the low MM's. Keep your opinions coming and I will keep this thread updated for anyone whom is thinking about doing the samething.

HGTV has a show called Lakefront Bargain Hunt....I watched the LOTO episode a couple weeks back. They were looking for condos as well...not sure if it would be any help to you.
Sucks that you have to pay to watch it on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoL6qXpum7k


BUT, there's lots of powerboat footage on the show....including some of Griff's AT.

I sure wish I bought into this late 70's early 80's....practically couldn't give away some prime property then. Back then, it was just hillbillies and fireworks stands and it kinda intimidated us city folk :-) I was very close to doing this but then I had to move to new england, where the western part of MA has even more hillbillies and rednecks than LOTO LOL :-)