Hiring a Vacation Rental Manager? Ask These Questions First

Handing your vacation rental to a property manager is a big decision. The right one can grow your income. The wrong one quietly drains it. Before you sign with anyone, ask a few direct questions. The answers tell you fast whether you have found the right manager or not.

Can They Keep the Calendar Full and Stay Reachable?

Ask if they can run back-to-back rentals. If they can't turn a unit fast enough to book same-day guests, that costs you money during the busy times of the year. Then ask how you reach them. If you can't get your manager on the phone or by text, small problems can turn into big frustrations. Solid local vacation rental management answers both of these without you having to chase anyone down.

Watch the Hidden Costs

Ask where they do the laundry. If they wash linens in your unit, you pay for the utilities and eat the wear and tear on your washer and dryer. Off-site laundry keeps those costs off your books.

Are They Actually Growing Your Income?

A good manager does more than collect rent. Look for an automated system that offers guests add-ons after they book, help with upgrades so your place doesn't fall behind the competition, and a free revenue growth consultation so you know what to improve. If they can also help you set up an LLC, that's one less pro you have to hire on your own.

A lot goes into doing this right. Get every one of these questions answered before you trust anyone with your investment.

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• How to Make Real Money on Your Vacation Rental

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Have questions or want to learn more? Give us a call at 575-613-4243. We're happy to help.

Rob Swan | Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty Inc.

Vacation Rental Location Matters, Here's Why

Yesterday I talked to a vacation rental owner who was confused. He'd heard that a lot of owners that had vacation rentals in Red River saw their income drop this year, but his was up 15% and he couldn't figure out why. I knew the answer before he finished the sentence. It was his location.

A Lot of Buyers Assume Any Rental Makes Money

Plenty of people jump into vacation rentals expecting the income to show up automatically. That's not how it works. The property you buy and where it sits decide more than most people realize. Two similar homes can perform very differently based on nothing more than the street they're on.

Great Management Helps, But It Can't Move a House

If your location isn't great, a good local manager can make up a lot of ground. They know the guests, the pricing, and the season. But there's no way to pick up a house and set it down in a better spot. Location is the one thing you lock in the day you buy, so choose it carefully.

Get a Local Pro Before You Buy

Before you purchase, get someone local on your side who knows real estate and the vacation rental business. Someone who works here every day can tell you which streets book solid and which ones sit empty. That kind of guidance up front saves you from a mistake you can't undo later.

You can fix a lot of things about a rental after you own it. Location isn't one of them. Buy the right spot, and the income tends to follow.

You Might Also Find These Helpful

• How to Value a Vacation Rental Investment and Find Money Most Buyers Miss

• How to Make Real Money With Your Vacation Rental

Have questions or want to learn more? Give us a call at 575-613-4243. We're happy to help.

Rob Swan | Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty Inc.

A TOM (Time Off Market) Fee helped The Buyer Get The House He Really Wanted

Multiple offers on the same house can feel like a game you already lost. You find a place you love, and so does everyone else. Here is how one buyer I worked with beat out the competition and landed the little house he had his heart set on.

He Was Up Against Multiple Offers

My buyer really wanted this house, and he was not the only one. Several offers were on the table, and price alone was not going to set him apart. So Kim Leach, one of the associate brokers here at Swan Realty, suggested he make his strongest offer and add a TOM fee.

What a TOM Fee Actually Does

TOM stands for Time Off Market. It is a non-refundable fee paid straight to the seller, not into escrow at the title company. That is the whole point. The seller sees real, upfront commitment instead of just another number on paper. It works differently than earnest money, which goes to the title company and is usually refundable. When you are buying in a competitive spot, that kind of signal can tip a seller your way.

Why It Worked

The seller accepted, and he got the house. That extra commitment gave him the edge over buyers who looked fine on price but brought nothing else to the table.

The right tools, and knowing when to use them, are invaluable whether you are buying or selling. A good agent knows which one fits the moment.

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• What Is a TOM Fee and How Does It Work?

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Have questions or want to learn more? Give us a call at 575-613-4243. We're happy to help.

Rob Swan | Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty Inc.

Don't Leave Money On The Table, Insist On A Proper Valuation When Selling Your Vacation Home

A seller came to me after she had already sold her home through another brokerage. She wanted to know if she had left money on the table. I could not tell her, because no one had prepared a real valuation before she listed. Her agent simply skipped the analysis. If you are selling a vacation home in Red River or Angel Fire, that is one mistake you cannot afford.

What A Proper Valuation Actually Looks Like

When you sit down with an agent, you should not walk away with a number that came off the top of their head. You should walk away with a document. It shows your property valuation based on comparable sold properties, with every adjustment laid out so you can follow the math yourself. Vague references and round numbers are not a valuation. They are a guess dressed up to sound confident.

Why It Matters When You Are Selling

Your home is one of the biggest assets you own, so pricing it is not the place to wing it. A real comparable based analysis shows what buyers have actually paid for similar properties, not what someone hopes yours might bring. That is how you avoid pricing too low and handing money to the buyer, or pricing too high and watching the listing sit.

How To Tell If Your Agent Did The Work

It is simple. Ask to see the valuation and the comparables behind it. If the person you are considering cannot produce one, that tells you what you need to know. Find someone who can.

Do not let anyone guess with your equity. Insist on seeing the numbers before you agree to a list price, and make sure you understand them before you sign anything.

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• Don't Fool Yourself When Selling Real Estate, Price Is Everything

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Have questions or want to learn more? Give us a call at 575-613-4243. We're happy to help.

Rob Swan | Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty Inc.

How To Lower Property Taxes When You Buy A Vacation Home

When you buy a furnished home in the mountains, there's a good chance you're about to overpay on property taxes without even knowing it. The good news is that it's an easy thing to fix, as long as you handle it before you close.

The Furniture Hiding In Your Purchase Price

Most furnished homes in Red River and Angel Fire sell with everything inside, and that furniture often gets buried in the real estate price. It's not unusual to have $50,000 to $100,000 worth of furniture in a house. The catch is that furniture is personal property, not real estate. The county values and taxes real property, and those are two separate things. If the whole contract price gets treated as the real estate price, you could end up paying property taxes on a number that includes your couches and beds.

How To Separate The Furniture

The fix is simple. Separate the furniture from the real estate using a realistic value both sides can support. Around here, property taxes run roughly $700 to $900 per $100,000 of value, depending on your tax district. So if that furniture is properly separated from the real estate price, you could save roughly $350 to $450 a year.

A Bonus For Vacation Rentals

If you plan to use the home as a vacation rental, there's another benefit. Furniture and other personal property depreciate much faster than the building, in some cases immediately, which creates another nice tax savings.

Separating personal property the right way takes a little extra paperwork and a conversation with your accountant, but the savings add up year after year. Let's not pay property taxes on furniture.

You Might Also Find These Helpful

• Seriously, Do You Want To Pay Property Taxes On Your Couch?

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Have questions or want to learn more? Give us a call at 575-613-4243. We're happy to help.

Rob Swan | Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty Inc.

I Can't Find The Perfect House in Red River or Angel Fire

You have probably been there. You tour house after house in Red River or Angel Fire, and not one of them is quite right. There is always something. The kitchen is dated, the lot is too small, the bedrooms face the wrong way. If nothing measures up, the problem might not be the houses.

The Perfect House Lives in Your Head

The reason you cannot find the perfect house is that you already built it in your head. You have been picturing it for years. Every home on the market, though, was built around someone else's dream, not yours. The odds of their dream lining up exactly with yours are pretty slim.

Why 90 Percent Is the Jackpot

So here is what I tell all my buyers. If you find 90 percent of what you are looking for, you have hit the jackpot. Do not walk away from a great house just because it is not the perfect house. That last 10 percent is almost never worth losing the right home over.

When 90 Percent Really Will Not Work

Now if 90 percent genuinely will not work for you, there is another option. I build homes too, so I can put you in a brand new one designed around your dream instead of someone else's. Most buyers do not actually need that, though. They just need permission to stop waiting.

The perfect house is a moving target you will never quite hit. Find the one that gives you 90 percent, and make it yours.

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Have questions or want to learn more? Give us a call at 575-613-4243. We're happy to help.

Rob Swan | Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty Inc.

The IRS May Owe You A Refund For COVID Related Penalties & Interest Under Kwong vs US

If you paid the IRS a late penalty during the COVID years, there's a real chance you can get that money back. This one matters for local business owners and vacation rental owners around the Enchanted Circle, a lot of whom got buried in penalties and interest during that stretch.

What Kwong vs US Is About

There's a case called Kwong versus the United States, and it centers on the idea that the IRS may have charged penalties and interest it had no right to charge. If that holds up, it could open the door to refunds on money plenty of people figured was gone for good.

Why This Matters for Business and Vacation Rental Owners

I know a lot of our local business owners and vacation rental owners took a beating on penalties and interest during the COVID years. If you were one of them, this case could put real dollars back in your pocket.

What You Need to Do Before July 10th

Here's the part you can't ignore. The case is on appeal, so nothing is guaranteed. And even if it goes the right way, the IRS is not going to mail you a check automatically. You have to file a claim, and the deadline to do that is July 10th. If you got hit with penalties or interest during this period, call your accountant now so you don't miss the window.

This one is time sensitive, so don't sit on it. A quick call to your accountant could be the difference between getting that money back and leaving it on the table.

You Might Also Find These Helpful

• How to Fight Your Property Tax Assessment in Taos and Colfax County

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Have questions or want to learn more? Give us a call at 575-613-4243. We're happy to help.

Rob Swan | Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty Inc.

Leaky Toilets Will Cost You Money In Your Vacation Home

A homeowner called me a couple of days ago, frustrated. His septic holding tank was full, and nobody had even been to the house. That makes no sense at first, until you find what is really going on.

The Culprit Is Almost Always the Toilet

I asked how old his toilets were and whether they were leaking, because that is usually the cause. He told me they were about 40 years old but swore they did not leak. So I sent a plumber out. Turns out every single toilet in the house was leaking.

Why a Hidden Leak Drains Your Wallet

A slow leak runs water quietly all day and all night. If you are on a septic system, that water fills your holding tank faster than it should, and you pay to pump it. If you are on city water, you pay for every gallon that slips through. Either way, a leak you never see is costing you money month after month.

What to Watch For

In my experience, toilets are good for about 20 years before they start having issues. If your holding tank is filling up sooner than you expect, or your water bill looks too high, check the toilets first. This matters even more for a vacation home or rental that sits empty between guests, because nobody is there to notice the water running.

A leaking toilet is a cheap fix compared to the bills it quietly racks up. If you own a place up here, put it near the top of your maintenance checklist.

You Might Also Find These Helpful

• New Mexico Septic Regulations Are a Big Deal

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Have questions or want to learn more? Give us a call at 575-613-4243. We're happy to help.

Rob Swan | Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty Inc.

What's My Red River Home Worth? - Find Out Now!

Just Click This Link - https://www.swanrealtyinc.com/comparative-market-analysis-request-form/

Maybe you're just curious. Maybe you're starting to think about selling. Either way, one of the most common questions I hear from Red River homeowners is simple: what is my place actually worth? Good news. You can find out for free, and it takes about a minute.

What a Comparative Market Analysis Actually Tells You

A comparative market analysis, or CMA, is a professionally prepared estimate of your home's value based on what comparable homes nearby have actually sold for over the past 24 months. Not list prices, not online guesses, real closed sales. For a home or condo in Red River, that recent sales data is the clearest read you'll get on where your value sits right now. If you're thinking about selling, it's the same information I'd use to help you price it right.

How to Get Yours, Free

It's easy. Request your CMA, give me your name, email, and a few details about your home or condo, and I'll put together a report built on comparable sales and send it over. And don't worry, I'm not going to call and bug you. I just want you to have the information.

Whether you own a cabin, a condo, or a year-round home, knowing your number puts you in control. Request yours and see where you stand.

You Might Also Find These Helpful

• Don't Fool Yourself When Selling Real Estate, Price Is Everything
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Have questions or want to learn more? Give us a call at 575-613-4243. We're happy to help.

Rob Swan | Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty Inc.

How To Save On Capital Gains Taxes When Selling Your Red River or Angel Fire Home

If you're getting ready to sell your vacation home and you haven't separated the furniture from the real estate price, you're probably about to overpay on capital gains taxes. There's a simple fix, and it can keep real money in your pocket.

What Capital Gains Actually Taxes

Capital gains is a tax on assets that went up in value. Your home likely did. The furniture inside it did not. Beds, dishes, and couches have all been losing value since the day you bought them. Most sellers still roll everything into one closing number and pay capital gains on the whole thing, furniture included.

Sell the Furniture Separately

Here's how you fix it. Pull the furniture out of the sale and sell it separately to the same buyer. A nice furnished home up here in Red River or Angel Fire can easily carry fifty to a hundred thousand dollars in furnishings. When you sell that to the buyer as its own line, the amount comes off the real estate sale price, and your capital gains liability drops with it. This works because furniture is personal property, not real property, and the two get treated differently.

Loop In Your Accountant

There's some added documentation at closing, and you'll want your accountant in the loop before you do this. Done right, you're simply not paying capital gains on items that have already lost value. That's money back where it belongs.

Selling a vacation home is one of the bigger financial moves you'll make up here. A little planning on the furniture side keeps more of the sale in your hands.

You Might Also Find These Helpful

• Using a 1031 Exchange to Buy a Vacation Rental in Red River, NM

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Have questions or want to learn more? Give us a call at 575-613-4243. We're happy to help.

Rob Swan | Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty Inc.