Specializing In Vacation Home

Property Investment

Why Vacation Rentals?
We live in British Columbia and the market here is different than most parts of Canada.
It is very hard to break even in a property investment when you rent long term. After a few years, after the mortgage is paid a little bit, it gets easier. But specially in the beginning, to be able to pay for the investment (and I don’t mean profit, I mean to break even), vacation rentals (or short term rentals) give the best return.

The way I calculate investment return is that the property needs to pay itself 100%.
So even if you pay 30% down payment, to me, the income on that property needs to pay for all the expenses (mortgage, property taxes and insurance) AND the amount you gave for down payment. Even if you have the money, the property income should be used to repay yourself.

In the Log House, because it is a short term rental, the expenses also include landscaping and cleaning, as well as gas, hydro and cable. And there are also supplies such as toilet paper and coffee.

I find that talking about those things bore people, so if you have specific questions, just ask me on the comments below or by email. On my Social Media pages you can also find my telephone number.

To sum it up: it is more work to have vacation rentals; but in my experience, in BC, it is the best way to get the return on your investment.

Please note that each city has its on regulations and you need to follow them. And yes, you need to pay taxes on your income, like with everything else. The basic information is: follow the law and the rules for your city and your community and/or strata (if your investment property is a condo or a townhouse).

Now the FUN part of having Vacation Rentals!

I love dealing with our guests. The most fun part of my job is communicating with the guests. I love knowing what their are celebrating, who are the members of the family or group of friends. I have hosted people from ALL OVER the world.

Our neighbours in Roberts Creek comment on how nice our guests are. We have had people getting married and staying at the Log House, people celebrating Birthdays and Anniversaries… we’ve had children of all ages, from infants to teenagers. We have had the best behaved dogs… one of the most wonderful groups we had was a family and friends staying for Halloween. I wish we were there with them! They decorated the place and set up a photo scene; they spooked trick or treaters; and they handed out 220 pieces of candy!! Amazing.

I am amazed by the guests’ kindness too. We are blessed with wonderful people.

If you have a vacation property, you can block days for you and your family to go and enjoy it! You also can visit and check on the property often, which is nice.
After a while, you can rent less and enjoy more, if that’s your wish.

In a Vacation Rental, you have more freedom to choose your guests. Our Log House is located in a quiet neighbourhood. So we prefer families to stay in our place, because it matches with our neighbours and community. You can describe your listing and describe your neighbourhood, so guests will relate to that 🙂

Having a furnished place costs, but for people that like decorating, it is a bonus to be able to put our mark in each room 🙂

Vacation rentals are also located on vacation spots! In our case, we chose the Sunshine Coast of BC. It is only a 40 min ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Langdale Ferry Terminal. You pass Gibsons and get to Roberts Creek in 15min from the Ferry Terminal. The whole trip including ferry ride takes about 2 hours from Vancouver. I personally like the ferry because I think for our guests, just going on the ferry ride already makes them feel like their on a Holiday!

Client Love

I can't say enough how helpful and productive it was to have Claudine come and help us with our rental suite. She took the guess work out. She took the time and evaluated the suite in details and looked at our lifestyle holistically. Then in a very kind way gave us the truth, what we needed to do, different options, and how to do it. The information we received was not candy coated but at the same time it wasn't overwhelming as she broke it down to small doable actions. We were not sure of long term rental or short term. Looking at our lifestyle, she told us the amount of work for each option and gave us her opinion of what she thought would work best for us. It was a great experience for both my husband and I and I'm glad he was home that day to listen to Claudine. What she said and did was way more clear than what I would have explained later. We had trouble renting our basement suite for about 3 months. After the conversation with Claudine, we worked on the suggestions she gave us and rented the place within 3 weeks.

Anahita Sharvini

What an interesting and rich journey it has been working with Claudine. Her enthusiasm for real estate was without a doubt, the major catalyst for us to invest in a property and become business partners. She happily shared with us her experience in real estate marketing, as well as a lot of valuable information she acquired over time. Without that information we would never had invested and bought our beautiful cabin. We are thankful that she is very resourceful. One year later, we can say that we had a great time together, complementing each others’ styles and interests. Her integrity and handwork are an essential part to our successful partnership.

Kika & Rescio Souza

Claudine has been our entrepreneurial diva and a source of encouragement for several years. Most recently, her enthusiasm and guidance (through her own experience of buying a rental property) helped to spark an old passion of ours... real estate investment! Almost a year after our conversation, we managed to reach something we wouldn't dare to imagine even in our wildest dreams! We bought 2 rental properties within 6 months and we are currently planning to secure the 3rd one. We know how to perform feasibility studies, risk mitigation strategies, worst case scenario assessments, breakeven studies, etc... but sooner or later "you need to jump". Claudine has been instrumental in helping us see possibilities from a different perspective. We will forever be grateful for her support, coaching, and never ending guidance.

Edison Reis

Claudine advised us to give short term rental a try after having rented our basement suite for 20 years to long term renters. We are extremely pleased with the outcome and cannot imaging going back.

Ellen Walde

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