Recently, I posted a dismal vacation rental report on Calypso Memories. I don’t expect this report to be any better. In fact, I think it’s’ going to be worse. 2023 was a very tough year for both condos. I lost a massive amount of money in each and so I am glad the year is over. I am definitely looking forward to 2024. During 2024, a number of the expenses I incurred last year will be eliminated. For example, I had to get a new HVAC system (about $9000 cost) and I will be finished paying for that in 2024. Additionally, I plan on keeping my expenses to a minimum this year, and if so, I might even end the year on a profit. The goal of course is to have the condo pay for itself. But, only time will tell. The condo is very expenses to maintain on a monthly basis. However, let’s not get ahead of ourself. Let’s see how the condo did during the last month of 2023.
Vacation Rental Profit/Loss
Let’s see whether I made a profit or incurred a loss in December 2023 at Emerald’s Corner.
A. Vacation Rental Income
During the month of December, I earned $8710 in income broken down as follows:
$8710? Isn’t December part of the slow season? In fact, my Calypso Memories condo earned a WHOPPING $0.00 for the whole month of December? What gives?
Well, the answer lies in the fact that I have snowbirds who rented Emerald’s Corner for December. Although I collected $8710 in December for rent, the bad news is that the $8710 is for December 1, 2023 – March 15, 2024. So, while my December numbers may look good, I will be reporting a WHOPPING $0.00 for January 1 – March 15, 2024.
One option would have been to report only the monthly rent for each month. The problem lies in my accounting. Since I already collected the money upfront in December, I chose to report that on my taxes. It all evens out at the end. The next 2.5 months are going to suck!!!
B. Vacation Rental Expenses
During the month of December, I incurred $7976 in expenses broken down as follows:
Believe it or not, this is somewhat encouraging. During the months of July-Nov, my expenses were at least $9000 per month. I’m hoping to keep my expenses under $9000 going forward.
As a reminder, my mortgage, taxes and insurance and HOA fees comes up to about $6000 per month. I have other expenses, such as utilities bills, platform fees, and other administration fees not including in this $6000 a month charge. Again, keep in mind that for January – March 15, I won’t have any income coming in because that’s already included in December’s earnings.
So, the struggle is real!
C. Profit/Loss Statement
Based on the fact that my income exceeded my expenses, my profit for December was $734. This is a small profit, but I’ll take profit over a loss any day.
As shown below, my year-to-date loss has decreased to a WHOPPING $20,710.
So, to understand why this is such a big deal, the year-to-date loss for Calypso Memories is $16,589. So, between both properties, my total year-to-date loss is: $37,299. When the year started, I did have some money in each condo to cover some loss, but not over $35,000 worth. That’s why I have to contribute money from my personal account to help keep the condos afloat.
As mentioned several times already, I expect to start 2024 at a loss for the first 2.5 months. That’s going to be a loss of approximately $22,500. So, it’s going to be tough to make a profit in 2024, but I am hoping that any loss would be less than the $20,710 that I incurred in 2023. Wish me luck.
Annual Income and Expenses
2023 was my first year owning at Emerald’s Corner. So, I don’t have any income or expenses to compare it to. This section will make a lot more sense come December 2024.
A. Annual Income
Let’s see how the annual income at Emerald’s Corner look from one year to the next.
Here is the raw data:
Again, the $8,710 is a bit skewed since it covers the first 2.5 months of 2024. But, again, it all balances out in the end, as I will be reporting $0.00 income for January – March 15, 2024.
B. Annual Expenses
Let’s see how the annual expenses at Emerald’s Corner look from 2022 – 2023:
Here is the raw data:
Again, this section will make a lot of sense in 2024 when I am able to make an annual comparison. Specifically, you should start seeing a comparison in April. So, stay tuned!
Final Thoughts
Well, I am so glad 2023 is over. It was a dismal year. My bookings were down in 2023, thanks to the Airbnb Bust. There are numerous contributing factors. These include inflation, market saturation, and overall bad economic news, including high credit card debts etc. The name of the game now is to survive.
When I bought Emerald’s Corner, I knew that the debt to maintain the property was high. I fully expected and continue to expect that I will have to keep contributing some of my personal funds to keep the condo afloat. Although this unit was purchased as an investment, it really was a condo for me to enjoy!!! And I do enjoy it numerous times of the year. I do enjoy hosting my friends for little to no cost and to see the joy on their faces when they get to experience the joy of the beach.
In all honesty, most of my extra funds have depleted. I do expect that the condo will be able to start paying for itself starting in May at least for the summer months. That will give me some breathing room to help save for the slow season (again with the help of my personal funds). But, if I can keep my expenses low this year and limit the personal funds I have to expend, I think I will be able to stay in the game for the long haul.
I plan on rebuilding my emergency funds, but only after getting out of my high credit card debt, which is another story. Long story short is that I am very excited about 2024.
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