Home Base NL is fast becoming a household name
published by James Tarrant
Newfoundland is known for its stunning landscapes, rich history, and distinct culture. For these reasons, people feel compelled to visit the province to explore its rugged coastlines and experience the friendliness and hospitality of its people.
When you grow up in Newfoundland, it's the people you miss the most, especially those who work away from home. Ryan Doody, who grew up in Corner Brook, spent a few years working for RBC to finance large real estate companies in Toronto before moving to a similar role in St. John’s. It wasn’t until his cousin Andrew Taylor, a savvy photographer and web designer, decided that teaming up to start a property management company might be a way for both to combine their talented skill sets where they would both mutually benefit.
“Our families have properly in Gros Morne. We spent a lot of time growing up there in the summers. Tourism is a huge part of our culture. We wanted to get involved in property management to help Newfoundland stand out in that sense. We felt property management was a good fit for our skill set because we were doing it anyway,” said Doody.
Start-Up Dreams
In March 2023, Home Base NL was born to provide property owners with the tools they need to get a step up over competing rental properties through targeted marketing strategies and hands-on property management. Some of these services include featured listings and advertising through the NL Home Base website and its social media sites; custom property website design, management of vacation rentals; Air BnB, VRBO, private nightly rentals; management of residential rental properties and real estate photography services.
The most critical aspect of NL Home Base is that it is a people-first business. Doody and Taylor refer to their customers as partners in their enterprise.
“We let our clients tell us what they want and need, and then we inform them about what we can provide, which is a little different than our competitors,” said Doody. “That feedback guided us in designing the three major online services we currently provide: advertising, custom direct booking websites, and social media management.”
Short-term Benefits
In their research and learning curve, once their business began, Doody and Taylor found that one specific area of property management that didn’t get much attention was short-term rentals, mainly due to the alleged risks involved. He said the stigma associated with short-term rentals also included a lot of misinformation.
“I have discovered less risk involved in the short-term rental space. If you set yourself up with a good property manager and treat it like a business, have business and commercial insurance and manage the bookings, you will get a higher return. Setting it up this way ensures that the property is well looked after and that you have cleaners and property managers going to the property regularly,” said Doody. “When you have eyes on the property, it will catch anything that might happen, even by accident. Then, in the worst-case scenario, if something happens, AirBnB offers insurance coverage so you can get it in addition to having a commercial insurance policy. You are very well covered. Owners can get money back much quicker and easier based on personal experience.”
Correcting misinformation
Another nonsensical piece of misinformation is that short-term rentals are causing the province's housing shortage. Doody said this is false.
“The population growth we have had in the last couple of years. If that is the projected housing shortfall, a more significant economic issue exists here. St. Johns and the surrounding areas have about 1000 BnB units, so even through regulation and worst-case scenario, they take all of the Air BnBs offline; that’s only 1000 units, so a 1000 versus 40,000 is not scratching the surface,” said Doody. “There must be other things done for affordable housing, such as government grants and more programs through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CHMC), to provide better financing options for builders and developers. I know that is being worked on at provincial and government levels.”
Regulation
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has been cracking down on short-term Airbnb rentals with new tourism regulations. All short-term rental accommodations and campground operators must register with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation. Any short-term rental that provides accommodation for compensation to an individual or group of individuals for overnight lodging for 30 days or less must register. There is no registration cost, but all tourist accommodations operating in the province must be registered by June 30th, 2024.
The Five-Year-Plan
Through the learning curve of starting a property management business that is starting to take off, correcting misinformation and earning the respect of local long and short-term partners, Doody and Taylor said their five-year plan goal involves becoming recognized as a respected local property management business. The second is ensuring that the online part of their property management company will be something AirBnB’s and BnB’s across Canada will benefit from.
“We want to grow and scale, but the other part of the five-year plan is we don’t want to lose our identity. People come from all around Newfoundland to see Jelly Bean Row or to walk the Pedestrian Mall downtown and visit some of our Irish pubs or diverse restaurants,” said Doody. “I think it is a unique experience, so when we offer services across Canada, we want to tailor our services to that specific location. Each province has its unique strength.”
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