Christine Karpinski

Bio:

Christine Kaepinski is author of How To Rent Vacation Properties By Owner: The Complete Guide to Buy, Manage, Furnish, Rent, Maintain and Advertise Your Vacation Rental Investment; Profit from Your Vacation Home Dream: The Complete Guide to a Savvy Financial and Emotional Investment; and The Vacation Rental Organizer.

Shortly after moving to Atlanta in 1996, Christine went to Destin, Florida where she fell in love with the beaches and dreamed of owning a vacation property. But there was one problem: the little one and two—bedroom condos were pricier than her family could afford, costing more than their home in Atlanta. Christine even considered rental income, but just couldn't seem to make the numbers work.

Being determined, Christine didn't give up and realized the only factor that could make a vacation property on the beach possible was eliminating property management commissions (which are generally 20-50% of the rental income). From there she started researching "renting by owner". And yes, she did end up buying that dream home on the beach and had positive cash flow from day one.

Hearing of Christine's success, other owners wanted to know why she had so many more bookings than they did. Fellow owners were also intrigued that she never had damage by guests and she wasn't paying commission to the management company.

Christine had figured out how to profitably manage vacation rentals, so she started setting up seminars to teach other owners. Now Christine has become one of the most respected voices in vacation property ownership. Today, she can be found speaking all over the country at seminars, on radio, trade shows and she is a regular contributor to industry magazines and many online newsletters.

Christine has taught sold-out seminars throughout the country including The Real Estate Expo in NYC with Donald Trump, Suze Orman and Robert Kiyosaki. She is a frequent guest on television and radio shows such as CNN's "Open House," Bloomberg's "Personal Finance," CBS MarketWatch Radio, and HGTV Radio and is often interviewed on real estate topics for Realty Times,The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger's Personal Finance and daily newspapers. Her books, combined with her seminars and media appearances, have helped thousands of people manage and profit from their second homes.

Today Christine and her family reside in Austin, Texas. She owns multiple vacation rental properties and is often referred to as "The Most Respected Voice in the Vacation Rental Industry." She serves vacation home owners through her position as Director of the Owner community for HomeAway, Inc.