What revenue figure should a DSCR lender use for a Marathon short-term rental?

Use Marathon's own published typical year of $56,513 across 1,067 listings, vintage August 2025 through July 2026, with ADR of $534 and occupancy of 39.3 percent. If the subject property has its own trailing-twelve-month actuals, those outrank the market extract. What shouldn't appear in the file is an Islamorada, Key West, or Duck Key figure presented as if it belonged to a Marathon address.

Can I blend in Islamorada's numbers since it's a nearby Keys market?

No. Islamorada printed $46,255 on a separate sample of 368 listings, with its own licensing regime and its own municipal government. Averaging Marathon and Islamorada produces a number that doesn't correspond to either city's actual market. Keep each figure on its own labeled line if you reference both in the same document.

Does the City of Marathon vacation rental license transfer when I buy the property?

No. The license is issued annually and does not transfer at sale — a new owner has to apply fresh through the city's process, which includes a Florida DBPR registration under FS 509, a Monroe County Tourist Development Tax account, and a fire inspection. This is not legal advice; confirm the current application requirements directly with Marathon's Code Compliance office before assuming timeline or cost.

How does Marathon's year-over-year trend look for underwriting purposes?

Marathon printed plus 1.3 percent year-over-year alongside plus 19.1 percent supply growth in the same vintage. That's modest revenue growth in a market where competing listings grew substantially faster, which is worth stating plainly in a lending narrative rather than presenting the growth figure alone.

Do Turtle Hospital or Seven Mile Bridge visitor numbers support a stronger DSCR case?

No. Those landmarks explain why Marathon draws visitors, but visitor counts at a hospital or bridge don't convert into occupancy at any specific listing. The published occupancy figure — 39.3 percent — already accounts for actual booking behavior across the sample; tourism attraction volume is a separate, unrelated metric.

What's the difference between the City of Marathon license and the unincorporated Monroe County permit?

They're different desks with different fees. The City of Marathon's annual vacation rental license applies inside city limits. An Unincorporated Monroe County Special Vacation Rental permit, which runs $490, applies outside the city. A third option, Islamorada Village's own license at $1,325, applies only inside that separate municipality. Confirm which jurisdiction actually governs your parcel before assuming a fee.

Is September a good month to underwrite as filled for a Marathon rental?

No. September is the softest revenue month in Marathon's published data, with October and November trailing close behind. A quarter of listings are configured to accept 30-plus-night stays, but that's a calendar setting, not confirmed fall occupancy. A vacancy haircut in the DSCR ratio should name that stretch specifically rather than applying a flat seasonal discount.

What professional management share should I expect in Marathon?

Professional management covers 35.3 percent of the sample, with Vacation Rentals of the Fla Keys the largest single manager at 117 listings. That leaves close to two-thirds of the market self-managed, which is useful context if you're comparing operating cost assumptions against a fully professionalized market.

Who do I call to confirm fire inspection and code compliance status before closing?

Fire Rescue's vacation-rental inspection path runs through Station 14 at 8900 Overseas Highway, reachable at (305) 743-5266. Code Compliance answers at (305) 743-0033. Both offices are part of the license application stack a new owner completes after closing, since the license itself doesn't transfer with the sale.

Can I use Key West or Duck Key figures if my Marathon comp set feels thin?

No. Key West is a separate island with its own market data, and Duck Key functions only as a neighbor reference table in this dataset rather than a town with a confirmed published year of its own. The only figure this file should cite for a Marathon parcel is Marathon's own $56,513 on 1,067 listings — if the address isn't actually in Marathon, open the extract for whichever city it's really in.

Underwrite a Marathon, FL DSCR Without the Islamorada Blend

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