Anyone own an Air BnB?
I sort of want to back into an Air BnB.
This is a very rough draft of an idea.
I’m in Orlando and it seems both my brothers will end up on the gulf coast, let’s say Tampa area.
I am interested in a condo somewhere between Naples and Tampa (one bro in Naples & the other moving to Tampa).
Disregard the upfront costs;
Is it an absolute horrible plan to buy a condo to have a place to spend 1-2 weekends a month with my brothers & their families and make it available as an Air BnB the rest of the time?
Really curious any experience with short term rentals this group may have.
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I was always told that it's hard to go wrong buying real estate. The difficulty comes in when you start letting other people use it!
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- How much do you like strangers?
- How much do you like strangers staying in your house?
- How much do you like strangers staying in your house unsupervised?
- How much do you like house repair due to unsupervised strangers staying in your house?
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Back when I owned 2 homes, I learned some valuable lessons.
Lesson 1) You cannot be in two different places at one time.
Lesson 2) Property taxes on 2nd home get no Homestead discounts. (maybe a Michigan thing)
Lesson 3) This one is a current worry. With all of the illegals entering our country and a lot of headlines about Squatters! Bad renters are also much more common these days as well.
At my life's point in time I find it hard enough to keep up with all of the needed maintenance stuff that is required with just one property. Instead of buying another, I'd opt for a nice motorhome to share with visiting family or good friends. Many portable uses to be had.
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I have not owned an Airbnb but have stayed in many, some in other parts of the world. Just my experience is that in general doing short term rentals is best. People cannot do as much damage if they are not there that long.
We have always been fortunate to have an owner living on site or very nearby to help with any issues. Luckily we have never had any issues.
We have had some awesome experiences. We rented one in Tucson. Got talking to the owner and he was a big time hunter. We ended up drinking wine at his place and going over all the trophies he had bagged and were hanging on his living room wall.
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Well, just got from staying in one in Port St. Joe in FL. The owner is NOW very careful who he rents to because of the above statements. His last rental literally trashed his 3 story one million plus home. When contacted the "renters" they stated you charged us for cleanup and we didn't think WE were supposed to. He paid some crew $550 to do it. Not much recourse to take to court and people know that. Tread carefully.
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My sister has owned a house near Kitty Hawk, NC for years. During the times it is not rented, they spend their time working on it. S
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I think you should just forget the hassle of an Air BnB. You mentioned Tampa. Just buy a nice place in that area and rent it to this fellow Gunbrokerite. Transferring there this summer for the next couple of years, and I need to find a good spot for the family anyhow.
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maybe it just me but the original purchase price of the "home", would pay for a lot of motel rooms. Or just buy the brother a fold out couch and stay at his place………growing up us kids were expected to sleep on couch or on the floor in sleeping bags or on cots, while the parents got our beds
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The house next door to me is a Air BnB from what I have seen the cleaning people remove from there at times I would be hesitant to go that route
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Skipping your acquisition cost as you requested here are three pitfalls of short term rentals.
- Insurance, you will likely need two coverages. 1 that does a limited fire/wind/hail or some such limited coverage not including damage by renters and 2. A special str coverage that probably has a $10,000 or $20,000 coverage that is entirely limited to damage renters do.
- After every guest you will have to pay to have a cleaner go through or else do it yourself. Short term renters will expect the place to be perfectly clean.
- You will be paying utilities year round on a place that isn't rented out year round.
Good luck, with some luck you'll break even or a little better and have a "vacation home" for yourself. If you can keep it occupied it may cover all your expenses and maybe even the mortgage if you take one if it's in a high enough demand area. You using it a couple weekends a month will definitely cut into the profits as weekends are normally the time short term renters will want to book it.
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Speaking of insurance, Homeowners Insurance in any hurricane prone area is going to be off the charts. I just visited with my old neighbors in south Florida. The premium for coverage in their 3BR/2BA ranch house this year is $18,000……. and they’re 10 miles inland from the beach. THAT will sure eat into your profits!
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I do not. Hope this helps.
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