Starting an Airbnb in San Diego

[Nicholas Baughman]

Hello, I just listened to the latest podcast and Zeona started out in Airbnb which got my head turning. I have a decent amount of equity in my home and I've been racking my brain on what to do with it. I want to start In My own backyard but the entry is pretty expensive, to say the least. So what if I rented an apartment at the beach or near the colleges but sub-leased it out as an Airbnb? Does anyone in the area have any experience doing this? Are there places better than others to do this? Are there county laws that prohibit this? Any advice or input would greatly be appreciated. Thank you.

[Nick Foster]

@Nicholas Baughman, as @Dan Heuschele stated above, disclose and clear it with the property owner. If you try to be sneaky and say you will do it while you are “away”, you are thinking short-sighted. Eventually the property owner will find out, you will be evicted, and you are out of business.

As far as permits, yes, you will need one and I don’t think you will be able to get one since you are not the property owner (but I could be wrong). The only ban I know of right now in SD County is Del Mar.

Good luck. It’s basically the WeWork model applied to vacation rentals. I’ve thought about it, but after much thought it sounds like too much of a headache and I would rather own the property.