To Build or Not to Build

[Jimmy Silcox]

Hello all! This is my first bigger pockets post but I'm excited to hear what y'all think. Here's the deal:

I recently bought a house in East Nashville with investment in mind. I'm currently living in the house. It is zoned industrial residential. It's a small 1200 SQ ft house on a .3 acre corner lot. The house itself is in good shape but I may do some small things to make it look cooler (already installed 12 recessed lights myself). Here's my question:

I liked the house because of the space available to build. I want to build a garage apartment combo to get the most out of the available space. I'd like to do most of it myself to keep costs down. It seems that all zoning and setback rules will allow this.  I'd like to Airbnb the house and apartment after all is said and done and hopefully generate some good income. My main concern is the fact that the railroad is in very close proximity. I'm afraid that after all the time, effort and money I invest into building, I won't be able to make the money I'd hope to make. Can anyone offer some advice whether general investment risk or offer some similar experiences? Thanks so much in advance.

- Jimmy

[Amy G.]

Couple of things: Nashville requires you to have a permit to operate an airbnb and you need to pay hotel tax to the city. There is a fine if you don't do this and the city finds out (they search for this). Because you live on the property, I believe it will be easier to get the permit. 

Ok so now about the RR. That isn't such a big deal. People will still rent out the property. I have an airbnb near a RR and people don't seem to mind too much (train only goes by around 9am and 9pm in my case. Just know that having an AirBnB is a lot of work. Someone needs to clean it--as clean as a nice hotel room. Someone needs to wash the sheets, towels, stock the shampoo, conditioner, soap. Someone needs to take the reservations, communicate with guests, and keep the calendar updated. You may realize that finding a tenant for the upstairs apartment is less headache and more money in the long run. 

The only reason that I AirBnB my property is because I actually live there part of the year. If I never used that unit personally, I would just put a tenant in there instead. Hope that is helpful. :)