What is your FAVORITE STR/AirBNB?

Question

We just finished setting up our Costa Rican short-term rental (well almost, we still need to hand the curtains and the wall art). Anyway, I am super excited so much so that I wanted to create this post to see what your favorite short-term rental is - whether it's your own property or one that you have stayed in.  Please share it. Also, share some pictures to if you got them.

Don Konipol · Answer

@Shiloh Lundahl

In 2019 I needed a house for 2 months on Long Island, NY for myself, my daughter and son in law, and my 2 grandchildren.

I rented, through VRBO a house in Bellport, NY, within easy walking distance of town and the beach.  The house was on 5 acres and the owner kept her horses there.  The house was 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, with a separate entrance basement level suite adding another 2 bedrooms, bathroom, and additional kitchen.

Short drive to 3 public golf courses, and 20 minute drive to older relatives we wanted to spend time with.

The other STR I liked the most was a condo I rented for 4 months in 2009 in a high rise (17th floor) bordering the Little Italy area of downtown San Diego.

The apartment was 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, furnished in mid century modern, and had a large terrace overlooking San Diego bay.  The building featured a full gym, tanning booths (used by my wife), swimming pool, hot tub, game room with pool tables, etc., and barbecue pits.  Location put us close to just about everything we wanted and the weather in June - September was “perfect”, always between 60 and 80.

Btw, your place looks great!

Carolyn Fuller · Answer

Just about all of the Airbnbs where I've stayed have been unique reflections of their owner and location.

My favorites are the ones that I will be staying in for our upcoming vacation to the US Southwest. Every single one of the beyond outstanding places are owned by someone who is passionate about their home and location. Their Airbnb reflects their passions. It is hard to pick which one will be the most outstanding. I'm looking forward to all of them. Since I have to choose, I'll go with the one that has no shower and no indoor plumbing but a billion dollar sky. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3...

Shiloh Lundahl · Answer

Account Closed That house does look really cute.  And I love the feel of mom-and-pop shops around and that it was so close to the beach.  When I told people about our property, even though it is about 35 minutes from the beach, some of the investors only wanted to invest in a property next to the beach because of what you described above.

Account Closed · Answer

@Shiloh Lundahl First of all, your place looks awesome!

The best STR I've stayed at was a cozy 2-bedroom property in Rockaway Beach, OR. Cute beach community with a lot of mom-and-pop restaurants and shops. Our place was just a few minute walk from the beach, so it made for a nice little getaway.

Dan H. · Answer

We used to have 2 STRs  (a duplex) on the beach in Gulf Shores Alabama.  You walked down the steps on to the sand. It was awesome and there are times I wish we had kept them.  The issue is the property taxes were going up faster than the rents and then it got hit by hurricanes in back to back years.  We sold after completing the repairs from the 2nd hurricane.  The other issue is our Southern California properties were producing a better return (still at times I wish we still owned it).

If there was a similar property in Southern California, it would be priced at 8 digits (>$10m).  They were great STR units.

Dan H. · Answer

You should see the summer prices.  In 2019 they did better than $160k in rents. 2020 was way down (over 50% down) due to covid restrictions, 2021 was still down significantly, but significantly better than 2020.

They (they are a duplex) were purchased for $375k and appraised in December at $1.5m for a cash out refinance.  It is also one of the cheapest properties that close to the beach in Mission Beach.  It is also close to the Mission Beach social hub (the coaster area). It is I believe 4 short blocks from the coaster (Giant Dipper which is not so giant).

Seeing the numbers you likely can see why it is my favorite STR.  However, the STR unit currently out of commission has similar appreciation percentage wise (and more cash wise).  The property was purchased for $775k and in December appraised at $2.5m for a cash out refinance.

San Diego has passed STR quotas.  Its implementation was just postponed .  When it goes into affect we are limited to one STR, but I am hoping that is one for wife and one for me (no marriage penalty).  The one that is currently out of commission will be converted to a 30+ day rental at that time.

Melissa Silk · Answer

Looks great @Shiloh Lundahl! What a gorgeous property!

Shiloh Lundahl · Answer

Thanks so much everyone for your contributions to this thread.  Could any of you take a look at my new listing and give me some feedback on what you think I can do to improve the listing.  Thanks everyone.  https://airbnb.com/h/casabellavistacostarica

Scott Schuhwerk · Answer

@Dan Heuschele these are great, I love SD but the prices are crazy!  How long have you owned these?  If you don't mind me asking what did you buy these or should I say what would these types of units go for today?

Dan H. · Answer

My favorite STRs are mine because of the money it has generated over the years.   These 2 are small, but their location is great (1 block from the beach) and they are at the low end of the price range in that area

https://www.vacasa.com/unit/20...

Our third unit is out of commission, so no active link but it is in Pt Loma and I hope will be active in March.  This one is larger than the other two combined (3BR, 3 Ba, ~1400’), but it is not one block from the beach (~5 blocks from the beach).

What is your FAVORITE STR/AirBNB?

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