Has Anyone Recently Purchased/Started an AIRBNB in Kissimmee, Florida

[Kenneth Linkous]

If so, were there any resources you found useful with respect to zoning, permitting, licensing in Kissimmee?  Including transfering of permitting or licensing from current owner to prospective owner?

[Michael Baum]

Again I will ask @Shawn McCormick to chime in on these things. He is very knowledgeable about the area.

To find out about zoning etc, just call the city. They will be able to provide answers to questions.

[JD Martin]

I'm in Four Corners but I'm in a community that specifically allows STRs in the covenants, so no issues for me. What are you running into and what neighborhood?

[Tyler Gibson]

Quote from @Kenneth Linkous:

If so, were there any resources you found useful with respect to zoning, permitting, licensing in Kissimmee?  Including transfering of permitting or licensing from current owner to prospective owner?

Best thing to do is get connected with a local short-term rental property manager. They're going to be able to answer all the questions that you have. I see that you're a real estate agent, so if you're inquiring on behalf of your clients, you'll want to build a partnership with somebody that's doing short-term rental property management to provide them as a resource to your clients. I have a couple of great references I can get you connected with if that would be helpful.

[Kenneth Linkous]

Hi Tyler...thanks for your response...yes, I would appreciate any references you are able to share.

[Shawn McCormick]

Thank you  

Hey @Kenneth Linkous This will depend on if the property is within a resort in Kissimmee that was purpose-built for STR. Osceola County specifically is STR friendly, but they and the State do have licensing requirements. You will need to do a Tourist development tax application and a short-term rental application. If the owner is not local, they will need a contact that is local to have as a POA appointee in case something happens at the property.

I would consult with a property manager that specializes in short term, and make sure this is not being done redundantly with any platforms you may be on like Airbnb, VRBO etc.  

Best of Luck!

[Kenneth Linkous]

@Shawn McCormick thank you Shawn

[Kenneth Linkous]

@JD Martin no real issues we were just looking to verify the community is in a short term rental approval zone which we’ve been able to do and we’re just wanting to make sure there is no restriction licenses to run a short term rental/Airbnb… we’ve been in contact with Osceola County Zoning and awaiting a call from the Osceola county tax collectors office

[Eric Starks]

I think speaking directly with Osceoloa County and the State of Florida is the right way to go. 

[Kenneth Linkous]

thanks Eric...I am always impressed with Osceola County Tax Collectors and Property Appraisers employees...they have always proven to be very helpful.

[Jeeten Afini]

I would recommend against PM company. I have a cleaning company that handles all my work between guests; I handle the booking. It is much better for the investor as I had a bad experience with PM (they were eating into my profits and doing things that were not warranted). Let me know if you need any references. The cleaning company also does the paperwork for the county for a minimal charge each month.

[Kenneth Linkous]

Hi Jeeten...thanks for your response...yes, if you have any cleaning companies I am sure my customer would appreciate the referral...thanks!

[Alice Horn]

Quote from @Kenneth Linkous:

If so, were there any resources you found useful with respect to zoning, permitting, licensing in Kissimmee?  Including transfering of permitting or licensing from current owner to prospective owner?

Hi Kenneth - as far as zoning, happy to send you a map with STR-legal communities in Kissimmee in Davenport. I am also happy to walk you through the permitting and license process.

The collection of tourist taxes is a bit tricky in Osceola County since Airbnb does NOT collect tourist taxes there (they do in Polk and most other areas, but not Osceola.) This means the owner or PM will need to collect and remit the tourist taxes directly. Hope this helps!

[Kenneth Linkous]

@Alice Horn thank you Alice I was able to get my hands on the short term rental map for Osceola County so I’m all set there. As far as licensing and permitting goes my real question centers around, is there any restriction on new licenses or permits for Airbnb? Property has been used as an Airbnb before but it’s not clear as to whether we can transfer the license to a new owner or the new owner needs to apply for a new license.

[Alice Horn]

@Kenneth Linkous there is no restriction as far as I know. As property managers we have bulk licenses for all of our homes and we handle that for our owners so the process is a bit different. However for an individual owner, yes - he or she would need to apply for a new license. 

[Joey Morea]

@Kenneth Linkous

In this market there are many vacation home neighborhoods such as, windor hills, Championsgate, Storey lake, Windsor at Westside, Solterra etc that were built to be vacation home neighborhoods and zoned accordingly some you can only own as a vacation home not even a primary home. I would only look at one of these vacation zoned neighborhoods as they have all the amenities and infrastructure to STR.

[Kenneth Linkous]

@Joey Morea Hi Joey, thanks for the information...have a wonderful evening.