NEED ADVICE! Extended 5 month stay at STR.

[Tom Freestone]

Hi all,

My wife and I have setup our 2nd STR and it is in an area that got hit pretty hard with winter storms in Clackamas County Oregon east of Portland. Today we got a request to stay at our property for 5 months because they need to relocate due to a tree falling on their house. We have never dealt with a stay over 7 days so this is drastically different for us. Financially this is an attractive scenario for us but we are unclear how rental rights and payments should be addressed. How do payments work and what should be aware of in considering this? Does Airbnb charge prior to the stay? Should we create a separate agreement or amend our Airbnb terms and conditions for this property? Should we plan to have our maid go in there monthly or something like to that to keep up to a certain level of cleanliness to return to the market? Any other advice or suggestions? I pasted our listing below if checking it out helps.

Thank you!

Tom

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1042423909892942685?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=ebf3973c-a10b-482a-a570-32f14843581a

[Alex F.]

@Tom Freestone - we have one property where we STR in the summer/spring and MTR for 5-6 months in the fall/winter.

We do a lease and rent outside of Airbnb/VRBO. No cleaning during the long stay.

[Michael Baum]

Hey @Tom Freestone, like @Alex F. said, you need a regular lease. Vet them like you would any long term renter.

No services at all. Otherwise you change your tax status on that property.

Plus I don't think going through AirBNB would work. I am assuming they would not be paying your nightly rate for that time. You could use AirBNB but if you can work it outside of that platform, I would do that.

[Jeremy Jareckyj]

a standard lease is your best bet . it should make the tenant happy because they'll save airbnb fees and hopefully you can pocket some more as well. 

[Brooklyn McCarty]

At this point, this is a MTR/LTR stay and I would treat it like that. 

I would def get a rental agreement signed. I would also make sure you are doing biweekly or monthly cleanings so your cleaners can get their eyes on the property. 

[JD Martin]

You really need to be up to speed on your landlord/tenant laws in Oregon before you agree to this arrangement. I am not, but I know others here have reported that Oregon is a pretty tenant-friendly state. Your main objective is going to be that your property is still functional at the end of this arrangement and that you can successfully evict if necessary. After all, there must be some reason you chose to STR this property rather than LTR in the first place. 5 solid months of using all of your facilities is going to create some wear and tear for sure. That's not to say you shouldn't do it, only that you really need to know every angle.

[Andrew Steffens]

Definitely go off of Airbnb to avoid fees on both sides.  They would be paying you directly.  Have an attorney reviewed rental agreement that is iron-clad.  Likely they will have tenant rights so be prepared for that, it may not be worth it..