New Vacation Rental in Nashville, TN

[Michael Weisman]

We are currently preparing a large, 3,300+ sq ft home as an AirBNB just outside of Nashville. We live out of the area, and will be managing the property remotely (we currently own and manage several SRT's in our local market). The home is in Davidson County in the Bellevue area, which is about 10 miles outside of downtown Nashville. Would love to hear about anyone's experience with similar properties in the area. We're particularly interested in any suggestions on how to find a reliable cleaning person to handle the turnovers.

[Luka Milicevic]

@Michael Weisman

I have owned STRs in Nashville and I live in Bellevue. I know exactly which subdivision you are talking about as I live about a mile away. 

I always thought Bellevue, being 15 mins from downtown wouldn't get the same level of scrutiny that STRs closer to downtown would. I was wrong. I have been in court multiple times because of my STR permit for multiple reasons, and when I looked at the open court records I was quite surprised to see how many folks in Bellevue were served notices to appear in court.

My personal recommendation would be to not run an STR in Nashville, unless you actually, truly live there, or if you are in commercial zoning.

The city is trying their absolute best to get rid of every STR in the county. The cleaners I have spoken to have said that they have lost all of their clients because they are having their permits revoked or are realizing that all of the added costs of operating that the city is adding makes it unprofitable.

They are at the point where they are researching mortgage documents to try and see which owners own multiple properties. My guess is, your friend will at some point be required to go to court to prove that he does live there. That has happened to a bunch of folks I know that tried the "owner occupied" route. Granted, he does live there - sort of. That doesn't really matter to the city, they are going to do their absolute best to shut him down. A quick tip - courtroom 5B is on the 5th floor, left out the elevator, then right. Parking is in the garage across the street, if there is an event that day, it's $10. 

I am speaking from personal experience, as well as from a number of investors that have been burned by the city's STR regulations.

If you still want to proceed, please let me know and I can help give you tips on getting the permit, getting cleaners, setting up property management, etc. I would be more than happy to talk to you on the phone and give you more info. 

PS: Wife and I are looking for a larger home in Bellevue and would definitely be interested in buying something that size, so let me know.