Feedback on possible opportunity/STR arbitrage

[Jason Faulkner]

Looking for feedback on an idea - I have an opportunity to purchase a half acre of land wayyy below market value and I have this vision of a purpose built vacation rental setup that I would like to build. The land is approx 25 mins outside of a major tourist town (Asheville NC) and zoned open use so hopefully no issues there. I want to pursue building a fairly basic mountain/cabin style house on a full basement with (hypothetically) 2 beds 2 baths on the main level and 2 beds 1.5 baths on the basement level. It would be easy to meet all plumbing/electrical/egress requirements being new construction, and the land is laid out perfectly for separate entrances. Also an ideal layout for a hot tub to be incorporated. With all the interest I see in Short term rental arbitrage, I am thinking about renting the home as a long term lease to someone but allow them to offer either the entire home on Airbnb/VRBO or just list the basement apartment while they live on the main level. My reasoning for this is reduced cost of having to furnish it upfront, more passive income for me for now, and lenders will be much more favorable to refinancing it with a long term lease in place + with this arrangement I could ask a premium for rent. Does this sound crazy? Am I asking for a legal nightmare?

[John Underwood]

I think if you can afford the house you should be able to afford a little more to furnish it. The pay back should be quick to pay for the furnishings from doing a STR.