House hacking/rent hacking

[David Fleita]

Hey guys! I am a 23-year-old recent college graduate who just moved to the Nashville, TN area and I am currently on the other side of house hacking as I am subleasing an empty room in a house about 25 minutes outside of the city. In an effort to reduce my commute to work every day, I am looking to move closer to the city and, this time, be on the landlord side of house hacking. Because the housing market in Nashville is so high right now, however, I have been looking into more apartments and researching the idea of "rent hacking." My friend and I who I am planning to move in with figured out that if we put our money together, we would be able to afford to take out a 12 month lease on a fairly nice 4 bedroom apartment downtown Nashville. We would be doing this with the intention of renting out or AIRBNBing the extra rooms. Based on the current going rates (especially for airbnb) in downtown Nashville, we think we can pay off our monthly fees with the gross rent income if we fill both extra rooms ten out of the thirty nights in the month. I am wondering if anyone has tried a strategy like this before or has any sort of knowledge to the idea that may be able to provide some tips or advice. Thanks!

[Julio Gonzalez]

Hi David, welcome to the community! You are in the right place! 

[Anthoney Hanks]

Hello @David Fleita and welcome to Bigger Pockets! Thank you for sharing your story - wishing you future success!

[Jaron Walling]

It's called AirBnB arbitrage.

Better do some research on it because a lot of apartment complexes and SFR landlords don't allow it. The rental agreement you'll sign could have clause for it.

[Justin Windham]

@David Fleita

Welcome to the BP!

This is a great forum with very knowledgeable members that will help to guide you in the right direction, whether that is real estate sales, wholesaling, flipping, rentals, lending, self-directed IRA and Solo 401k investing, or tax and legal guidance. You will be able to share your story and receive plenty of helpful feedback from experienced members.

If you haven’t been to it already, you might want to check out the BP blog: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/

The site has quite a few tools that can be helpful for new members. I like the search features: https://www.biggerpockets.com/search

[Michael Dumler]

@David Fleita be careful with this strategy. Most apartment complexes will have a provision in the lease that states bedrooms are not to be subleased/AirBNB. If you violate this provision, you and your friend could potentially be evicted. You need to determine if this is legal with the leasing agency/landlord. If it is allowed, proceed with caution. I'm all for it, but please be aware of the risks involved. I would properly screen all of your guest and would limit their stay to only a couple of nights (long term stays can get tricky). Best of luck!

[David Fleita]

Thanks everyone for the responses! @jaronwalling & @michaeldumler I will definitely do more research regarding apartment policies and I appreciate this insight!

[Ken Dillard]

Besides the previous advice on confirming what is allowed by the lease, look up the ever changing Nashville AirBnB permitting requirements. Nashville is not considered an AirBnB friendly city and has lots of requirements - even for owner occupied STR.