Vacation Rental Investments

[Katherine Martin]

Does anyone know what market is like for vacation rentals in Seattle? I have a friend in CA who is curious about purchasing a buy and hold property but would like to also use it as a vaca rental such as an Air BNB. I'm not sure what the market is like for that type of thing or if it's more profitable to just do the typical buy and hold. 

Thank you much for your advice and help!

[Andy Whitcomb]

I have a 6 bedroom vacation rental property in Seattle, and it does VERY well.  Summer is definitely the best season for vacation rentals in Seattle, but ours stays at least 50% full all year.  HOWEVER, I would strongly caution anyone who is considering buying a property in Seattle to be used primarily as a short term vacation rental.  The city is actively exploring it's options to make it illegal to operate a full-time airbnb because they claim it is driving up rental rates.  

I would definitely wait to see where the city lands on this before making any purchases with the intention of Airbnb'ing it full time.