All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Vail

I hate the impression this story gives to all Airbnb hosts. Lots of people reading this will not realize that most Airbnb hosts are following the law. They will assume that most hosts are acting against the law. Shame on anyone who thinks they are above the law. 

Lots of great info being posted here from the pros! @Michael Stokes if you are looking for more advice, check out the podcast/website Get Paid For Your Pad. I have built a life changing career based on the information I learned for free from Jasper Ribbers on that show. Also, get involved in some of the Airbnb groups on Facebook. There is always a lot of great information being shared in Airbnb profit Club, STRU, the Hosting journey, Ect. 

@Michael Greenberg that is a good question. I believe as high as $255,000! Zillow says $252,000. I have had 1 offer from an Owner occupied buyer @$245,000. 

@Kyle Seidel it is not true anymore that you won’t perform well in the first couple of months. Airbnb has continued to tweak their search algorithm, and new listings now get lots of juice in the first 3 months. When I first started 3 years ago, it was true that the first several months were always 50% revenue at best, but now I actually see it being closer to full expected revenue just because of how much of a boost they give to new listings. 

I am curious, are you buying a permit with this property? How will you keep/renew the permit? 

I am also curious, how your STR will perform if it is in a building full of other STR's? Most Airbnb guests seem to be wanting a unique experience, and especially in Nashville, if they wanted a hotel room, they would rent a hotel room, right?

You are putting a lot of trust in your manager to need to hit $3.5k/month!  Best of luck to you! 

I am selling a house right now that is a STR. I only have 60 days open on our calendar. I have a pricing scheme that should really only makes it attractive to guests that book 30 days out or less (which is optimal in my urban market). I put in the MLS listing that we may ask for up to 60 days to do the closing and possession transfer. I am also offering to continue managing the STR for the new owner, which would allow the current listing, reviews, and everything stay in place as it is. I am blocking off a day or so here and there, and clustering buyer showings into those days. Last week was a week long guest that was a group in town for a bowling tournament. They were very flexible when I asked, and they were ok with us allowing some showings during the day when they were gone.

I have gotten lots of feedback from potential owner occupant buyers that they were interested in the house because they may want to do Airbnb in it while they are gone, or in some future situation. Seeing what it could make on on Airbnb is a attractive selling feature for this new age of home buyers. I put a screenshot of the AirDNA revenue report as one of the photos in the MLS. The house and furniture are for sale at $255,000, and the house brought in $40,000 last year on Airbnb.

@Dustin Pavlik, on Airbnb it is free to have extra listings. We get the combo listing booked about 20% of the time. Usually big weekends. 

@Dustin Pavlik Like @Julie McCoy said, check your local laws. If it passes that test, I am in agreement with what @Scott Jackelen said about doing both units. 

I have opened 3 duplex properties in Columbus OH, in the last year and manage all units as Short-term rentals on Airbnb. If you use the "Combo listing" strategy, you can see huge returns by dynamically pricing the units correctly to match demand. On high demand nights, being able to house large groups last-minute yields amazing returns. Then on less demand nights, the smaller units are very attractive to smaller groups. We have a duplex in a "developing" part of town, that each unit would LTR for $800/month. We just got it booked for an upcoming music festival weekend from a group of 12 for $800/night for both units. 

Having the units so close together, you can create economies of scale by sharing internet service, sharing laundry service area, sharing supply storage areas, and your cleaners should charge less to clean 2 units right next door to each other.  

I would also understand wanting to hedge your risk on STR, by keeping one unit as LTR, but you must then find "the right LTR tenant". Some renters may have issues with having a constant rotating cast of renters next door.

It also depends on the actual property design. I would stay away from up/down duplexes, and stick with sid-by-side, or twin-signle. Also the newer construction the better. Newer construction, and more separation for each unit will result in less noise complaints from and for your Airbnb guests. 

Good Luck!

@Andrew Narsi Yes, I did post the property on Vrolio.com last week! I was contacted by @Erica Muller letting me know about it. I have another friend in Seattle that said he sold one on it that got him the highest price/sq.ft. on record in his building! 

@Katy Hall Thank you for that info. Great to hear about the facebook group! I just signed up for that as well. So glad to hear this model is happening elsewhere. How are things going in Texas with STR? I hear the state is working on some favorable laws?

@Tim Bergstrom Great to hear from you. I am sorry to hear what you guys are dealing with in Nashville. I agree with @Michael Greenberg that you should use your skills as an advantage. I think there is a way to solve the problem of selling a Nashville STR business. I know some guys in Portland that have gotten around this by re-zoning some properties into commercial, and basically turning them into Bed and Breakfasts, or hotel. That is a different permit to apply for, and thus is an easier process to then transfer the ownership of the permit. I have spoken with several Nashville STR owners, but don't know the laws there enough to have the right answer for your situation.

Another concept I have heard is to create an LLC that holds the property, and a member of that LLC applies for a permit. Then you can sell the rights to the profits of that LLC. This will make it harder to get financing, and has less security for buyers. I think the right attorney could put something together.

Yes, the clause I was referring to about appraisals is something I use even in LTR or owner occupied purchase contracts often. Something like "If the property is appraised for loan purposes below the purchase price, the buyer agrees to pay any shortage amount with cash at closing." (I'm NOT an attorney!). 

I am not sure about NJ laws, but in Ohio, yes you would need a real estate Brokers license (not just an agent license). 

If you are approving tenants, and collecting rent money for the owner, that is property management. You must have a RE license, and be working under a brokerage that is also licensed to do property management, and that brokerage must have the contract with the owner (not you directly). 

These laws are not very heavily enforced, so you will likely get away with it. But if you want to be doing everything by the books, then you definitely need to check with your real estate commission at the state department of commerce.