All Forum Posts by: Erin Spradlin

Piggybacking off @James Carlson, you could also hire out property management (to a super host or to a company). In this case, you won't see as many returns as you would without it, but it's totally passive then and the short-term rental rates are stronger than your average long term renter. 

@David Smith - @James Carlson and I research airbnb laws around Denver to find out what's legal and what's not. @Account Closedundefined

Hey Amy- BiggerPockets has videos on how to do Airbnb as well. If you go to youtube and search "Airbnb", you'll see a few come up related to getting started, pros/cons, nightmare stories, etc. I know in the immediate future they are planning on doing videos about how to make income off Airbnb and scale (I know because I'm in the videos/write the blog content for it.) So, with that my advice would be to hold off on that seminar because the content will be on this site for free over the next couple months. 

I've pulled the Airbnb laws for Denver and different mountain communities related to short-term rentals. I would check to see which city or area it falls under and call the city planner. You want to make sure that the property is in an area zoned for STRs. Mountain towns tend to be pretty friendly, but they have certain zones where you have to have longer rents to help keep it affordable for seasonal workers. 

Have you looked at hiring a service like Guesty or Hosty? Not sure if they do remote areas, but that's probably where I would start. We've run airbnbs in Denver, CO and also just used craigslist help for work. I know that's again, not the same as being remote- but if you post in your local area you might be surprised by who is looking for work. 

Agreed with the above comments... I would just get an air mattress and put it in the closet (make sure to charge more for more guests- even if they are on an air mattress.) I would not bother with the sleeper sofa though as I don't think it's more valuable to you than an air mattress. Good luck! 

My brother has done Airbnb in Colorado Springs and furnished his place with some light renovations for $8000. That was for a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath home. He did a lot of his shopping on NextDoor and Craigslist... If you go to the right neighborhoods, you'd be surprised at the nice stuff you can get for cheap. Good luck!  

I use AirDNA as a resource but I don't totally count on it. The reason for that is I see a lot of variance month to month for different property types, which makes me think their data set might be a little low. When we're running Airbnb numbers in Denver and in Colorado Springs, we do additional research. 

Airbnb.com actually has a place where you can start listing your property (it's under the Host drop down on the horizontal bar.) You don't have to be totally ready to go with your listing, but you can use it as an estimate for what you can get. Airbnb will run the numbers based on location, type of property and amenities. I think they probably have a stronger feel for this as they have more numbers to work with. 

Added to that, you can look at Airbnbs in your area and see how often they are rented and for how much. That would give you an idea of what to expect and what to ask for when using third party property management. Good luck! 

Hey there- we have a client looking for an accountant for short-term rental properties in the Denver metro area. Does anyone know of someone that can help? They are looking for someone that can help with tax-related requirements. Thanks! 

@Account Closed - we've been doing Airbnb in Denver and have found it to be very profitable. While I agree with those telling you to use AirDNA for a quick check- I'd also advise looking at what Airbnb projects for you. My experience with AirDNA is that sometimes it's data heavy and can also have limited sample sets that can skew the results.

The upfront investment can cost a bit (takes us about $4K to furnish a studio with IKEA), but the money has been really good for us (again though, we're Denver based.) We were clearing about $3K/month after expenses, so the $4K quickly felt like nothing. Good luck!