All Forum Posts by: Erin Spradlin

We've had a lot of success with Craigslist. We basically renew the listing repeatedly (and keep the price high when we are a couple of months out and then bring it down as it gets closer.) This has been effective for us. I've also heard of people using furnishedfinders.com, but we've never used them and have heard they might be a little pricey.

@Kyndall Johnson, welcome! This community has awesome advice on pursuing different investment opportunities. They also have videos... a few of which I might be in... but which are relevant to getting start with short-term rentals. The first is 6 steps on how to get started on Airbnb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOq98r97zAk&t=5s and the second one is Pros and Cons of Airbnb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JftWQbAAJkI.

If you're looking for communities that allow for short-term renting, I'd make sure to call the zoning board and ask about their laws first. Sounds like you have some familiarity with that in Vero Beach, but when I call, I always ask if they have laws for Airbnb or VRBO, or alternately if they have restrictions around 30 day or less rentals and/or if it's addressed in their use code. Good luck! 

@Account Closed, with short-term, you make more money but more work is required. Vacation rentals bring in a ton of cash (we were making $3K profit a month on one bedrooms in Denver), but it wasn't free money. There was a lot of cleaning and guest management required. That said, these days you could hire that out to someone that will manage it for 10-20% of the profit (so you could factor that in with the numbers.) Regarding the off season, you could see if AirDNA has a report for your city. If they do, it will include numbers you can pull in for the off season (Airbnb will also provide some of this if you go in and start the process of a listing.) Some other things to consider before going the short-term route are what your city laws are and if they are monitoring Airbnb/actively pursuing them and if you rent a condo, if there are any HOA limitations. Anyway, good luck! The money is great if you can do it.

@Luke Carl - Agree. They have a ton of information on there (and that's great) but it's hard to pick and choose what's truly useful versus what is not. It's good to know 1.) how many places around you are renting; 2.) how many are available tomorrow v. a six weeks out; 3.) what the rate is for your property size and if there's seasonal variance. Those are the basics that help people get started and needed to make a confident decision.

Additional nice touches include phone chargers and just a snack/coffee for them to grab if they are in and out. This is something I'd provide in a private room (rather than a home) in case they don't feel totally comfortable using the kitchen (if you are also there.) That way they have a protein bar and coffee in their room as well. 

@David McErlean - the platforms let you combine the calendars. I'd be really careful about this though because it's still something you have to stay on top of and in some ways may provide a false sense of confidence. 

@Myka Artis - I'm always voting for your stuff because I always agree... I think of VRBO as  being more for mountain towns, etc. - places where you would have families gather and need a larger space. Airbnb tends to be better for people that are singles or couples and want to be near the city. (That's been our experience at least- although I do think Airbnb is starting to move into larger homes more often.)

Agree with @Garrott Nalle and @Carrie Penney- start slow and move up. Next time you take a vacation, you could ask if you could try it then and then build out some projections on what 4 days a month of Airbnb or 20 days a year, etc. could do for your finances... whether that's re-investing, going on vacations or buying stuff. One other thing to keep in mind is that there are certain dates that are better than others - aka, three day weekends, festivals, etc. so if you can build the vacation around that, you'll both see more money on those dates. 

I think of Airbnb as more urban and for singles/couples, and VRBO being more appropriate for families or people wanting larger homes. 

Personally, I'd stick to the bigger names because I know there is a well thought out system if and when there are issues. There's a record, insurance and a moderating voice that may just not be available with smaller rental companies. 

@Luke Russell - we've stayed at an Airbnb in KC for the holidays. I would say the big one here is proximity to cool things. Ours was near the plaza and we loved it...

You can call your city planner and ask them about the rules. Specifically, you want to know if they have laws on the books about short-term rentals (say Airbnb/VRBO so they get triggered.) If they do, great. If they don't, ask if they have any rules about rentals that are 30 days or less. Also, you can ask if its part of the use code (they'll know what that is) and if it's not if that's a problem. (Sometimes cities count something as illegal if it's not in the use code, but others don't.) Good luck!