All Forum Posts by: Greg R.

 Excellent advice. Thank you. 

Hi @Seth Kristian, this is actually my second STR. We post on both Airbnb and VRBO, but this is the first one out of state. I don't really think that this being out of state has much of an impact on what we're going through. I am dealing with a fair amount of stress - my wife certainly isn't helping in that regard lol.

Thanks much for the detailed post and your experience. That's crazy about the bullet holes! 

We allow friends/ family to stay for free and they only need to pay the cleaning fee (which goes straight to my cleaners). I manage my own units, but I would imagine that your management co could just block the dates on the calendars to avoid double booking. We just have friends/ family leave cash for the cleaning crew. 

@Eric Bilderback here is some more context... The max occupancy is 7, however, the guest made the reservation request for 4. After she accepted my terms (about no visitors), she messaged and asked to change the reservation to 8 guests, which exceeds my max occupancy. I am a reasonable person and want to accommodate, so I told her that I would accept but that the no visitor rule is firm, no negotiation - in which she agreed again.

Come night 2, we have the 8 people as identified in the reservation, then another 4 show up. They are drinking, being loud, taking shots, etc. I have fairly good audio on my outdoor cams so I have a pretty good idea of what's going on, especially when they are being loud/ partying. Further, one of the visitors walked out of my front door and hangs a right out of camera view (about 1:00am), and about 30 seconds later he comes back and is zipping up his pants. I'm pretty sure he was taking a piss in my front yard. 

I messaged the guest via the app and no response. I assumed the guests left then, but I didn't take too close of a look as it was late for me. It was actually the guy going out in the front yard to take a piss. 

Trust me, if it was just uncle bubba and aunt ruth hanging out for a few hours in the day, I wouldn't have minded. 

We truly do want our guests to have a good time and enjoy themselves. Me and my wife want to provide an amazing experience for them, which we strive to do. What I don't want is them causing problems with my neighbors - which will create unneeded drama for me and jeopardize my STR.

There's a lot I don't know about the situation, but it's definitely worth it to try to strike a deal with the tenant. An eviction is going to cost you a lot of time and money. They might take the bait if you offer them something like 1-2k cash to vacate immediately, plus tell them you won't put the eviction on their record if they agree to the terms. Explain to them than an eviction is going to be a permanent stain on their record, and they'll have a hard time renting in the future. I would try to phrase it in a way that makes it the obvious best choice for them and that you're trying to help. Maybe even agree to eat the cost of a U-Haul. 

No guarantee they'll go for it, but if they have a lick of common sense, they'll know that they can either leave now with some cash, or in a few months with nothing but a permanent mark on their record that will haunt them for a long time. 

Hope you have a good contractor. A kichen and bath is a major remodel. Never know what you're going to find once you pull everything out. Especially if you suspect there is a "minor leak". This minor leak could have caused an unbelievable amount of damage that's not obvious at the moment. Once you open up the walls you will see the true extent of the problem. 

I agree w/ @Greg Scott, there might not be a need to evict them if they're willing to move out. Only way you'd need to evict is if the lease is up, you give them a 30 day (or whatever your area calls for), and they refuse to leave. 

I would make sure you have your ducks in a row w/ materials for the remodel. I've been going through a kitchen remodel for months. Depending on the complexity of the remodel you could need permits, drawings, engineering calcs, etc. Further, certain cabinetry can be months out. Just keep that in mind, don't assume your remodel will be done quickly. 

Not sure about the Boston market, but just because something is not permitted doesn't mean it can't rent. I know many investors that have unpermitted ADUs here in San Diego. Including garage units, and other unpermitted structures that rent for a ton of money. 

My only advice on that is that you can't pay full value for it as if it were fully legal. There is a chance that a disgruntled tenant or neighbor could call code enforcement, or file a complaint w/ zoning, etc. 

Regarding shared septic, in my neck of the woods it's not a problem. I have a duplex w/ shared septic and no issues. I need to take care of all pumping and other septic maintenance. But I haven't had any problems.  

@Jonathan G. just to follow up, I don't have this rule just to be petty or to be a tyrant. You can read countless horror stories about abusive STR guests that have ruined relationships with neighbors, had run ins with the police, destroyed property, disrespected cleaning crews, etc. You seem to be operating under the assumption that all guests are normal & respectful people. If that were the case, there would be no need for a policy like this. However, there are a lot of disrespectful low life individuals who don't care about respecting neighbors and property. I've had a couple of those experiences already, including stolen items from the house, vomit inside my house, people getting drunk and peeing in the front yard in clear view of neighbors/ other houses, recently an idiot thought it was a good idea to put out a cigarette on my stucco... yes, really.

Yes, it's part of the business, I get it. However, us STR business owners not only have the right, but we have an obligation to do our best to prevent things like this from happening at our properties.

@Jonathan G. if you were interested in one of my Airbnb listings and I explicitly told you that I have a firm policy on NO VISITORS under any circumstance... would you agree to those terms and then bring visitors over anyways? If so, it's people like you that are part of the problem. 

I am not tricking people into renting my place and then trying to be a "fun police".  I am very clear and explicit about the rules BEFORE the reservation is accepted. If the terms of my house aren't acceptable for the renter, I totally understand. They have no obligation to rent my place and they have every opportunity to move on to another property that will allow gatherings/ parties. 

If it's a single person, or a couple and they intend to have another single person or couple over that's fine. They need to identify that at the time of booking and be clear about their intentions. My max occupancy supports both of those scenarios. 

The issue is guests stating that they have "x" number of people and agreeing to my terms of not having anyone else at the house beyond the individuals identified at the time of booking. They then check in and decide to host gatherings/ parties and entertain at my house, which is in direct violation to the house rules and our agreement. 

@Bruce Woodruff, that's really good info, thank you! I am going to change the 4th bedroom to an office and advertise it as a 3/3 instead of a 4/3. Unfortunately, there is no way to convert this into (2) STRs. 

However, I understand what you're getting at. Going forward I'm going to focus on smaller places for the reasons you cited above. The larger homes are turning out to be a pain in the *** (in my opinion). 

However, this is one that we intended to occupy for a fair amount of the time. It's about a block away from my wife's parents house - hence us buying the place. For the convenience of my family, I needed a larger home to accommodate us (family of 4). 

Regardless, I think that I've learned some lessons with this one. I don't think I'll be buying any more larger STRs. In addition to all the cons that you listed above, I spent a fortune furnishing and decorating this place. The bigger the place, the more furniture, decor, etc. That's another big con that I didn't fully anticipate when I first bought the place. Not to mention, more maintenance. A lot cheaper to replace a roof, or flooring, or paint a smaller place compared to a 3,000+ sqft place. Also, big utility bills, two HVAC units, etc., etc.