All Forum Posts by: Jacob Haskins

 Thank you for your response! So at the end of the day, you would just leave it as tenant responsibility and if the money stops flowing, then the tenant is still the responsible party. I understand and this is very helpful!  

Hi BP Community,

I have a short-term rental (previously Airbnb) that I turned into a long-term furnished rental because the neighbors house was damaged by a storm. Unfortunately their home was a total loss due to a tree falling, so I have agreed to rent them my STR as a long-term furnished rental while their home is being rebuilt. Insurance has paid the rent. At first, we only signed a 3-month lease with them until they figured out the next steps, but now they are needing to extend a full 12 months (approved by insurance). My lease states that the tenants are responsible for the payments as a typical lease would, but should I make amendments since the insurance agency is actually responsible for the rent? The security deposit is paid by the tenant.

What kind of changes should I make if any?

Located in Arkansas.  

 I will have to check this out, thank you!

 This is some great information, thank you for replying!

I understand where you have empathy for pet owners, and therefore decide not to charge pet rent.  However, I disagree with not charging pet rent.  This is my opinion, and I have a dog that is treated like a princess.  Yes, children and large families can cause far more damage than pets, but they are a protected by law (and rightfully so).  To answer your question "why charge monthly for a pet?" For me, it is because they often cause more wear and tear/damage and I (landlord) should not be at fault. It is because they are not protected, and you can charge for them.  Pets are a luxury and privilege.

Good morning, BP Community.  

I have been reading the forums about allowing tenants with pets.  It seems the community is about a 50/50 split between allowing pets in rentals or not.  I was originally leaning towards allowing dogs in our rental home, but not cats.  However, we have had several applicants reach out about allowing cats, so now I am reconsidering.  I know there are certainly good pet owners that take care of their animals.  I have bought properties that have been trashed from animals (specifically cats), and I have seen the damage they can cause.  I know many charge a pet fee + pet rent, but often that does not always cover the damages that could be caused by an animal. I have read that many landlords verify that cats are fixed, and also check previous landlord references, but I know there are some other ideas out there from this experienced community.

So, my question is, how do you vet an applicant(s) pets when considering them for your rental?  I feel confident in my ability to vet the actual tenant, but not so much the pets.  It's not like I can just walk in their current place and see how meticulous they are about their pet's health and hygiene. 

@Scott K. Thanks for your reply scott. Unfortunately, the professional cleaning companies that I called have turned it down. After speaking with the restorative company, my eyes were really opened to how much damage a fire can cause. The inspector took a soot tack cloth and showed me where the smoke had risen up into the attic through the ceiling fan port, and then that soot has then settled in the ceiling fans in the other rooms. The HVAC filter was also completely black, and it was located in another part of the house. So the HVAC ducts need to be cleaned as well.

The inspector said the table that burned was like a “fake plastic”, and likely released what could be unsafe carcinogens into the air (although he did not actually test the air quality for certainty). This is what could be causing the odor which has then been infiltrated into the walls, flooring, and furniture in others rooms. He stated to be safe, it needed more than just a “cleaning” service. This is just the information that I was told and he showed me when we walked the property together after the fire.

@John Underwood not to my knowledge. From the very beginning, I handled the whole process through communication with Airbnb associates.

@Randall Alan thanks for responding!

I actually am familiar with the impact it would have with my insurance. I figured it would “ding” against me, which is why I wanted to go through Airbnb. And believe me, I am being VERY noisy to Airbnb. I have asked for a manager several times, and literally still nothing gets resolved. They just say they will “escalate” it every time.

I was hoping to not go through a lawyer, but at this point it seems to be getting out of hand.

Hi, BP community! Just wondering if anybody else has had the same experience that I have had having to deal with Airbnb Cover.

Earlier November 2022, we had a guest stay at our STR home, and they "accidentally" had a candle fire. So what actually happened is unknown, but there is soot and ash everywhere in parts of the home. The actual end table located next to a bed did catch on fire and there is clear evidence that is is destroyed. The house reeks from smoke smell and there is soot damage on all of the furniture and ash lightly dusting the whole section of the home. Thankfully, the house did not catch fire, but just the top of an end table which then left residue and soot damage everywhere.

I tried contacting a couple of deep-cleaning companies and both turned me down for cleaning as they feared potential liability with it being fire damage and the odor remaining. Because of this, I contacted a restoration company and they came out and gave a detailed report. They estimated and quoted full restoration of the fire damage which included soot cleanup, odor removal, clean air filtration (out of fear there may be something harmful in the air from the items that burned), and floor replacement. The extent of their quote exceeds $20,000 USD of damages. (I also got a second opinion from another restoration company and their report was very similar to the original scope of work).

So, now for my question: do any other hosts have experience dealing with issues like this? I have followed Airbnb's process on filing a claim for reimbursement through Aircover, but it has now been 3 weeks and nothing has been done. I have followed up with Airbnb's support team on 4 different times to no avail. They always respond with "We will escalate this case to a Senior associate", and then close the ticket.

I am wondering if it is best to file through my own insurance or should I continue to follow Airbnb's processes? Ideally, it seems reasonably to me to expect Aircover to handle this since it is a result of their guest. I have dealt with Aircover before, but only for small instances less than $500 and it was no big deal. The tough part is there are no representatives you can "call" or even chat with on Airbnb's platform which seems like a big miss to me.

In my experience, I would try and raise the lowest paying tenant first or the unit that is in the worst condition.  If you can negotiate a raise in rent with the first tenant, then move on to the next, so on and so forth until you get through all of them.  If you run into a bump along the way, you at least have the first few you were able to negotiate with.  I purchased a duplex recently where both tenants were paying $700 where market rent was $1250.  I had a real conversation with "A" Tenant, and told them I would have to raise rent because I had payments to make myself.  The tenant happily accepted a rent increase to $1100 because they knew they could not move somewhere else for less than $1250.  Of course, in the future I will plan to update the unit and raise to market rent, but for now, we are on good terms.