All Forum Posts by: Julie Gates

there are tons and tons of expenses associated with short term rentals. Number one, you have to furnish the home. You also have to provide linens and the basic kitchen essentials. Also, things will get stained so you will need to replace the towels, etc. every 6 to 12 months. It’s basically like whatever is in your home minus all of the personal stuff. Don’t get me wrong, there is money in it, but the start up costs are significant. 

I use them for my harder to rent home. They do ok, but the numbers are nowhere near what they advertise, I promise you.

I don't think AirBNB looks at zoning. They want to know if you own or rent the property and where it is located. You might want to just start the process of registering the property with them and see if you get any weird questions. Any complex over 4 units is considered commercial, so any apartment building counts. I don't really think that the zoning matters, honestly.

I say definitely do it. Charge the owner 20-30% of the income. I have a larger house as well and I agree that they are a bit harder to get rented, but they do very well. I ended up putting my large house with Evolve Vacation Network. They charge 13%, so you could pocket the rest. If you have never rented out short-term, this is the way to go since they will create the listing for you and manage it.

I paid for AirDNA at first, but I realized that it was just a vanity expense on my part. Who cares if I'm in the top 10? (I am, but do I need to pay $19.95 to know this?) Any decent short-term rental host is on multiple platforms. AirBNB is awesome and will send a lot of business, but don't rely on it for your income. If you look up my stats on one home this month I'm at maybe $400 in AirBNB, but I have zero nights free because I got bookings on other platforms. The money is better spent on a pricing tool. Let the professionals tell you how to price your home. For purchasing the home, you can get an idea of what it will bring in by homes similar in the area, this data is free, just look it up on the web site.

You should definitely do this and definitely remove anything of value or personal or anything with alcohol in it. My advice is to go ahead and create your AirBNB account now and request a co-host. You'll need someone to handle the cleaning, etc.

I use a broker, not an agent. They can pull from multiple companies instead if one. Find one in the area where your rental is located.

 Thank you so much, glad to be here!