All Forum Posts by: Mihir Bhimaraju

@Ken Dillard thank you. You should give it a try! 

My primary concern was safety. I wouldn't say it resolved itself. It's always a concern but one thing you can do at your end is verify the reviews of the guests. Ask them the purpose of their trip etc. If you've seen some of the scary Airbnb horror stories, you'll never be open to it. But I can tell you I've met some of the nicest people from different countries and that experience in itself is well worth it.

@Jessie Nunley it's worth giving it a shot if you're comfortable with hosting!

@Ben Lukes What I'd recommend is shop around for a CPA who knows how to file airbnb income. You do not want to overpay or underpay the IRS. I'm still looking for someone who's well acquainted with this, but the way you're taxed depends on whether you're running it like a hotel (hotel tax) or homeshare or a regular rental with long term stays. I felt like I left a lot of deductions on the table as my previous CPA didn't completely comprehend it, neither did I. So, get a GOOD CPA lined up. This will pay for itself.

@Maxwell Lee  Here you go: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/13116688?s=51 It'll be nice to host you soon!

@Nathan McCartney Apart from the usual deductions and eventually paying down the mortgage, have you found any other benefits of buying a home to run Airbnb vs leasing a home/apt and run it?

@Jonathan Soto I'm on the same boat as you my friend! Hang in there! Hopefully your offer will get accepted. If not, there's more to come. 

@Mike Enriquez one of the lenders I spoke with mentioned that they need to see at least 2 years of Airbnb income on tax returns. 

@Robert J Carlson Airbnb is where you list either an entire home or private rooms for lodging. Guests can stay from one night to 6 months. The transactions are done entirely on Airbnb website/app. I'd recommend checking out their website. It has a basic intro video on how Airbnb works. 

@Nathan McCartney congrats on the purchase! Was it off the MLS? You already made a big profit if you purchased it well below market rate.

I don't live in a college town, but I'd suggest you to keep track of college calendar and price the nights accordingly. Graduations and homecomings should get the most amount. Be sure to check your prices vs competitors just to make sure you're not priced too high or too low. Renting out entire home will get you a higher price, while renting out private bedrooms might get you guests frequently. You'll have to try out what works best in your area.

@Josh Setterbo I'd suggest to get a CPA also to have a separate bank account with a debit card so that you can track your income and expenses really. But off the top of my head, I can think about the usual repair and maintenance deductions, utilities and depreciation. This will be calculated as a % of the total sqft of your place.