All Forum Posts by: Sean Walton

Welcome to BP! "...been told I could borrow  70/80% on the 1st one after built and let my son pay the note. Then move on to the next one. Possible?" I've been told on investment priories unless you've built up a good relationship with a bank 75% is the most you can finance. By next one do you mean next duplex or next 5 duplexes? Depending on the size of your son's contractor's crew you may not want to wait till one duplex is done to move on to the next. Cheaper to keep the foundation guy onsite rather than keep calling them back out 9 months apart.

It is an interesting dynamic to see play out first hand in San Francisco. In general it doesn't seem like neighbors of airbnbs are putting up much of a fuss except in the sleepier neighborhoods. Hotels are at 85% occupancy and it is difficult to get permits to build more. It is really the city's renters that are seeing skyrocketing rents and the politicians looking for a convenient scapegoat. SF has under-built for 40 years otherwise airbnb would not be able to command such a premium over long term tenants. 

I think airbnb will remove multiple listings because they are in a PR battle for hearts and minds. It is pretty easy for watchdogs to see multiple listings from one account but as others have mentioned they can always add accounts with friend's and family members and airbnb has little incentive to stop this.

Currently in SF if you do not live in the place while people are staying there you are capped at 90 day per calendar year. Or as I have done you rent for 30 day minimums. I have mine on airbnb and home suite and have had more bookings through airbnb but also gotten some good tenants from homesuite

It is certainly possible but I would definitely recommend doing some market research will the rents justify subdividing and dealing with more tenants? How will you exit out of the building? Depending on the building code, if the space is large enough to hold more than 49 people you will need 2 exits separated by 1/3 to 1/2 the longest diagonal dimension of the space. How will you deal with deliveries and taking out the trash? An architect will definitely help you figure this stuff out.

Because of the current airbnb laws you could only do 30 day minimum rentals  or not more than 90 days per year if shorter terms. If you don't mind more turnover it may be a way to lessen that loss per month. A place that rents for $3500/month long term can rent for $4200 to corporate stays type people but minimizing vacancy between tenants gets trickier. Although you can use it as a pied a terre or for out of town guests those nights

Also there may be some disagreement with this statement but if your condo was built 10 years ago maintenance and capex should be lower than the typical rules you seen thrown about.

I think because of all the new inventory coming online I don't see your value dropping but I think the appreciation will level off this year, and with all the ridiculous apps and startups getting funded these days I see a correction coming in the next 10-16 months.

Hi Parker,

    airbnb will help you with a suggested price. I would recommend starting with a slightly lower price to begin with until you have a few review. Reviews are key and some research suggests the more the better even suggesting 100 good reviews are better than 4 stellar reviews. I would lower prices a lot on small gaps in booking to try and fill those up as you get closer to those dates..

I don't know your area that well but furniture quality is finding a balance between durability, cost and design sense. I would check thrift stores for dishes and silverware maybe cookware, Amazon or Homegoods/Marshals for cookware. Ikea for most furniture. I would spend a bit more on mattress, pillows and sheets. People will remember how comfy the bed is when leaving reviews. Good quality sheets will last longer. Remember you will be washing them a lot as you turn over between guests. 

Remember to keep all your receipts to deduct on your taxes. 

consider getting a keypad lock or lockbox for late night arrivals.

@Jessica Su one thing to note is Airbnb charges the owner 3% for payment processing but they typically charge the guest 12% so it is really 15% overall. I find it is worth it depending on your market but you may find you can get better overall profit by trying several platforms.

I agree with everything said so far. 2 things to consider 1. is your goal a cash flow property or just defraying all or some of you cost of a 2nd home. Look for Al Williamson's post on this. 2. Are laws likely to change. If there is a shortage of housing politicians may change laws on you to restrict short term rentals or at least tax them. So make sure there is cushion in your cash flow numbers.

I found that when I told State Farm I wanted to switch from a homeowner policy to a landlord policy they wanted to see a signed 1yr lease. My friend who does Airbnb was somehow able to get around this but they wouldn't budge for me. Through a BP member's recommendation I went with CBIZ. The whole process was easy to do online and over the phone and it wasn't that much more than my homeowner policy. Thankfully I haven't made any claims yet so not sure how they are on that.

Welcome to BP! Make sure you learn your area. As an architect I love the idea of building new but if the cost of building new is more than buying and rehabbing an existing building it may not make you any money. There are a lot of cool projects in The SF Bay Area where people took boring old buildings and reclad them to look very modern. Good luck and keep us updated.

In San Francisco I pay about $80 to clean my 550 SF condo. @Monika Haebich I haven't used taskrabbit but I have been solicited by https://www.pillowhomes.com They market themselves as total property management but I don't want to pay that much commission. Before SF laws forced me to change to 30 day minimums I used the cleaning fee as a way to make my place more appealing to people staying longer and less appealing to 1 day stays. A $80 cleaning fee amortized over 4 days is a lot less than a $75 fee for one day. You should know your market and what works and what types of guests you are trying to attract.