All Forum Posts by: Sofia Sharkey

@Aaron L. Hey Aaron let me re-word that as I realize it’s probably misleading. I filled out the paperwork (application) in one afternoon. It took the city months to approve it. They don’t have staff to go through all the applications and it’s a mess. You do have to have 55% of your neighbors approve but in my case, both houses are in commercial areas so neighbor approvals weren’t an issue. They can be a deal breaker in residencial neighborhoods so you just need to do that research before hand / make sure most of your neighbors will be cool with it.

@Jake Cohen thank you for the input Jake and Colorado would actually be amazing so I’ll need to put it back on my list of potencial places to do more research on. The reason I originally discarded it was the cost of real estate in the major cities there ...but I’m guessing smaller towns will be more affordable.

Kansas City regulations are ok, you need to get registered with the city and request permission from your neighbors if it’s not your primary residency. It works in the city but once you get to the suburbs or more residencial neighborhoods it can become an issue. We actually had to shut down a listing (it was a test so it’s fine) because the neighbors were not ok with it (for no reason other than being uncomfortable with the idea).

@Andrew C. You make an excellent point! Making sure the numbers work if you have to default to a LTR. That’s part of our calculations as we know Airbnb can change any day, laws can change any day, and we don’t want to be stuck in an ugly position unable to make the payments. Thanks for the feedback, I’ve heard quite a bit about Columbus Ohio as it’s rated as a top city for millennials to live in, just saw that last week.

@Zachary Metler thank you for the feedback, I definitely have an eye on college towns. There is a lot of activity around a college.

I regards to your Str that’s awesome! Congrats and good luck, KC is a good place for that ad growing rapidly.

@Lucas Carl thank you sharing

@Julie McCoy this is great information, I’ll look into it. House hacking was just an idea but not a must :)

@Nancy Bachety thank you for the suggestions Nancy! I am definitely doing leg work on this topic as I want to make sure I have all my answers and know what to expect before moving into a new city.

@Alan Grobmeier I agree that this is not for everyone and I know how demanding the business is as I’ve ran my own and other people’s str for the past year. Kansas City is said to be “very strict” on strs but I found out people just don’t want to do the paperwork. I took me one afternoon to complete it and get approved.

That being said, I firmly believe that I am better prepared and have more knowledge on this topic than most people who jump on the Airbnb wagon hoping to make a killing. Just looking for the next city to live in that offers an active / vibrant life style where I can setup a few more str.

@Paul Sandhu we’ve been living in Kansas City for several years and really like it. We’ve also never had any issues with guests and it’s an excellent market to invest. We will continue to invest in Kansas City since we know the market, the regulations, and have a good network so it’s easier to step out and let it run passively with the systems we have in place.

My husband and I are looking to move to a new city and continue to grow our short-term rental / airb&b business there. We have successfully setup 2 places in the mid-west (Kansas City) but are ready for a change of scenery. Initially we would house hack by living in the same place we airb&b (ideally a small multi-unit)

1. What cities have friendly airb&b regulations?

2. Any suggestions on growing markets / rising cities

3. Any suggestions on cities where margins are good for str?

We are looking at warmer states like Texas, Arizona, Utah, and Tennessee.