{"id":176180,"date":"2024-08-07T14:25:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T20:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/?p=176180"},"modified":"2024-08-07T14:25:53","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T20:25:53","slug":"using-treehouses-houseboats-and-tiny-homes-as-rentals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/using-treehouses-houseboats-and-tiny-homes-as-rentals","title":{"rendered":"Unique Rentals: What You Need to Know About Tree Houses, Tiny Homes, and Houseboats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If there were any question about the current popularity of \u201cunique\u201d <\/span>short-term rentals<\/span><\/a>, the fact that Airbnb has links to listings of \u201c<\/span>tree houses<\/span><\/a>,\u201d \u201c<\/span>tiny homes<\/span><\/a>,\u201d and \u201c<\/span>omg<\/span><\/a>!\u201d right in its top nav should answer it. One-of-a-kind, unusual rentals are having a moment\u2014but they come with their own <\/span>set of<\/span> considerations. Here\u2019s what to <\/span>keep in mind<\/span> before converting your backyard <\/span>ADU<\/span><\/a> into a pirate ship. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Market Appeal<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of course, unique and weird can be very compelling, both to renters and <\/span>also<\/span> from a revenue standpoint. <\/span>For one,<\/span> you will likely <\/span>not<\/span> have <\/span>too much<\/span> competition for your <\/span>hobbit house<\/span><\/a> in Tennessee, your <\/span>windmill<\/span><\/a> in Portugal, or your <\/span>yurt<\/span><\/a> in Missouri.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Priced correctly, with great guest reviews, it\u2019s unlikely you will be undercut by another hobbit house.<\/span> And<\/span> in the case of unique property classes in high demand, like tree houses, you may be able to charge a premium (compared to other rentals of the same size in your area), and your occupancy rates may be higher. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Management Costs<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Management costs can be a mixed bag, depending on the specifics of your rental. In some cases, the footprint of your tiny house or tree house may be smaller than a traditional rental, which <\/span>can save money<\/span><\/a> when acquiring it in the first place and then on upkeep and cleaning. In other cases, a less <\/span>traditional<\/span> layout can pose heating or cooling issues requiring additional investment or <\/span>a particularly<\/span> skilled (expensive) technician or materials to repair <\/span>issues<\/span> should they arise. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insurance<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s safe to say insurance companies may be less excited about your unique dwelling when it comes to insuring it. If there\u2019s not a ton of historical data on the costs and calamities that befall your housing type, you can expect a higher insurance rate because of it. <\/span>This<\/span> is less of an issue with properties like tiny houses and more <\/span>of <\/span>an issue<\/span> with those like tree houses, where there may be additional safety and liability issues.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoning and Regulations<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This<\/span> is a biggie and one where there is the <\/span>least<\/span> conformity. Regulations for renting unique structures vary dramatically, depending on where you live, and the rules come down to hyperlocal legislation. <\/span>Building a unit like this from scratch will require extended time and <\/span>probably<\/span> many additional permits.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An easier path is buying an existing structure and confirming the legality of the previous owner\u2019s work\u2014assuring they already dealt with any <\/span>of the<\/span> legal hoops or have been grandfathered in.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re up to the additional potential costs and maintenance, unique short-term rentals can be very lucrative.<\/span> Just make sure to <\/span>underwrite<\/span><\/a> carefully, with validated numbers, before digging in!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How much of a difference can offering unique short-term rentals make to your portfolio?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":613680,"featured_media":176182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7271],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-176180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-short-term-rentals"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/613680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}