Investor · Mount Pleasant, OH · Member since 2016 · 94 posts · 11 votes
I recently purchased a two story building. The first floor is occupied by a computer company, and they have already signed a lease with me. The second floor needs a complete rehab. The second floor currently has two units. You come up the stairs and on to the left is a decent sized one bed, one bath unit. On the right is a small efficiency unit. It's basically one room with a bathroom. It previously had a kitchenette, but it has been removed. In my market, efficiency units are hard to rent, and they really are not worth the hassle. My initial thought was to simply combine the units, and create what would be a large 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit. This would probably rent for around $900 per month as apposed to the one bedroom, which would rent for about $600.
My other thought was to keep the layout as is, and use the efficiency as an air B&B. I have no experience with short term rentals, so I am not certain how to weigh this option.
What research should I do? What costs and expenses are involved with short term rentals? What else should I consider?
All comments, insights, advice welcome. Thank you in advance!
Rental Property Investor · Whittier, CA · Member since 2014 · 324 posts · 268 votes
9y
Do some research into air bnb in your area. It may be that there isn't a lot of demand. Also, consider the time commitment you would need to do with a short term vs. long term rental.
Real Estate Agent · Post Falls, ID · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Bruce, I would go onto AirBnb and look at similar one bedrooms in your area. What are the prices? How popular is where you invested? Are there a lot of visitors?
If this is a heavily populated area that is frequently visited by non-locals, then an AirBnb might make sense. You will definitely get more than an additional $300 per month if you can rent it out.
If AirBnb isn't an option and the efficiency units are not very rentable in your area. Then it probably makes sense to rent it out as a 2 bed/2bath.
Another thought is that you rent it out long term by the room. That way you kind of get the best of both worlds. 2 rooms rented at $600? And they are longer term tenants.