Rental Property Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 127 posts · 55 votes
A while back, my wife and I decided to rehab one of our long-term rentals in central Austin and convert it to a short-term vacation rental. After months and months of work, our first vacation rental property is now up and running!
We've had two parties stay with us so far, and both have left sparkling reviews. And we've got a couple bookings for South by Southwest next week. We're looking forward to settling into our new roles in the hospitality industry (we're self-managing), and tweaking amenities/rates to generate maximum revenue from the property going forward. Exciting stuff!
@Jon Klaus I frequently rent an airstream in Palm Springs that is on a SFR lot. The airstream is far enough from the home for privacy.
A big attraction of short term vacation rentals is the option to stay in a unique space like an airstream, a treehouse, a boat, etc. next to location, the kitsch factor is a huge selling point. If you google "airstream AIRBNB" most of the listing have 100+ positive reviews.
@Gonz Trevino The process is a bit of a hassle, like all other dealings with the city bureaucracy. But if you have the necessary forms/documentation filled out and pay the required fee, the process generally takes about 2-3 weeks.
That said, this could all change very soon, as the Austin City Council is considering passing legislation that would effectively ban Type 2 STRs in Austin. This is despite the fact that they passed in 2012 what many around the country consider to be model legislation on STRs, which allows the city plenty of leeway to enforce code violations and address problem properties.
I will start another thread with details on what could possibly happen during the counsel's meeting on October 15, during which they will consider this legislation.
I heard the City Council meeting was this week. I must have been off. I would love to have a conversation Gary I have a few strategies that I think are very good for implementing STR's in Austin. Hopefully the city does not ban them. I heard they only give a limited amount of licenses per zip code and its based on how many they have in that area already. I would love to connect over the phone with you. :)
Happy to speak with you to discuss Austin STRs. Feel free to reach out to me at your convenience.
Congrats on your success with this. We've tossed around the idea of buying a property near downtown to use when we want to be in town and using as a VR. We're in Lake Travis so it can be a bit of a drive to actually enjoy the city. With all of our festivals and events, I think it makes sense.
Congrats on your success with this. We've tossed around the idea of buying a property near downtown to use when we want to be in town and using as a VR. We're in Lake Travis so it can be a bit of a drive to actually enjoy the city. With all of our festivals and events, I think it makes sense.
Thanks, Karmen. That's certainly a great idea, if one has the funds to purchase in that pricey part of town. Other than the pending legislation changes, one other thing to consider is that the city currently limits the number of STRs to 3% of properties in any particular census tract. Here are links to the number of licenses currently issued for each census tract and the map showing the percentages of licenses issued by census tract. Many of the close-in neighborhoods have no licenses remaining.
This is for Type 2 (non-owner occupied) STRs. If you plan to reside at the property and rent it out only occasionally, you may be able to get a Type 1 (owner occupied) license instead.