Using AirBnB and Rental Arbitrage in Downtown Area

[Zach Gulbransen]

Hello,

I'm looking to rent an apartment in downtown Minneapolis, MN, and put it in AirBnB. The apartments are exceptional high-end living spaces and are quite expensive to rent. What's the best way to ask the leasing agent or apartment owner if you can AirBnB a unit you rent from them? Do you think this is something they'd be okay with or not so much?

Ideally, I could rent two units in the same complex and live in one and Airbnb on the other. That way I could easily manage the unit that will be listed on AirBnBnB and perform any cleaning/maintenance/ issues that come up. 

Thanks, looking forward to any feedback!

[James Hamling]

@Zach Gulbransen I find it interesting how opinionated persons NOT doing something can become about that thing, and certain they are of how horrible it is from there vast experience of zero. So how about some knowledge from someone with actual experience actually in the game of AirBnB- Arbitrage. 

First thing to know is it's very difficult to talk a leasing agent into it because most are too dim-witted, it's true, they will struggle to grasp the very concept of it so it's best to have it written out on a 1 page paper AND to use an example for them to pitch the property owner with because they will never let you speak with owner directly, hence the paper because there going to forget half of what you tell them and screw-up the other half, so make it uber-simple. 

The general rule of thumb is your looking at paying a 15-20% premium, that means 115-120% market rents, AND I find it best to add-on that for all non-mechanical/structural maintenance items that the tenant-host will coordinate and cover all of those, this answers the issue of what if guests damage things etc.. 

Now on you is making sure you know your numbers because your carrying the variable risks, so gotta make sure there is profit margin in things, and that is ample enough for the various variables so we are not talking a few hundred per month. Yes, $25k-$35k furnishing and launch budget is very reasonable and realistic. NO a $5k, $15k budget is NOT realistic or reasonable. Remember this is a NEW STR offering so you will need to do active advertising/marketing to pump the listing potential to build traffic and activity, just throwing on site will not do it alone.

Can a person make $ at this, absolutely.