30 DAY MINIMUM RENTAL QUESTION

[Thai Jon HuaKonz]

I am looking at a property that I thought would be a great short term rental. The HOA has a 30-day minimum rental policy. Essentially, they're trying to avoid it becoming an Air bnb.

It sparked a few questions for me, and I'm looking for insight. This would be my first STR.

Is there a work around for the 30 day minimum?

How do you assess whether a medium term rental might be feasible? 

Is it best to just walk away when you hear about a 30 day minimum?

Thanks for your feedback! 

[Dan Guenther]

Hey @Thai Jon HuaKonz - Welcome to the community! 

Unfortunately, there isn't typically a way around the 30-day rule within an HOA. In general, I prefer to stay away from HOAs when looking into STR deals. HOA's come with a lot of restrictions and they can also change the rules on you at any time which isn't ideal from an investor's perspective.

Reach out if you want to talk more! 

[Richard Elvin]

"Is it best to just walk away when you hear about a 30 day minimum?"
If you want an STR, yes, walk away from this one. If it works for a MTR, and that's what you want, then I would still be cautious, as @Dan Guenther said, the HOA can change the rules whenever they want. At least make sure you're comfortable with it as an LTR, that way you're still ok if the HOA changes things on you.

[Eliott Elias]

There are no work arounds. You can risk putting it on Airbnb for under 30 day stays, expect to pay the fees and fines. Look into if it would be a good mid term rental market.

[Bob Stevens]

Quote from @Thai Jon HuaKonz:

I am looking at a property that I thought would be a great short term rental. The HOA has a 30-day minimum rental policy. Essentially, they're trying to avoid it becoming an Air bnb.

It sparked a few questions for me, and I'm looking for insight. This would be my first STR.

Is there a work around for the 30 day minimum?

How do you assess whether a medium term rental might be feasible? 

Is it best to just walk away when you hear about a 30 day minimum?

Thanks for your feedback! 

 Move on, 

[Michael Baum]

I thing everyone hit the nail on the head @Thai Jon HuaKonz. Just avoid it and move on, but if it is a good deal...

A MTR is just a long term rental with a shorter stay. Why would anyone stay at this place for 2 months? Is there a big hospital nearby? How about a university?

There has to be a reason for people to want/need to stay there. If there is some places that use short term professional help, call them up. See what HR says about it. They might have a need for workers and provide a list of places for them to stay.

Check FurnishedFinder.com to see what other places are in the immediate area.

[Zach Edelman]

This addresses the need that there needs to be an Air DNA for MTRs. 

[Jonathan Aversano]

As far as STR goes, it's going to be near impossible to get around any HOA rules.

For MTR, look for economic drivers- traveling nurses, remote professionals, etc. Plenty of forums on here about MTRs that discuss the target tenants, granted it all depends on your local market.

[Brooklyn McCarty]

Never flirt with the grey area. Eventually you will get caught.  Either buy it and do 30+ rentals or don’t. 

[Robert Dalton]

30 day minimums in our area means you pretty much got to go with annual leases.  There is not a large amount of people looking for a 30 day rental.

Here that is the HOAs way of forcing long term rentals

[Jamie Banks]

MTRs could be a viable option in your market. I always look at furnishedfinder.com/stats to understand the demand in my market. From there go to indeed and look up traveling nurse, doctor, and other medical positions to understand demand of traveling medical professions which is a large part of the MTR tenant base. Do a quick search for hospitals near the property, is there a level 1 trauma center within a 20 minute drive? Do the same for universities and corporations. The top tenant base that I see for MTRs is traveling medical professionals, digital nomads, relocating families and students / professors needing housing for a semester. Make sure that there's demand for at least 2 of the top tenant types before deciding if the condo is viable as a MTR. 

[Bonnie Low]

Midterm rentals can work out in areas that have a 30-day minimum but start by really assessing the property. Where is? What is it like? Is this a 1 bed/1bath condo? A 4-bedroom home in a gated community? It's hard to say where to look for data on the demand without knowing the type of property and who it's likely to attract. Smaller units are great for travel medical professionals who want a quite, dedicated space but don't necessarily want to pay a lot. Digital nomads tend to want 2 bedroom units at least as they often look for a dedicated office space. Snowbirds rent for months at a time and tend to want to be near other snowbirds or become repeat guests so they can establish a "winter home" in a familiar place. Insurance placements tend to be larger and higher end. Until you know who you're going to market to it's hard to say where to look for demand specific to your place. That said, I'd be leery of an HOA imposing restrictions. If they're purposely trying to ban STRs, there's no guarantee they won't go after midterms next. Some HOAs have 6 month minimums for just this reason. Personally, I'd pass on a restrictive HOA. You can't control your guest's behavior, yet you'll be held responsible when next door neighbor Karen reports them for the slightest offense.

[Bonnie Low]

Quote from @Zach Edelman:

This addresses the need that there needs to be an Air DNA for MTRs. 

 I'd love to see that. Furnished Finders stats is probably the closest thing to it and it's not very robust.