Pitfalls for a Month Long Stay

[John Tobin]

I'm just getting started with my first STR that's listed on airbnb and vrbo in a ski mountain location. Someone has approached me about renting my place for an entire month off platform, which is fairly common in my area (Dover, VT). I am considering it, but I'm wondering if I'm missing anything that could come back to bite me with respect to taxes or STR/MTR laws. I will generate a lease agreement for the guest and I will request references so I can do some due diligence on them as well. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks!

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @John Tobin:

It's a red flag. They want to work with you outside of the platform so they can get around any protections that platform may provide or they want to negotiate a special price. I see this all the time with long-term renters trying to negotiate deals directly with the Landlord, cutting out the Property Manager. These situations almost always come back to bite the Landlord.

If you move forward, remember that 30 days or longer constitutes a long-term rental and those laws apply. If this person refuses to move out after 30 days, you have to go through the formal eviction process to get rid of them.