Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2015 · 9 posts · 3 votes
I am a newbie investor in the Los Angeles area who recently purchased a unique duplex, centrally located (Mid Wilshire/Mid City). The property is actually a large front house (7br) with a studio guest house in the back. I originally bought the pIace thinking that I would live in the back house and Airbnb the front, but I'm starting to reconsider as a result of everything I'm reading about the new short term rental laws as well as the amount of work it will take to turn 7 bedrooms. The property is centrally located and has a lot of unique features, but it's certainly not a luxury rental. Can anyone comment on the legal status of Airbnb in this part of the city, and/or whether it would make more sense to get a long term renter vs my original short term strategy?
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
I know Santa Monica has outlawed AirBnb, but has Mid Wilshire/Mid City?
I don't know the status of all that, but assuming you are allowed to AirBnB (don't forget VRBO too), I would run the numbers on all the different scenarios. AirBnB-ing each room individually, renting out the whole house, etc. I'm not sure how well individual bedrooms would do versus the whole house or what all those numbers would look like, but you could play around with it. As far as turning 7 bedrooms, once you got a system in place it'd probably be fine. Get a housekeeper you like and trust and all you'd have to do is have them in there as applicable and leave a lockbox outside.
Start small, for two reasons- 1. to get good systems in place, and 2. to fish around and see what seems most profitable (individual bedrooms versus whole house versus whatever, etc.) and doable.
Wholetailer & Architect · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2015 · 544 posts · 298 votes
9y
I can't find the article anymore but there was a pretty ingenious setup a guy made near downtown LA where the front door had a keypad and each individual room had a keypad. With wifi enabled locks you could change the codes for each new guest. Then you just get a good trusted cleaner that is flexible on if it is 1 or 7 rooms that need to be cleaned each day.
Start your price low and as you get good reviews gradually raise it. Make sure to give rooms special touches even though you won't great people bottles of water, fruit, bag of chips can go a long way for a hungry traveler.
Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2015 · 9 posts · 3 votes
9y
Ok folks, here is my report. Spoiler alert - it's not good news.
Short term rentals are 100% illegal in LA. There are some negotiations ongoing, but regardless it looks like it will remain illegal in rent controlled areas (like mine).