Anyone have any experience with vacation homes in Napa or Sonoma

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Anyone have any experience with vacation homes in Napa or Sonoma

Drew Culp
Martinez, CA · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 1 vote
I am looking for anyone with experience doing short term vacation rentals in the napa and sonoma area. Looking find a property to rent out for weekends but open to more often. When not rented would use to short commutes to work during the week. Some real estate agents have said there are areas that you can not list with airbnb and such. Does anyone know the best way to research restrictions for airbnb?
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Chelsie Runnings
Real Estate Agent · Sonoma County · Member since 2016 · 55 posts · 29 votes
9y
Hi Drew Culp and Michael Greenberg ! I am an Agent in Sonoma Valley and come across this often! They are cracking down on vacation rentals in Sonoma and Napa county. You can find the guidelines, and regulations here: http://www.cityofnapa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=967&Itemid=1170 And http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/PRMD/Planning/Vacation-Rentals/Frequently-Asked-Questions/
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  • Michael Greenberg
    Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 533 posts · 433 votes
    9y

    @Drew Culp I do not personally but I do have a friend that is researching this as well.  He has found that there are certain zoning requirements that do not allow it and it appears to be not only specific areas, but even specific properties.  My advice would be to research the individual county records for the properties you are considering.  Burdensome, but certainly worth the effort.  

    Best of luck,

    Mike

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  • Chelsie Runnings
    Real Estate Agent · Sonoma County · Member since 2016 · 55 posts · 29 votes
    9y
    Hi Drew Culp and Michael Greenberg ! I am an Agent in Sonoma Valley and come across this often! They are cracking down on vacation rentals in Sonoma and Napa county. You can find the guidelines, and regulations here: http://www.cityofnapa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=967&Itemid=1170 And http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/PRMD/Planning/Vacation-Rentals/Frequently-Asked-Questions/
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  • Michael Greenberg
    Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 533 posts · 433 votes
    9y

    @Chelsie Runnings that's a shame.  There are so few nice places in either valley, I would think they would welcome it.

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  • Chelsie Runnings
    Real Estate Agent · Sonoma County · Member since 2016 · 55 posts · 29 votes
    9y

    @Michael Greenberg, Sonoma has become so known for being a travel/tourist destination, they started limiting the option to have an air BNB due to multiple complaints from the local homeowners and residents about the amounts of traffic and other areas that had been severely impacted by all the visitors. There are some very nice areas in Sonoma Valley that due allow it, but it is best to double check the ordinance and regulations before purchasing.  

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  • Tiffany Shan
    San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 42 posts · 25 votes
    9y

    AirDNA recently published a "best places to buy vacation home" breakdown and Napa and Sonoma clearly stand out as unusually profitable: 

    http://blog.airdna.co/buy-vacation-home-properties...

    I think that's in large part due to the strong restrictions on STR's - when visiting Napa I was told that non-owner-occupied STR permits are hard to come by, STR permits have an annual cap, and owner-occupants get priority.

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  • Rachel Bier
    Investor · Napa, CA · Member since 2016 · 77 posts · 80 votes
    9y

    I live in St Helena, Napa Valley and it is impossible to get a short term rental permit, the city comes down hard on property owners that rent without a permit... the Napa Valley Register & St Helena Star has numerous articles about violations.

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  • Casey Maib
    Investor · Napa, CA · Member since 2015 · 28 posts · 8 votes
    9y

    To be more Specific, Napa County has 41 Short term rental permits. They are bought and sold much like a liquor license, and at least seven of them belong to local politicians. That said there are hundreds of listings daily for homes in Napa on AirBNB.(apparently they are comfortable with the risk of a 1000$ per night fine) I have heard it is less enforced in condo resort communities like Silverado. There are also a handful of exceptions to be found for things like Hunting Clubs.

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  • Adam Giles
    Rental Property Investor · Flagstaff AZ · Member since 2016 · 64 posts · 49 votes
    9y

    @Rachel Bier Are you on the patio at Auberge du Soleil in your avatar by chance? My wife and I ate there on our last trip out and it looks like you are the same table we had.

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  • Rachel Bier
    Investor · Napa, CA · Member since 2016 · 77 posts · 80 votes
    9y

    @Adam Giles Wow you have quite an eye! Yes we are indeed on the terrace at Auberge in my profile pic, we got married there 10 years ago!!

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  • Adam Giles
    Rental Property Investor · Flagstaff AZ · Member since 2016 · 64 posts · 49 votes
    9y

    @Rachel Bier Wonderful place. We enjoyed it very much.

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  • William Crean
    Rental Property Investor · Napa, CA · Member since 2017 · 23 posts · 10 votes
    9y

    Napa is a "no go" and @Casey Maib summarized the situation perfectly. (i.e. Some locals making a killing and it is a cartel - a license only opens up when an existing one closes.)

    Sonoma has taken a different route. 1. Hosting in a home you live in is allowed up to 5 guests (which is great - since this  is banned in neighboring Napa). 2. For a non-occupied vacation rental these are only permitted in certain zoned areas. 

    So @Chelsie Runnings and @Michael Greenberg are right and you will have to research the zoning of each property.

    Do not be completely discouraged and here are some links that might help.


    Santa Rosa GIS mapping interface

    https://maps.srcity.org/Html5Viewer/Index.html?viewer=publiccity

    X short term rental map

    http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/PRMD/Planning/Vacation-Rentals/Exclusion-Combining-District/

    county sonoma zoning

    http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/PRMD/Planning/Project-Review/Services/Zoning/Zoning/

    zoning codes explained

    http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/PRMD/Planning/Project-Review/Services/Zoning/Zoning-Code-Regulations/


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  • Joseph M.
    Flipper/Rehabber · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 732 votes
    9y
    It seems like pretty much anywhere worth doing AirBnb now is cracking down on it and short term rentals in general .
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  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Rachel Bier:

    @Adam Giles Wow you have quite an eye! Yes we are indeed on the terrace at Auberge in my profile pic, we got married there 10 years ago!!

    ya thats one of my fav spots for a glass of wine and some pupu's  my mom worked just below at Conn Creek for years.. Know it well !!

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    JLH Capital Partners51 Review
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  • Tom Hertel
    Saint Paul, MN · Member since 2016 · 40 posts · 19 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Casey Maib:

    To be more Specific, Napa County has 41 Short term rental permits. They are bought and sold much like a liquor license, and at least seven of them belong to local politicians. That said there are hundreds of listings daily for homes in Napa on AirBNB.(apparently they are comfortable with the risk of a 1000$ per night fine) I have heard it is less enforced in condo resort communities like Silverado. There are also a handful of exceptions to be found for things like Hunting Clubs.

    I'm reviving an old thread here to ask a new question. I believe you are quoting 41 short term rental permits within the city of Napa (link). My question is, what if you own a home that is not within the city limits Napa or Yountville or St. Helena but still within Napa County? 

    For example, St. Helena allows 25 STR permits, and the rentals are listed on this map. But this new property on the market has a guest house that could easily be rented. The kicker is that it's just outside the "city boundary" of St. Helena (at least based on the previously-linked map) because it is on the NE side of Silverado Trail and is NW of Dear Park Rd. Would this house be subject the St. Helen's STR rules given that it's not within the city boundary, or could you rent the guesthouse without restriction?

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  • Casey Maib
    Investor · Napa, CA · Member since 2015 · 28 posts · 8 votes
    8y

    @Tom Hertel

    I’m going to apologize ahead of time I am out and about and on my phone.

    There are no short term rentals allowed in napa county. Those city permits are the exemption.

    The only other exemption I know of is hunting lodges.

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  • Tom Hertel
    Saint Paul, MN · Member since 2016 · 40 posts · 19 votes
    8y

    Based on my reading of the Sonoma County webpage regarding short term rentals, a vacation rental permit seems much more obtainable than in Napa County if the following conditions are met:

    - Has to be zoned as AR, RR, R1, LC, LEA, DA, or RRD

    - Have less than 5 guest rooms

    - Need to pay the Vacation Rental Zoning Permit Fee ($849.00)

    - A Certified Property Manager is required

    - And you have to fill out a bunch of forms

    As far as I can tell, there isn't a limit on then number of permits that can be issued by the county. This seems like a much fairer situation to vacation rental owners than Napa's shotgun "no-STRs-allowed" approach. 

    As a side note, it appears Monterrey County has changed their STR laws as well and it's much easier to obtain a STR permit, though quite pricey (ie $10k+).

    1Reply
  • Mike Bolen
    Investor · Napa, CA · Member since 2016 · 97 posts · 62 votes
    8y

    Sonoma County is much easier to obtain than Napa. In the city of Napa you would need to purchase a home with one of the grandfathered permits and there are only about 50 such homes. In Sonoma county you can get a permit much easier but so can everyone else and they are everywhere. The rates and occupancy are much lower than Napa but purchase prices are similar and those I have looked at offer dismal returns. 

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Napa, CA · Member since 2017 · 57 posts · 27 votes
    6y

    Reviving this thread - I talked to a realtor here who said she's heard of people doing a work-around for hosted short-term stays. You post as a 31 day rental but provide a nightly price and state that there's no cancellation fee for staying less than 31 days. 

    Has anyone had any experience with doing this? It seems like it would be a legal. I'd be curious to talk to a local RE attorney about it. 

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