Air bnb Indianapolis

[John Collins]

 I have a property that I’m thinking about renting to somebody that wants to Airbnb the property.

It is a 3 bedroom 1 bath house that is basically rental grade condition but is in a super location 5 minutes from Mass Ave .

Anybody got any recommendations who I should talk to or what I should I watch out for .

I know it is legal in Indianapolis to Airbnb your property so that is a big positive .

Cheers 

[Julie McCoy]

@John Collins The main thing I would recommend is make sure your renter has the appropriate insurance - short-term rentals are considered commercial activity and your landlord policy probably won't cover it.  Your renter should take out an additional policy that will cover the short-term rental activity that names you as the benefactor for damage to the property.

Beyond that, find out if your renter has experience as an AirBNB host, and if so, ask to see their other properties - look at the reviews they've received, the type of property, generally get a feel for what kind of business they run.  You aren't going to want someone who's renting out a party house, but if they seem to cater to families or professionals (and do it well) then it sounds promising.

If they have never acted as an AirBNB host before, I'm not going to say don't do it, but definitely spend time talking to them and asking lots of questions about their strategy, goals, etc. and just figure out if that's someone you want to trust with vetting people coming in and out of your property (and if they seem to have a solid head on their shoulders who can handle the day-to-day of managing an STR - which does not have to be hard but does require being resourceful and detail-oriented - and be able to pay rent on time even if business isn't as good as they think it will be!).

@Paul Sandhu is an excellent STR owner but I disagree with him re: having the renter live there and rent out the bedrooms separately. A whole house has far more value as an STR than a bedroom (especially one that would share a bathroom) and I'm sure such a requirement would scuttle your renter's plans. However, he IS correct that your renter needs to have a plan for handling basic maintenance, etc. - you should definitely talk to them about who is going to handle ordinary maintenance and repairs. It will be important to their business to be able to address basic issues ASAP, so you may want to stipulate that they are responsible for such things. I've heard arguments against this, e.g. you want to know what's being done to maintain your house, so I'm just going to mention it as food for thought.

Good luck!