Extended Stays | Long Term Vacation Rentals Does it Work?

Question

Have a space in the fourplex that Im purchasing to setup a vacation rental. Recently learned that the city's zoning prevents short term rentals less than 10 days. So I'm thinking about doing long stays over 10 days likely 30 days. The place is a Waterfront property in Virginia. 10 mins from downtown Norfolk and 28 minutes to Virginia Beach.

What is your experience with extended stays on AirBnB, VRBO, etc?

Paul Sandhu · Answer

Try travelling nurses (13 weeks) and visiting professors.  The downside to travelling nurses is that they tend to be psychotic in my experiences with them.  But I deal with psychotics and mutts every day with my STRs.  I don't rent to psychotic mutts.

Kim Hud · Answer

@Patti Robertson thanks for the pro tip on police scanners and information on the market

Patti Robertson · Answer

What city is this Kim?  I’m not aware of any city in our market that has a 10 day minimum.  Virginia Beach is the most restrictive, and their requirement is no more than 2 reservations per week.  As a general rule of thumb, most 4 plexes in our market won’t be in a neighborhood that will be conducive for a short term rental.  Ghent in Norfolk would be one of the few exceptions. People who don’t live in our market often times make a mistake buying something in a high crime area thinking it can be used for STR.  As a perfect example, I just took on a property management client who purchased a 4 bed/2 bath townhome that they intended to use as a vacation home and short term rental. I monitor the scanner activity because I own and manage rentals in this city and I pointed out that this neighborhood has a history of shootings. A police officer inquired about a rental we were advertising in this same neighborhood and when he found out where it was said “forget it.I won’t live there.  There’s too much gang and drug activity there.  Fast forward to the weekend after they closed.  I went to check out the property and get photos so we could start advertising it for rent.  This townhome was right next door to a nice city park.  I entered only to find the back door had been kicked in. Fortunately nothing was disturbed, but I called the police to make sure the property was secure before I walked through. I told the cop there were to young adults sitting on the picnic table in the park and I asked them if they had seen anything happen.  The cop snickered a little and said “I’m not supposed to say this, but that park is known as a gang member hang out.”  Yikes!  This is right next door to this townhome just purchased by an out of state investor who planned to make it a Virginia Beach vacation home and rental!  I’m happy to give you some feedback if you share the address or location.

Pro tip - Join the Facebook Police Scanner groups for the cities you invest in. There are people who spend their days listening to the scanner activity and typing it into the group so the rest of us can just glance down and see what happened.  Shootings almost never result in an arrest, but almost always represent either gang or drug related activity.  Crime stats don’t reflect this, because they only track arrests. Knowing where shootings are happening helps you monitor where gangs are frequenting.

Taylor Hudgins · Answer

@Kim Hud Have you checked out FurnishedFinders.com yet?  They're kind of like AirBnB and VRBO but marketed toward travelling professionals.  No personal experience with them, but I've heard good things.  May be worth looking into!

Scott Westfall · Answer

Hey Kim!

What city is the property located in? Portsmouth?

Hampton Roads is unique in that there is definitely a long-term fully-furnished market. Check out this post on winter rentals in Virginia Beach. Alot of the information is pertinent to your situation.

https://www.cgprealestateconsu...

Carolyn Fuller · Answer

Airbnb and VRBO are expensive for extended stays but there might not be a cheap alternative in the Virginia Beach area. College towns are fortunate to have SabbaticalHomes which charges a flat $45 per year per listing. It is the main site that visiting scholars use to find extended stays in college towns.

Kim Hud · Answer

@Mark Futalan thank you for the recommendation

Mark Futalan · Answer

@Kim Hud

I incorporate a hybrid approach with my STR’s of both short to month to month leases and have had some good success. Try Zillow rentals for longer furnished rental stays.

Kim Hud · Answer

@Scott Westfall thank you for the article, great content, and the property is located in Chesapeake

Scott Westfall · Answer

Thanks! I am glad you found it informative. Hampton Roads is a great place to own a fully furnished rental.

Extended Stays | Long Term Vacation Rentals Does it Work?

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