All Forum Posts by: Carolyn Fuller

It took us a very long time before we found a reliable and flexible cleaning crew for our Airbnb. We finally found them through a friend so ask friends, maybe even post inquires to other hosts in your area...

I have been using Cozy for 2 1/2 years and love it. It is free and the only issues I have had with it are minor. Both of the issues I have had I think are unique to my circumstances. I am renting on the extended stay market which means the apartments are leased months before occupancy. The two problems I have run into is that when the tenant is setting up automatic monthly payments, Cozy defaults to today's date for the first payment. I try to remind the tenants to correct that to be the actual occupancy begin date but they still don't always remember. The other issue is that the first month rent is due so long in the future that I had a tenant forget what the Cozy payment was for and cancelled the payment! Neither of these issues are likely to be problems for long term rentals which are usually leased right before the occupancy date.

Because I rent on the extended stay market with leases less than a year, I actually spell out the latest move-out time in the lease. If it was not stated in the lease, I think you should assume midnight on the last day of the lease.

What about researching rents in the nearest city that does have an extended stay market? 

Even if you are using extra dishes that you do not need to purchase, you will need to calculate replacement costs. We stocked one of our units with extra flatware we owned. Our nearly perfect tenants used dish detergent that contained lemon and completely destroyed all of the flatware! (Who would have thought they'd sell dish detergent that eats stainless steel?!?)

You need to include both purchase price and replacement costs in your calculations. And there is the added costs associated with more frequent turn-overs. It is an odd arrangement for the construction company to be doing the leasing versus the tenants. Is the construction company signing a long term lease? Will they be placing the tenants? What happens with the furniture, etc when their work around town is done?

This seems like a pretty unusual and complicated business arrangement that warrants getting a lawyer's advice.

 It totally depends upon where your listing is. AirBNB has agreements with some localities but not others. USUALLY if AirBNB agrees to collect and remit the taxes for a particular locale, HomeAway (VRBO, Expedia) will follow suit but not always? 

Here is Massachusetts, AirBNB is collecting and remitting occupancy taxes but VBRO is not... Maybe that will change in another few weeks...

@Jeremy Hester Another reason for going more professional is that the software will send out the reminders that rent is due if the tenant has not setup automatic payments. Since switching to Cozy, I have never had to remind a single tenant that the rent is due.

It is not only the expense of buying the furniture but maintaining it, as well. It also depends upon what you are supplying. Are you supplying the dishes, flatware, pots, pans, etc? Those break fairly frequently and need to be replaced between tenants. 

But ultimately, you can only charge what the market will pay. Here in Cambridge, MA, there is huge demand for extended stay, fully furnished rentals so the rents are pretty high. I'm able to judge my rental rates by seeing what others are charging for similar units. But since this construction company is putting its workers into hotels, I'm guessing there is no extended stay market in your area. 

I think I've encountered all of the above and I absolutely assume it is part of the package. I think my favorite was the guest who ran BOTH the heat and the air conditioning at the same time! And then there was the guest from a very hot part of the world who ran the heat in August! I consider myself lucky to meet so many people from all over the world with so many different customs. It is not only part of the package, but it actually is part of the fun.

As far as check out time, I do what the hotels do. I slip a check-out reminder under the guest door the night before check out. This seems to work wonders. Occasionally, someone will be late leaving but no one has been later than 10 or 15 minutes. Or someone will ask me if they can stay late or leave their luggage and pick it up later. If I don't have a same day turn-over and the cleaning crew are not scheduled to come in that day, I let the guest stay as long as they like. Otherwise, I explain the situation and let them leave their luggage. 

If I were to stress over these things, it would be time to get out of the business. 

I rent 2 apartments and a guest room in our home to visiting professors, scholars and students. In all 3 locations, I furnish everything except their laptop computers and their clothes. 

I use Sabbatical Homes and the local universities to rent the 2 apartments. I'm also able to gauge the appropriate rental amount by checking out what others are charging for comparable listings on Sabbatical Homes (sabbaticalhomes.com). 

I use a local organization that helps international students find housing in the Boston area for the guest room. Nesterly.io is another resource I've used for renting the guest room.

My leases are fixed term leases. I start advertising for the next tenant to begin a lease the day after the fix term lease, which has just been signed, ends. That way, I manage close to 100% occupancy. All of my tenants understand they can't extend their leases unless they do that extension prior to my signing a lease with the next tenant. 

I found a LANDLORD AND TENANT HANDBOOK for Nebraska on the web (see link below). Unfortunately, the Nebraska laws are not as supportive of tenant rights as I think they should be. Nevertheless, you might want to contact a tenant legal aid lawyer to see if they have any ideas on how to negotiate with your landlord to get to a reasonable resolution. You can find contact info for legal aide here:

1. If your landlord has entered your apartment/house without your permission.

   A landlord can come into your unit to:

   •  inspect the unit,
   •  make repairs, or
   •  show the unit to future tenants or buyers.

     Your landlord must give you at least one day’s notice before coming into your unit. The only exception to this rule is if there is an emergency.

     Your landlord may not come into your unit at unreasonable times, like the middle of the night.

     Call a lawyer if your landlord does not give you one day’s notice before entering your unit. Call a lawyer if your landlord bothers you with frequent inspections. You may be able to sue the landlord and get money damages and your attorney's fees.

https://www.legalaidofnebraska.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Landlord-and-Tenant-handbook-2017.pdf