All Forum Posts by: James Carlson

@Bill S. I'm not arguing to count on lack of enforcement. You should always plan for what could happen. But I still think enforcement is going to be tough, as the low compliance in other big markets illustrates. The reason is that even if you hire a staffer, how exactly do they go about identifying infractions? 

1. Complaints could prove disruptive. If your neighbor turns you in, then yeah, the city will know your address and send a letter and can impose a fine. Airbnb seems to be growing quite a bit, so are the number of complaints going to keep up with increasing number of users? (Airbnb told the city they have 4,000 hosts in Denver. I doubt it. Three years ago, when Airbnb showed their listings differently, I counted about 4,000 hosts then. No growth in three years? I doubt it.)

2. Proactive enforcement will be more difficult. Denver says they will review listings for those that don't have a license number in the listing. First off, the city has said the number can be posted anywhere in the description. Some descriptions are long. That's a lot of reading. Second off, when they do determine that a listing has no license number, they still have to find that owner. Airbnb doesn't list addresses or full names, and they're not going to hand over user info. Airbnb shows the location with a pin on a map. Assuming that pin is accurate (and I know a lot of hosts who move that pin about a block off their actual location for this reason), they still have to go to that general area and try to find the host. Picture doing that in dense downtown or Capitol Hill. Few hosts are posting pictures of their exteriors. Inspectors could knock on doors asking if neighbors recognize the bio picture associated with the listing, but that's a lot of work. 

Basically, there is a ton of money in Airbnb. A host who just reached out to me for some thoughts said they live and own two other places downtown. They're pulling in about $4,000 monthly above their mortgages for all three. Even if the inspector happens to get through all those defenses above, the $999 fine could seem like a cost of doing business for some hosts. 

I'm not advocating all this subterfuge. I think the city's plan went too far, but I recognize their legitimate interest. But I talk to a lot of hosts. And the reality is that a lot of them, especially the younger ones, aren't going quietly. They're finding ways around this. 

To any short-term rental or Airbnb folks in Steamboat Springs: Looks like Airbnb will start collecting the accommodations and sales tax for any STR in your city.

And for anyone watching how the City of Denver is going to handle enforcement of its new Airbnb law, I found this line in the story particularly interesting: "The city also doesn’t have the manpower to have someone constantly monitoring bookings and tracking down hosts who appear to be breaking the rules."

In a city like Denver - with so many new people and so much new development - I'm not sure how they're going to have the resources to actively pursue violations of its Airbnb rule.

Hi @Johanna Burian. I know @Drew Fein is an active Bigger Pockets forum contributor and a real estate attorney in Denver. Might be worth reaching out to her.

Hey @Jessie Wells. I've heard a lot of people say on here that AirDNA produces some great information. If you're looking for a work-around that's free, I'd just use the Airbnb platform. Go to Airbnb.com, search for the city (but leave the dates blank). On the map, zoom into an 8-10 block radius within your place. Start checking out the prices around there. Click on all the listings nearby. See which ones look most similar to yours. (Roughly same number of bedrooms, same style, same look, etc.) Then see how many reviews they have. It's not a perfect gauge of demand because you don't know how long each guest stayed and in my experience anywhere from a quarter to a third of guests don't leave reviews anyway. But you'll get a sense. If there are some listings in your area, getting a steady stream of people, great! See what they're charging and then do the math to see if it makes sense for your situation.

@Michael Greenberg. It's totally worth the risk, you're right. And if you bought using long-term rent numbers in your calculation, then you can do STRs as long as allowable and still have the cushion to go long-term if the impossible happens and the HOA changes their decs.

@Kurt K.

@Eric Johnson, I echo @Major Robertson. Airbnb's user interface is super simple to use, and it's platform has huge traffic. (Read: lots of eyeballs of potential boarders.) You can set whatever minimum/maximum stay you want and can continually change the rates you're seeking depending on the deman. (i.e. you can have a week-long opening for two months from now that you set the price pretty high to see if you can get it, and then lower the price as the dates approach if no one is responding.)

Sorry for the double post.

Hey @Kurt K. I know that @Michael Greenberg has a few properties in Scottsdale and was telling me about this. I wonder what the "statutorily higher vote count" means for HOAs that want to amend their declarations to restrict Airbnb and other short-term rentals.

I know that @Michael Greenberg has a few properties in Scottsdale and was telling me about this. I wonder what the "statutorily higher vote count" means for HOAs that want to amend their declarations to restrict Airbnb and other short-term rentals.

@Jason Bullinger, I was going to respectfully question @Brad Russo's assertion that VRBO gets more traffic. Then I did a little research, and at least according to Evolve's article here, he's right. They get more monthly visitors than Airbnb. 

One other thing I was going to ask: You said you're posting it on Craigslist. Are you posting it under "sublet/temporary"? Also, I think you said you're looking to get someone for 9 months. That might be kind of an odd time period for some people. Traveling nurses do 3-6 months. Business people probably aren't in there for 9 months at a time either. I'd try to tack together a combination of 3-month or 6-month stays to get it filled.