All Forum Posts by: James Carlson

Also, @Matt Jordan, @Kalonji Mitchell is spot on about looking at the regulatory issues. That's why if I was ever going to buy a place to Airbnb, I would first make sure the numbers work as if it were a long-term rental or medium-term furnished rental for traveling nurses and the like. If it works for longer term rentals (i.e., even without those huge Airbnb revenues), then you can buy it, rent it on Airbnb, and if ever the city cracks down, then you know you've got that cushion to switch to a long-term rental. 

@Matt Jordan, I'll just echo @Stu Waters' comments about studios. I've furnished and hosted at 10 different properties, from studios to 2-bedrooms. The 2-bedrooms pulled in a little more money, but the distinction between studios and 1-bedrooms was almost non-existent. (In fact, my best return was on a 450 square foot studio with a nice balcony and, if I do say so myself, nice furnishings. 

If you're in a cool town (I'm in Denver, you're in Chicago), then people are largely coming for the city, so having an actual bedroom doesn't seem to matter. This doesn't mean you skimp on well-thought-out design. In fact, you have to be a little more creative to create a distinctive home in such a small space. 

Welcome @Betty Hall! And congrats on taking a leap into income properties. I think a lot of people think Denver's nuts right now. You might be interested in this recent thread, especially the latter half of the discussion where some people are talking about whether Denver is a good place for investing or not.

@Rochelle S. At least at the beginning, I'd recommend you do your own pricing and not use the Airbnb Smart Pricing tool or whatever they call it now. In my experience, their recommended prices are well under what I was able to get. 

To start, simply search for Denver, zoom in on a 10-block radius or so around your place. Look for places of similar size, amenities and style. (Also be sure to see that the places you're comparing actually have a good number of reviews. You don't want to base your price off someone who's place isn't getting booked.) Once you figure out what that rough number is, cut it by 10-20% at least for the first few weeks or month after you post your listing. You want to make sure you stand out, get a few people in immediately and get great reviews. Reviews are one of the few factors Airbnb has publicly said affect where you show up in the list when potential guests search the listings. So do what you can to make those first few guests' stays great.

Once you have a couple 5-star reviews, then start bumping up your prices slowly until you see a diminishing interest, then back off. 

Also, you might reach out to @Stu Waters. He said in a forum recently that he was using a different pricing tool and that it worked well for him. 

Good luck!

@Account Closed. "...but perhaps they receive more tax from Airbnb." So cynical! It's a great point, because as I think was pointed out above, there are unrelated-people occupancy limits for greater 30-day-or-longer rentals, but not for shorter stays. If the occupancy rules are there to "maintain neighborhood character" or whatever the lingo is, then allowing even more unrelated people to come and go seems counter to that. 

@Account Closed . I hear what you're saying, but my guess is the bigger risk is having a complaint filed by a neighbor. I remember going to meetings of this Short Term Rental Alliance -- who were fighting against the proposed Airbnb law here in Denver -- and a lot of the STR owners had been doing this for year AND paying the city lodger's tax. The city took their money just fine and never asked a word.

With so much development going on right now, the city doesn't have a lot of extra time to actively search for violations. It seems to be a complaint-driven system. Someone else should correct me if I'm wrong. 

Hey @Luke Carl . That is a cool idea, and hopefully some lenders on here can chime in. My guess is that not only are they going to be worried about future occupancy you can't prove yet, but they're also going to worry about the unstable regulatory environment we're currently in with regards to short-term rentals. I know Nashville is pretty open about it, but it seems like things are changing quick with Airbnb and who knows what the future holds. Can't get money based on rental numbers that might not be possible in the future.

That said, if someone out there is offering this type of product, I want to know. 

@Lia Martinez. Wow, that's a powerful return on your investment, I'm guessing. Good for you. The month-to-month leases sound like more work ... until you do full-time Airbnb-ing, where you might be cleaning and changing sheets twice a week. Do you mind me asking where your place is located, roughly?

@Account Closed, are you asking about taxes because you wonder if the city would catch on? Or the feds? 

Hey, @Scott Trujillo. Welcome to the community! And awesome to hear that you're looking at Airbnb. It has some huge upsides if you can find the right market with high demand and friendly short-term rental laws.

Great information, @Tripp Howell. Thanks for sharing.