AirBNB v. Regular Apartment rental?

[Bearded Man]

So I just wired money to close on yet another house, this one with a MIL apartment with a full kitchen, dining, room, bedroom, full  bath and it's own laundry, deck and parking.

While I've had a ton of interest, as expected, the vast majority of the people are...less than qualified. I either get people who want to live 5 to the apartment with their 8 cats and 15 dogs, people who make $2 a year, OR people with evictions from the ONE time they rented an apartment and they got evicted the first month and it was years ago but they are still trying to make it right guy who called me today...

So, I'm thinking I might give the ABNB thing a try. This is the best type of unit for it actually in that it's right next door and it's 15 minutes from Seattle proper or Bellevue. I think there would be demand and I could make some money off it with a better clientele v. the weirdos I'm talking to now.

[aFrugalFather]

Someone here does well by furnishing his rental and then asks a little bit more than market and has been getting very good tenants after carefully screening the bad ones.  Although sounds like your rental may already be furnished if you are thinking the Airbnb way as well?

[olivia]

A friend does AirBnB and it's a ton of work. He gets very short term stays (1-2 nights) and then has to clean everything, wash the sheets, towels, make up the bed again, etc.  Unless you're sure you'll be able to rent it regularly and for a good rate, I wouldn't do it.

Honestly I don't think a place in the suburbs would be that attractive to AirBnB clients.  When I travel I look for AirBnBs right in the city and wouldn't even consider anything in the suburbs.  (In fact, I went to Seattle last year and stayed in an AirBnB, but it was right in the city.)

How nice is the MIL apartment? If you could make a few changes to make it more attractive to higher income renters, I bet you would have better luck.

[JJNL]

If you rent the place out on AirBNB, expect to not be a landlord - you're in the hospitality industry now. I.e.: you also provide cleaning services, clean sheets and towels etc. etc. This is a LOT more work than just being a landlord. This http://affordanything.com/2014/11/04/the-airbnb-experiment-42-guests-1-police-visit-and-19000/ is worth a read - it's basically somebody in the same position as you are now, who tried AIrBNB-ing instead of landlording and evaluated her experiences.

[Bearded Man]

A friend does AirBnB and it's a ton of work. He gets very short term stays (1-2 nights) and then has to clean everything, wash the sheets, towels, make up the bed again, etc.  Unless you're sure you'll be able to rent it regularly and for a good rate, I wouldn't do it.

Honestly I don't think a place in the suburbs would be that attractive to AirBnB clients.  When I travel I look for AirBnBs right in the city and wouldn't even consider anything in the suburbs.  (In fact, I went to Seattle last year and stayed in an AirBnB, but it was right in the city.)

How nice is the MIL apartment? If you could make a few changes to make it more attractive to higher income renters, I bet you would have better luck.

It's part of a 620k house...it's nice but its a MIL...no matter how nice you make it, just like renting rooms you get the low income clowns. One guy had everything wrong with him, evictions, credit, etc. There is a reason they are looking at non traditional apartment. Another wanted to spend 62% of their GROSS income on rent to build credit. Basically they would have $300 a month left for food and other expenses after rent.

[randymarsh]

Another wanted to spend 62% of their GROSS income on rent to build credit.

Yikes...and renting doesn't even do anything build credit!

I think you should definitely give it a shot. Even if you're not in the city center, you can make money. People travel for a million reasons. Check out the map of current listings and see if you think the prices being charged are worth it. If you don't like hosting, you can always stop.

[Cannot Wait!]

There is a middle option of "furnished short term rentals".  These people pay top dollar for walk in convenience for a place to stay while on work assignments or while their house is being built, etc.  Post on Craigslist,  kijiji or on Airbnb with a minimum stay that you designate.
You could also charge more for the main part of the house and give them the option of renting out the suite.

[Villanelle]

You might also see if you can figure out how to do corporate rentals, if you think there would be a market for that based on your proximity to major businesses.  DH and I are renting a place for 6 months because that's how long he'll be in the city for work.  You might have more luck with that than with trying to get people vacationing and willing to stay that far away from the action. Also far less work for you.

For AirBnb and VRBO, check to see if there is anything near you, and what it rents for, as I'm not sure you'd make much being so far out. 

[icemodeled]

We have the same issue with finding decent potential tenants. Sometimes I feel we have to choose the best of the worst. When we move and start buying up property again we plan to go the airbnb route but we will have plunty of time to invest. I have read that its a lot of work, since theres a lot of turnover. The website, afford anything had a whole series devoted to the subject. It will take a lot of research and time though as theres quite a bit to start it up and do well. First check to see how many are nearby the location and what the going rate is. If it seems marketable then move forward with more research.