Is this illegal (in Melbourne)? Don't you need some kind of license to operate a residential property like an 'hotel'?
Airbnb related - Came across this and thought it's interesting
- Thread starter Lamingtons
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Is this illegal (in Melbourne)? Don't you need some kind of license to operate a residential property like an 'hotel'?
What if one of the other owners in the block or tenant complains to strata that the place is being used as a hotel?, if it is then put to the executive committee at the next meeting it could be voted that there is to be no short term rentals allowed .
I know I wouldn't want to live next to a unit that is being rented out to strangers all year round
I know I wouldn't want to live next to a unit that is being rented out to strangers all year round
Yep, renting a place out for a few days at a time would definitely cause problems. And it would be hard to manage. A minimum of a month would sit better with me.
It happens in our townhouse block, and even though we've complained to strata, they say they can't do anything about it.
I've got 25 rooms across three places on AirBnB in Sydney.
For a while I loved it more than Gumtree but going back to preferring Gumtree now. Mainly the threat of negative reviews that folk will hold over you on AirBnB and I find the expectations of a hotel like experience greater on AirBnB. I normally get more money from AirBnB as a lot of people use it and pay a premium as they don't like Gumtree or know it exists etc but the stress level is higher. This week I had a group of seven staying in an Earlwood house who wanted a $150 refund for spiderweb found on ceiling.
For a while I loved it more than Gumtree but going back to preferring Gumtree now. Mainly the threat of negative reviews that folk will hold over you on AirBnB and I find the expectations of a hotel like experience greater on AirBnB. I normally get more money from AirBnB as a lot of people use it and pay a premium as they don't like Gumtree or know it exists etc but the stress level is higher. This week I had a group of seven staying in an Earlwood house who wanted a $150 refund for spiderweb found on ceiling.
It's a trade-off for increased rent. I couldn't do what Elliotte does - she's more organised and disciplined than me - but my first Airbnb experiment has worked out well. Apart from the income, I've had some great experiences and met some really interesting people.
You can run it quite passively. As I've got better at it I now probably only do one or two hours work a week on my Sydney places - I do have live in manager getting free rent as there are so many rooms, but for smaller places a lock box for keys and someone to breeze through for a clean or be available for some emergency is enough if you don't do nightly bookings. That's how my Earlwood house runs. And that is hugely increased returns then. But you probably do dedicate a bit more head space to thinking about the place rather than set and forget. But I'm a control freak so trusting a PM is not in my nature!
I feel like it is a bit of a gold rush mentality at the moment with these sites, won't last if people legislate against it and has a limited life span when you get sick of doing it but I'm in to grab some money and out. The Sydney ones turned over about 250K last year and I would have been making a good income for a few hours admin a week if I didn't just plow it straight into buying this Tamworth place with 30 rooms ha ha. I expect turnover this year to be around $400K+ still with very limited staffing costs or work from me and total running costs under 200K. This is I think my fourth year now self-supporting off room rentals and not having to work for anyone else.
I have promised myself I'll stop expanding and upgrading and doing unnecessary things for guests like Foxtel and cool yellow bar fridges and vintage cruiser bikes to ride to the shops and instead 2014 is the year of sitting on piles of cash and sipping cocktails somewhere nice while the four year old is entertained in kids club. But I do get bored easily.
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I think that depends on the scale.
Scott (Depreciator) has one, soon to be two. While not completely passive, it seems to be a nice extra income in return for a little extra work and having to be nice to people (which seems to suit Scott well).
I'd suspect that 25 is much more of a business in terms of the time it takes.
Edit: Elliotte just negated my post ;-)
I guess if it's not too much hassle then it may be worth doing.
Do you need council permission to operate something like this?
I had a 2-bed unit once that was supposed to have 2 people living in it, then one day I got a letter from the council saying that it was being used as a boarding house and that this was not a permitted use - turns out 6 guys were living there, needless to say they were evicted!
Interesting articles touching on this below:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/hosts-may-lose-most-by-opening-homes-to-holidaymakers-20130913-2tqb9.html
http://www.goodmoroning.com/2013/06/10/airbnb-is-also-illegal-in-sydney/
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...rs-win-holiday-rental-ban-20130502-2ivwd.html
And any further clarification on the power an owner's corporation can have on this sort of arrangement?
Do you need council permission to operate something like this?
I had a 2-bed unit once that was supposed to have 2 people living in it, then one day I got a letter from the council saying that it was being used as a boarding house and that this was not a permitted use - turns out 6 guys were living there, needless to say they were evicted!
Interesting articles touching on this below:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/hosts-may-lose-most-by-opening-homes-to-holidaymakers-20130913-2tqb9.html
http://www.goodmoroning.com/2013/06/10/airbnb-is-also-illegal-in-sydney/
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...rs-win-holiday-rental-ban-20130502-2ivwd.html
And any further clarification on the power an owner's corporation can have on this sort of arrangement?
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Local councils are a couple of years behind on this issue. Most of them wouldn't have thought about it - and won't want to unless they are forced to.
I suspect councils that have lots of hotels in their area e.g. Sydney City Council, are going to have to address it sooner. The Hotels Association would have been in their ears for years about this. Councils in places like Byron and The Gold Coast will also be under constant pressure to deal with 'party houses'.
Of course, short term rentals are not a new thing - Stayz must have been around for at least 20 years. Airbnb have really opened things up, though. They have a staffed office in Sydney, so they are taking this market pretty seriously. Their contention in many countries would be that the existing rules are out of date and the world has moved on. I think it would be a good result if local councils brought in some sort of licensing arrangement for hosts and properties were inspected to make sure they conform with fire regs etc.
I suspect councils that have lots of hotels in their area e.g. Sydney City Council, are going to have to address it sooner. The Hotels Association would have been in their ears for years about this. Councils in places like Byron and The Gold Coast will also be under constant pressure to deal with 'party houses'.
Of course, short term rentals are not a new thing - Stayz must have been around for at least 20 years. Airbnb have really opened things up, though. They have a staffed office in Sydney, so they are taking this market pretty seriously. Their contention in many countries would be that the existing rules are out of date and the world has moved on. I think it would be a good result if local councils brought in some sort of licensing arrangement for hosts and properties were inspected to make sure they conform with fire regs etc.
Is insurance ok with short term rental too?
It's not a bad little method to generate a bit of extra income for yourself, with some extra effort while holding the property.
Only issue I can think of is when you go to sell it. It might be cash flow positive for you, but it won't be for the buyer if they were to lease via conventional means. Meaning no capital growth from using this method.
So the trick is to get it too run on its own somehow, assuming most people may not live close enough by or have the freedom to manage it. You could even provide show the bookings from Airbnb to show Tenancy.
It's popularity might be its downfall but.
It's not a bad little method to generate a bit of extra income for yourself, with some extra effort while holding the property.
Only issue I can think of is when you go to sell it. It might be cash flow positive for you, but it won't be for the buyer if they were to lease via conventional means. Meaning no capital growth from using this method.
So the trick is to get it too run on its own somehow, assuming most people may not live close enough by or have the freedom to manage it. You could even provide show the bookings from Airbnb to show Tenancy.
It's popularity might be its downfall but.
I've got landlord insurance mainly for the $20m liability cover.
There is no loss of rent insurance needed with Airbnb because nobody can make a booking without stumping up the whole amount first.
Airbnb also have a $50K insurance policy for hosts that covers damage by renters. And hosts can also make a security deposit a condition of rental.
I can pretty much guarantee a well positioned flat in Marrickville will have capital growth.
There will be lots of people who have a go at Airbnb and lose interest. Or have a bad experience. Or find it doesn't work for them - often because of their particular property.
I've got a 6 week booking coming up (Nov 26) at $480 per week and an enquiry after that one for a 3 month booking at $480 per week (and that's before I do the kitchen reno).
But we'll see. It might all get too hard and I might end up taking out the furniture and just renting it out on the regular market.
For those outside of/unfamiliar with the area, that's about equivalent to the weekly rent a 2 bed + carspace in the same building would fetch.
Not bad.
I just had a look on AirBNB around the inner city suburb of Potts Point/Kings Cross in Sydney at the calendars and most of them seem to be vacant with no bookings at all apart from over Christmas... are they really all booked out at all times?
I looked ahead about 4 months and searched the cheapest to the mid-price ranges. Do some areas get oversaturated? I would have thought those inner tourist suburbs would be in high demand at all times.
I looked ahead about 4 months and searched the cheapest to the mid-price ranges. Do some areas get oversaturated? I would have thought those inner tourist suburbs would be in high demand at all times.
Listings that are booked for dates you've searched for won't appear in results so you're not seeing any of the already-booked places.
Amazing, Elliotte. When I've finished the very quick tart-up and put some furniture in I'll see how it photographs.
I had just had another enquiry last night for a 3 month booking from an Adelaide couple emigrating to Sydney.
Yep. It's like all new things. Everybody gets excited and tries them and then people drop off when it doesn't work for them.
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