airbnb, any one done it. standing with the law

[safreek]

hi guys, after having dramas with some tenants in the flat under my house I am giving thought to short term rental of it, nightly or weekly, airbnb style. Have any of you done this sort of thing and what may be the pitfalls apart from obvious damage and such. I know I will have to pay tax on the money and all that jazz but more concerned about getting people out after the time they have payed for has ran out. Many years ago I had a non payer and smartarse in a property I ran and I used physical force to remove him, not a good move for many reasons and I payed the price. I assume I can demand that the police remove them just as a motel/hotel would do, thanks for any info

 

[Chris Yanis]

I have had a fair bit of experience with short term accommodation but not specifically with air BnB. The downside to short term is inconsistency of rent and usually higher cost or more work due to regular cleaning required and responding to enquiries etc. The other issue is unless your apartment is council approved for short term accommodation you really don't have a leg to stand on if there is a problem and may still be treated under the residential tenancy act ( this happened to me recently). Having said all that 99.9% of the time there are no dramas.


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[Tubeless]

My mate runs an a airbnb and has had no problems over the 2yrs so far.
He has met some interesting characters in good and bad, but nothing has ever been broken/stolen/soiled etc.

Airbnb has a rating system for both parties, so your bnb would be rated and you would be also rating your quests. This is probably bobably what has kept everybody honest (looking for those ratings!).

My mate does it because he has a spare/dead room and likes to meet people (so not for the money). So his room is on the lower price end in his area where it should be mingling with the above middle - to upper end of the scale. So for the price, his guests expectations are met without any sweat and this is backed up by his positive ratings & reviews.

Like Chis said, its not consistent income plus my mate spends a lot of time cleaning and prepping his whole apartment for his guests use each time. So you'd need a little bit of time up your sleeve for that.

All trial n error though.

 

[Calvin27]

A lot of our neighbours did Airbnb when I lived in an apartment. process was straightforward. Left the keys with concierge and they just grabbed them. The body corp didn't really flinch. There is not much you can do. Typically when I've stayed at AirBnB some of the hosts would make mention of saying you were friends staying. I assume this is to get over the laws and such.

I do find AirBnB really handy for weekends away though. The like of Australian Open, Gran Prix and other events (jehovas Witness conference for example) basically funded the weekend getaway. There are a lot of 'ammenity' requirements if you plan to do this ongoing though, possibly need a cleaner of some sort if you work full time.

 

[caad9]

I've used Air BnB over half a dozen trips to NSW, QLD, Tas and in Vic.
Never had an issue once and would highly recommend it, particularly for groups.
It's been an amazing way to head off and see some new places with a group of friends and you can almost always find something that suits, provided you're a little flexible.

If I ever had a second house, I'd be looking into hiring it out occasionally.
If you're organised, there's plenty of cash to be made and the tenants are gone before any long term problems arise.

 

[Trickymac]

ive got a house i rent out on air bnb, been doing it for 2 years now, no real dramas, just have to realize every now and then you will get a wanker or 2 who bitch and moan and complain about everything, but 99% of our guests have been awesome and left us awesome reviews, place is booked out alot and pays the mortgage/bills and a bit more
air bnb good to deal with, we never even meet the guests, have a lock box for the keys fr the guests, we tell them the info by email, cleaners clean and change all linen....all good
was a bit of work to get it set up in the beginning but once up and running its fairly easy
plus you can pick and choose your guests/see their ratings etc etc

 

[richie_gt]

To those running their places as AirBnb do you need to get Council approval...or had trouble with Council? I'm just wondering if Council would have issues with you running a 'hotel' in designated residential zoning?

Reason I ask is my parents have a house that they lease (normal residential lease) and the house next door is used as an AirBnb, my parents tenants reckon the noise is unreasonable, they're not fussed about weekends but during the week (they have kids). I told my dad it might be worth him talking to Council about it?

 

[safreek]

cheers guys, seems like the whole process is pretty good and easyish. shall start the setup within a couple of weeks. As this all rolls along I shall keep you updated and a bit of a diary for those who may decide to have a crack at it, pitfalls, profit, problems. The market here in Lismore for real estate is shit if you are looking for accom, the real estates have bugger all and its easy to rent out on a perm basis but then you have someone on your property 24/7.

 

[safreek]

To those running their places as AirBnb do you need to get Council approval...or had trouble with Council? I'm just wondering if Council would have issues with you running a 'hotel' in designated residential zoning?

Reason I ask is my parents have a house that they lease (normal residential lease) and the house next door is used as an AirBnb, my parents tenants reckon the noise is unreasonable, they're not fussed about weekends but during the week (they have kids). I told my dad it might be worth him talking to Council about it?

might sound awful but when I was a younger lad I bet you would of preferred airbnb parties to having me as a permenant tenant next door to your investment home. I guess they should be thankful that the airbnb people are gone in a short time compared to having an arsehole living next to them on a perm basis. Just saying it can happen. Also remember to pick the battles as not all people play by the rules. Years ago when I was richer and had my own house and the trimmings I had a neighbour who was a true prick from hell, spying, council calls and all that sort of stuff (didn't like my lifestyle) when he made up shit and called the police that was enough, I moved out of the house and gave it rent free to a couple of families who had partners getting out of gaol, that pricks life was a misery until I sold the place. Not trying to trivialise what is happening next door to the investment property of your parents but if your tenants have legit noise/party probs they should call the police

 

[pink poodle]

To those running their places as AirBnb do you need to get Council approval...or had trouble with Council? I'm just wondering if Council would have issues with you running a 'hotel' in designated residential zoning?

Reason I ask is my parents have a house that they lease (normal residential lease) and the house next door is used as an AirBnb, my parents tenants reckon the noise is unreasonable, they're not fussed about weekends but during the week (they have kids). I told my dad it might be worth him talking to Council about it?

I suspect it would come under the same controls as holiday letting, rather than a hotel.

 

[richie_gt]

might sound awful but when I was a younger lad I bet you would of preferred airbnb parties to having me as a permenant tenant next door to your investment home. I guess they should be thankful that the airbnb people are gone in a short time compared to having an arsehole living next to them on a perm basis. Just saying it can happen. Also remember to pick the battles as not all people play by the rules. Years ago when I was richer and had my own house and the trimmings I had a neighbour who was a true prick from hell, spying, council calls and all that sort of stuff (didn't like my lifestyle) when he made up shit and called the police that was enough, I moved out of the house and gave it rent free to a couple of families who had partners getting out of gaol, that pricks life was a misery until I sold the place. Not trying to trivialise what is happening next door to the investment property of your parents but if your tenants have legit noise/party probs they should call the police

I've met my parents tenants and they're certainly no angels themselves, so it's probably it a bit hypocritical of them to moan! Hopefully they give as good as they get!

I suspect it would come under the same controls as holiday letting, rather than a hotel.

Yeah I didn't think of that, maybe because I thought of AirBnb being a bit like Uber when it started and flying under the radar!

 

[Trickymac]

my place i rent out is in the blue mountains, theyve never asked and ive never told them
home and contents insurance know tho, didnt change the price of my policy

 

[safreek]

ok guys, got my first booking today on air bnb ( only put it up 7 hours ago, whoot whoot ). I guess I must be a dummy but from what I can make out on the site if I have the money put into my bank account it will take 5-7 days for payment, if I do paypal its on the day, is that correct. :noidea:. Is it normal to reply to the person or is the booking automatic. Seems to run me around the site but no definite answers. Also 10% discount for rotorburners if you are up for the opening of new Italy mtb forest track :love: