For those who bought a property specifically to use as an Airbnb here in BCS, how has it worked out? Has it met your income expectations, and what are the biggest things you wish you'd known before buying? Pros and cons? Would you do it again? Would you go rental vs Airbnb?

aggies4life said:

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For those who bought a property specifically to use as an Airbnb here in BCS, how has it worked out? Has it met your income expectations, and what are the biggest things you wish you'd known before buying? Pros and cons? Would you do it again? Would you go rental vs Airbnb?

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It's been a while since we had a STR so things may have changed.

We had less trouble with a condo than a house as a STR, I think. No complaints from neighbors, for instance. No worries about strange cars or people going in and out on the weekends.

Had our kids help clean it, so cleaning fees came to us. Harvey Washbangers for sheets and bedspreads all at one time.

Had guests make their own beds. Kept sheets in closet or wherever. The less we had to do the better.

Had to furnish it, which was an expense. All bedrooms needed beds, pillows, sheets. Also had to buy a couch and chairs and TV and dining table etc.

Had no troubles with reviews. Usually waited for them to review us first. IYKYK.

Put a digital combo lock on the front door. Sent a friendly email with wi-fi password before they showed and that was about it in terms of interaction.

Charged a decent amount on game weekends with two night stay requirement. Still much cheaper than hotels. Home games, parents weekend and graduation were all booked. Hit or miss other times.

Switched back to regular renting after one year. Much less hassle. Income much steadier. We did use a property management company for all our regular rentals as opposed to DIY for the STR.

Note that condos if they appreciate will do so slower than houses. Ours went up but less than a traditional house on a lot. YMMV on a number of factors.

Property taxes have gotten so high it's harder to make a buck. There's a formula we used for rent. You can't charge too much or people will just go elsewhere. But taxes go up dramatically every year and you get no homestead exemption on rental properties. After the point it takes more than 4 months rent to pay the property taxes you have to ask if it's worth it. Probably have to pay even more attention to that with STR.

HTH.