Considering Turning Property into AirBnB, need How To Guide

[Rod Hagen]

I despise the concept of AirBnB, for thousands of years people could easily find out who their neighbors are by just asking them.  AirBnB ruined that, your neighbors are now asshole-travelers, annoying today, gone tomorrow, and as long as it's a vacation property, you'll never get access to the owner.

And so it is with GREAT pain of conscience, and a profound sense of hypocrisy, that I consider entering the market I despise in order to make a personal profit.  I hate myself.  And AirBnB.

Specifically, it's a three bedroom newly-remodeled house in the Hollywood Hills (I'm going to make a killing during the Olympics).  

I want to do this ethically with the greatest possible respect for the neighbors.  That is priority 1, never upset the neighbors.  No FUCKING parties.  Priority 2 is to make a lot of money without compromising on Priority 1.  Possible?  How?  Once the house is ready, what is the best way to find a manager, settle on a price, keep the neighbors in the loop, get furniture, decide wether or not to make it more of a concierge location or let the assholes figure things out for themselves once there?  In addition to that list, I'd love from you, you wonderful sexy people, what mistakes to avoid and you're guide to successfully renting a house with AirBnB.  Thank you. 

-RH

P.S. I will sign up for AirDNA https://www.airdna.co/ when the time comes. 

Edited October 28, 2024 by Rod Hagen

[+ augustus]

The first priority is to find out your local laws on Air BnB's.  Many have changed in the past year because of the nuisance factor and complaints from neighbors.  Check out Hollywood's website.  They are probably listed there.  

[Rod Hagen]

3 hours ago, augustus said:

The first priority is to find out your local laws on Air BnB's.  Many have changed in the past year because of the nuisance factor and complaints from neighbors.  Check out Hollywood's website.  They are probably listed there.  

Thank you.  ChatGPT laid out the rules, and this is what seemed most important: 

"The primary residence requirement for short-term rentals in Los Angeles, including the Hollywood Hills, mandates that only primary residences (where the host lives at least six months per year) can be rented short-term. However, enforcement appears inconsistent. Many listings remain active year-round, often operating without strict penalties due to limited resources for monitoring. Although non-compliant hosts risk fines, enforcement actions typically arise from neighbor complaints or targeted checks, so some hosts continue renting without strict adherence to these rules"

So, one significant question I have to all of you is what do you do, personally, to decrease the likelihood of renting to guests who will cause problems that result in complaints?

 

Edited October 29, 2024 by Rod Hagen

[+ PhileasFogg]

I bought my first property intended for AirBNB last month.  I’m still learning.   I believe under the guidelines, you can post house rules and hold them to it. You also have insight into the tenants prior experience at other airbnb properties before you accept them.  I encourage use of the airbnb messaging system with tenants as it expedites resolving disputes.

if you really care about the neighbors, give them your contact info to report rule violations. 

[+ SirBillybob]

The 6-month residency can be spread out any way annually (I assume fiscally from your start up) so that allows permanent listing that won’t raise eyebrows, but with 120 days max home sharing on the platform. Interfering looky-lou neighbours will tally the unavailable dates (those with X’s on your availability calendar) and report you if you exceed the 120, but unavailable dates could incorporate that you reside there or don’t want to rent for those periods. Nevertheless you may need to open your books to LA authorities if a complaint is made even if you had technically rented within the 120 max rule. 

If a guest exceeds a 29-day rental period and you wish to max out rental days beyond 120, I wonder if you can exclude that particular rental from the tally, but be aware that some municipalities are requiring a one-year minimum lease when a one-month let had previously exempted the unit as a home share that requires registration. I don’t think there is a regulation that restricts you from mixing and matching your occupancy, short-term lets on Airbnb, and lastly longer-term lets through the platform that can be excluded from the tally. 
 

There is provision to apply and pay about $900 as opposed to basic $90 registration fee for the extended home share prerogative, a short time after you have been established. No home residency requirement for you and allows you to exceed 120 days hosting with no limit. Probably worth it even if you want to let out the residence on Airbnb for less than 120 days. 

Make sure to check out liability and damages insurance beyond the Airbnb minimum requirement. Try to get a lead on an accountant knowledgeable about what expenditures count as eligible tax  deductions from your profit in the home share rental domain.

If there’s a pool, check out safety requirements. Read up on guest injury damages claims. In reverse, some hosts require damages deposits. 

When you are residing there don’t let the bed bugs bite. Those critters don’t class discriminate. Provide ample luggage stands like in hotels. 

3-bedroom implies suggested capacity for 6. There will be on average far greater unmonitored traffic than that per rental.

https://www.rkmlaw.net/personal-injury/air-bnb-injuries/

Edited October 29, 2024 by SirBillybob

[+ SirBillybob]

You may need to comply with a noise level detection device according to the municipality codes.

[Rod Hagen]

9 hours ago, SirBillybob said:

The 6-month residency can be spread out any way annually (I assume fiscally from your start up) so that allows permanent listing that won’t raise eyebrows, but with 120 days max home sharing on the platform. Interfering looky-lou neighbours will tally the unavailable dates (those with X’s on your availability calendar) and report you if you exceed the 120, but unavailable dates could incorporate that you reside there or don’t want to rent for those periods. Nevertheless you may need to open your books to LA authorities if a complaint is made even if you had technically rented within the 120 max rule. 

If a guest exceeds a 29-day rental period and you wish to max out rental days beyond 120, I wonder if you can exclude that particular rental from the tally, but be aware that some municipalities are requiring a one-year minimum lease when a one-month let had previously exempted the unit as a home share that requires registration. I don’t think there is a regulation that restricts you from mixing and matching your occupancy, short-term lets on Airbnb, and lastly longer-term lets through the platform that can be excluded from the tally. 
 

There is provision to apply and pay about $900 as opposed to basic $90 registration fee for the extended home share prerogative, a short time after you have been established. No home residency requirement for you and allows you to exceed 120 days hosting with no limit. Probably worth it even if you want to let out the residence on Airbnb for less than 120 days. 

Make sure to check out liability and damages insurance beyond the Airbnb minimum requirement. Try to get a lead on an accountant knowledgeable about what expenditures count as eligible tax  deductions from your profit in the home share rental domain.

If there’s a pool, check out safety requirements. Read up on guest injury damages claims. In reverse, some hosts require damages deposits. 

When you are residing there don’t let the bed bugs bite. Those critters don’t class discriminate. Provide ample luggage stands like in hotels. 

3-bedroom implies suggested capacity for 6. There will be on average far greater unmonitored traffic than that per rental.

https://www.rkmlaw.net/personal-injury/air-bnb-injuries/

I do want to say that I am friendly with the neighbors and will inform them that it's an AirBnB and they all already have my number, but I'll remind them to call me (or the manager :-) if there's an issue of any kind.

Thank you for all this SirBillyBob.  It sounds as if even if you pay the $900, it still is "supposed" to be your primary residence.  I see a lot of Entire properties listed all year, suggesting that that house is most certainly not the owner's primary residence.  How much does LA enforce this, do they look at the websites and make a case against the owner, or is it not being one's primary residence only likely to be an issue if there are complaints from neighbors, and how much is the fine(s) for that particular infraction?  Thank you.  

 

[+ SirBillybob]

I think that there is a formal notification to adjacent and abutting property owners upon registration as well.

Listed all year does not mean the host does not reside in the home from time to time. Anyway the extended privilege dynamics are directly related to what you want to do in terms of how you split up where you reside when. What ratio are you aiming for? Principal residence and its details on drivers licence, IRS, voter registration, etc rests on a combination of presence and intent. I imagine that it’s best if it’s the only property you own in LA. You will likely need a system for retrieving mail or need a PO Box. But it is your prerogative to be away for indefinite periods of time as long as you label and intend to reside in it when you are not elsewhere, whether that be travel or crashing down the road. That said, the extended registration simply supports letting for greater than 120 days and less than or equal to 365 days, as long as it remains categorized as your principal residence, as I understand it.

You could be away on a world tour for a year; if the home were not listed it would still be your principal residence. Letting it for rent in such a case would not nullify that status.

Edited October 30, 2024 by SirBillybob

[+ SirBillybob]

LA has 45,000 registered listings. I doubt has resources for tracking even the extended proportion. Probably a good idea, though, to make a show of your presence for neighbours when you are there between exiting and arriving guest gaps. 

Edited October 30, 2024 by SirBillybob

[+ SirBillybob]

2 minutes ago, SirBillybob said:

For such a large property it’s probably a good idea to avoid back-to-back guests in which there are only a few hours to clean and prepare. (Ignore this ended up in my own quote function)

Edited October 30, 2024 by SirBillybob

[handiacefailure]

Make sure there is no HOA as well.   A lot of HOAs ban them and will enforce them.   I live in a condo and our bylaws were amended to state that any rentals have to be for a year and any rental unit has to submit a $1000 refundable deposit with the association, the tenant has to submit a background and credit check and go for an interview with all the boards members and be approved by th board.  

[marylander1940]

@Rod Hagen Go ahead do it before the hotel lobby changes the rules like they did in New York City.

Edited October 31, 2024 by marylander1940

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

On 10/28/2024 at 9:36 PM, Rod Hagen said:

So, one significant question I have to all of you is what do you do, personally, to decrease the likelihood of renting to guests who will cause problems that result in complaints?

I only rent as a "true" B&B, where I live in the house and rent out a room.  That is how I make sure I know what's going on in my house.

[Rod Hagen]

On 10/29/2024 at 7:06 AM, SirBillybob said:

3-bedroom implies suggested capacity for 6. There will be on average far greater unmonitored traffic than that per rental.

https://www.rkmlaw.net/personal-injury/air-bnb-injuries/

With a property that size and with that capacity, what would you consider for Liability Insurance?  $3M, $5M?

Edited January 27 by Rod Hagen

[Rod Hagen]

15 hours ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

I only rent as a "true" B&B, where I live in the house and rent out a room.  That is how I make sure I know what's going on in my house.

I am glad that works for you.  That is not an option in my situation. :-(

[+ SirBillybob]

11 minutes ago, Rod Hagen said:

With a property that size and with that capacity, what would you consider for Liability Insurance?  $3M, $5M?

🤷‍♂️I’m not in the biz but I have guest status in this domain. I recommend reviewing the related forum among hosts within the Airbnb arena. I think that the key would be that the insurer know exactly what you are up to so there is no misunderstanding about any future claim made. I think that Airbnb has built-in insurance that arises from their percentage take but be sure to assess the need for supplementary coverage. There may be legal / accounting entities to handle things and likely count as deductions against your profit margins, but I think that idea is not novel for you.

For the Olympics in a few years you may be able to rent to a small but liberally funded competitive team in a particular sport that requires extended let period for time zone adjustment, practice, etc.