OT - AirBNB questions

[FQDawg]

Anyone here ever rented out their house on AirBNB? And I don't mean a vacation or second home, I mean the actual house you live in on a day-to-day basis?

My family has to be out of town a few times this fall and we are thinking about listing our house when those trips coincide with home football games. If you've rented out your house before, I'm curious about a few things...

How has the experience been, generally speaking, for you?
How much of your stuff do you put away or lock up?
Do you make the whole house accessible or do you make any parts of it off-limits?
Have you had any issues like the heat/ac going out or an appliance stop working while guests were there, and if so, how did you deal with it?

What are the issues we need to be thinking of while we consider whether or not to do this?

Any input is appreciated.

 

[ronpolk]

I rented a house like this in Green Bay. The lady just stayed with her mom during home football games. I thought it worked out great. She had a couple closets locked up but most of her house was open. I think it would be pretty easy to do as long as you don’t have too many personal items to lock up before you leave.

I do wonder if you open yourself up to any additional liability with it being your personal house rather than the property owned by an LLC.

 

[FQDawg]

Thanks. Anybody else who has stayed in one is welcome to add their two cents.

 

[TNT.sixpack]

Anyone here ever rented out their house on AirBNB? And I don't mean a vacation or second home, I mean the actual house you live in on a day-to-day basis?

My family has to be out of town a few times this fall and we are thinking about listing our house when those trips coincide with home football games. If you've rented out your house before, I'm curious about a few things...

How has the experience been, generally speaking, for you?
How much of your stuff do you put away or lock up?
Do you make the whole house accessible or do you make any parts of it off-limits?
Have you had any issues like the heat/ac going out or an appliance stop working while guests were there, and if so, how did you deal with it?

What are the issues we need to be thinking of while we consider whether or not to do this?

Any input is appreciated.

..
Check with your insurance agent. Any damage that occurs while renting the house out for a fee, may not be covered. Including if the house burns down. Insurers are well aware of the popularity of AIRBNB and most of them have endorsements that can be added to cover a related loss. Just check with your agent to discuss what you're doing.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

Slightly relevant, but not AirBnB, so this may not qualify as helpful:

My parents and many folks I know rent their houses out here in the Augusta, GA area for Masters Week. I'd say the biggest thing to do is to be selective to whom you rent it out. Many rent to the same people/corporation year after year. I move my mother's heavy-*** Jewelry case above the garage into the man cave. That door stays locked. The gun case is also locked up. Those are the only two security measures I think they take. My mother usually leaves town and my father stays with me. She's a teacher, but our two businesses are still open. So, someone is in town should anything crazy happen.

 

[FQDawg]

This is definitely helpful, thanks. While I'm curious about AirBNB specifically, I'm also just generally interested in the whole "having other people in your house while you're not there" thing.

 

[Paperdog]

Sorry for being late in replying

Personally, I have not done this but I know four different professors/employees who work on campus who do this

It is enormously popular even in a small town like Starkville

Just for one example...

A professor and dear friend who works on campus ... he and his wife make available their four bedroom house for the seven home football game weekends, Super Bulldog Weekend and graduation weekend

They normally get between 1,000 and 1,500 per weekend

They lock their personal belongings in one bedroom, making three bedrooms, kitchen and living area available

They have a separate set of linens and towels for these guests ... They change their house over to all of the new stuff on Thursdays, prior to the weekend

There is some type of insurance done through their local agent, but I have no idea what it is

On these weekends, they stay with friends or get a hotel room

They usually net somewhere between six and eight thousand for the extra hassle