@Stephen1320 Do your research. I cannot stress this enough.
Your local zoning office can tell you how many persons your accommodation is zoned for, i.e., bedroom and bathroom ratio to number of persons in residence [Mine is 2 persons per bedroom, septic system limitation of 7 for a 3 bedroom house]. Zoning can also tell you whether or not your property can be rented as transient housing if it is NOT a shared property that you will be living in as well.
Licensing as a transient accommodation may be a topic on your local or state government website.
Talk to your insurance company. Renting all or a portion of your home may invalidate your current homeowners policy. You need insurance for a rental property or for transient occupancy, and it may be expensive.
Speak to a local realtor that offers rental properties. Investigate their services, i.e., what kind of contract do they have the guest sign, what rules as an owner do you have to follow, what requirements are there for the condition of the property, etc.
Is there an HOA or a landlord? HOA rules may preclude renting, and your lease may prohibit subletting.
Your local tax professional should be able to show you how to account for the income earned on your taxes. He should also be able to tell you if there are monthly, quarterly or annual reports to be filed for income from rentals -- DO NOT rely on AirBnB to address taxes for your jurisdiction -- find out what your obligations are, and then see how AirBnB handles it. My situation: AirBnB collects taxes from my renters but does not pay them to me; they purport to pay them to the various agencies on my behalf. There is NO RECORD or REPORT from AirBnB proving that this takes place. To protect myself from an audit for tax evasion, I file the required monthly, quarterly and annual reports to my town, county and state with a disclaimer addendum stating that AirBnB collects and pays the taxes that are due.
