Empty newly refurbished house in East London, how to start using Airbnb

[Biodun3]

Hi I need advice renting my house out on Airbnb. I am new here.

I buy and sell houses, but often a house can take months to sell so rather that have the property lay empty I thought I could let it out on Airbnb. This way once I have a buyer I can simply stop letting the house out. But my properties are newly refurbished but completely empty. so questions please

1. I presume I need to furnish the property a bit. Apart from beds and linen, what is the minimum I need to furnish the property with.
2. Are Ikea beds ok??
3. Also I have a 4 bed house in Ilford East London, can I let the whole house.
4. The property is currently listed for sale on Rightmoves, will I be able to show potential buys around if I have guest?
5. How much should I charge? Particularly
6. I am new, so how do I get verified, if that is a thing?
7. The kitchen has, microwave, dishwasher cooker, hob,  fridge but no washing machine. Should I fit one.
8. There is no furniture, so though of get a sofa bed and a few folding chairs and tables. The furniture needs to go into storage so I don’t want to buy too much, so is that ok?
9. Anything else, is there someone here who could mentor me in East London, I buy you a beer

[Roberta2]

Hi @Biodun3 

I think the main issue is - if you need to show a house to possible buyers, would you show a messy house ? Because if you rent out a house, guest may leave a few dishes on the sink, bedrooms not clean and tidy...

answering your questions (other hosts, please feel free to add / disagree)

1. I presume I need to furnish the property a bit. Apart from beds and linen, what is the minimum I need to furnish the property with.
2. Are Ikea beds ok?? Yes, they are. Ikea memory foam mattress is really good. 
3. Also I have a 4 bed house in Ilford East London, can I let the whole house. Yes, you can. I would do a search to see what is available in the area, prices, etc.
4. The property is currently listed for sale on Rightmoves, will I be able to show potential buys around if I have guest? If you disclose in your listing, probably yes. But guests would prefer to have their privacy if they are booking a full house.
5. How much should I charge? Particularly . I think all depends on what you offer and the market price.
6. I am new, so how do I get verified, if that is a thing? You need to open an account, and submit ID to airbnb.
7. The kitchen has, microwave, dishwasher cooker, hob,  fridge but no washing machine. Should I fit one. Depends. Short lets do not need one, ut you need to make clear in the listing that it is not available.
8. There is no furniture, so though of get a sofa bed and a few folding chairs and tables. The furniture needs to go into storage so I don’t want to buy too much, so is that ok? If you buy cheap furniture, it will become a cheap listing. 
9. Anything else, is there someone here who could mentor me in East London, I buy you a beer.
10. I live in SE london, and work in Central london. I prefer red wine 🙂

[Helen3]

You can't show people around when you have guests staying through Airbnb @Biodun3  they are booking accommodation to have sole use of it during their stay.

So this wouldn't work for you, unless you block out dates in-between guest visits for viewings.

Presuming you are willing to do this, you need to work out whether the cost of kitting out a whole house, paying for a cleaning service etc will give you the return you need in the short period you are likely to be let to let it out for.

1. You would need to furnish it as you would any house that you would want to live in.

2. Research what type as they have quite a range.

3. yes

4. As above guests are unlikely to want their privacy disturbed and what happens if they claim their belongings get damaged or stolen when buyers are being shown around?

5. you need to do your own market research on airbnb to see what comparable properties in your area are charging

6. If you look on Airbnb's website it talks you through step by step what you need to do to register as a host.

7. Depend who your target market is, for longer lets/families probably yes

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Biodun3 

you got good advices from @Roberta2  I would just add a few thoughts myself

To furnish and buy all necessary for short term rental is an expense you may not get back in a few months of hosting. You need furniture, linens, sheets, towels, pots, pans, plates, cutlery, tv, wifi, air conditioner (during summer) night lamps, shoe rack, curtains ...

Then you need cleaners and someone who will check your guests in (or a digital lock)

i have no idea if you have to obtain a license to be allowed to host (we do)

What I want to say is - it's not as simple as it looks.

You can't and don't want to show the house while you have guests. The house will be messy and full of personal stuff. Do you want to be accused of theft? And it would disturb your guests of course. You should limit the max number of nights so your potential buyer doesn't need to wait more than a few days to see the house.

If those properties are brand new you should take into consideration possible damage to the floors, doors, bath tab.... and marks on the walls.

If your properties are already used and you expect to take more than 6 months to sell then maybe. If they are brand new and could be sold quickly - then Airbnb is not a good idea.

[Biodun3]

I am extremely grateful for the help. I once had a house empty, in Forest Gate for 8 months and regretted not at least renting it out, so I don't mind investing in some bedding and linen now as I will will need it on future properties.

Ultimately nobody is saying it's a bad idea or noted a flaw in my plans. Most people view properties on Saturday's so was hoping to tell anybody renting the house that I might need a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon to show the property. 

[David3267]

agree with @Linda108 , I think not a good idea. Put yourself in your guest's shoes, they've rented for a holiday/ break etc and you think you can just invade their (yes, their space as they've paid you to rent it) whilst you show some people around, maybe when they're not there? I wouldn't be happy as a guest in this situation

[Biodun3]

I hear you. I got a suggestion to limit the booking and block out one day a week. so that might be the solution. I certainly only want people on holidays and not someone camping in the property for more than 2 weeks. 

[Alon1]

@Biodun3 

A proposal for your consideration.

I have a friend, young lady in her mid 30s, an EU national, who plans to arrive in London soon to settle here. (She previously lived for a short time in St Albans).

She would like to rent a place with several rooms and be an Airbnb Host.

  This will only work with the consent of the owner.

She could also manage several properties at once. So it could be a symbiotic situation for you. 

She has done some studies in hospitality and also wants to do a degree in hospitality & tourism.

Please let me know if you are interested.

Alon 

ps. In reply, please use the @ sign when a drop-down menu appears with list of contributors to this thread. That way I will be sure to receive notification. 

[Biodun3]

@Alon1 

i give it a bit of thought. The property has only just gone on the market so even if I get an offer in the next 3 weeks, legals will take 8 weeks. So I will have ownership of the property for the next 11 weeks minimum.  Let me get back to you on this.

[Alon1]

@Biodun3 

Thank you for reply.

I wait your response.

[Linda108]

@Biodun3   I am not as supportive of your idea so I will be a bit of a wet blanket here.  While you have gotten great detailed feedback from other hosts, please be fully aware of the terms of service on this platform which might be contrary to your plans.  Would you be representing yourself to Air BNB as the owner of the property or have a written agreement from the owner allowing you to engage in short term rental?  Most usual homeowner's insurance will not cover STR damages.  Also, once you accept a booking, there are considerable penalties for cancelling.  You will not have control over a security deposit if there is damage.  You should set a very narrow booking window, probably under 3 months, so guests do not book way in advance and make travel plans based on your accommodation only to have it cancelled due to the sale.

[Biodun3]

thanks for the heads up. Looking for pit falls is why i am here. Otherwise i would have simply thrown caution to the wind and let the property. I had no intention of letting for anything longer than 2 weeks at a time. I don't have home owners insurance and so long as the house is not seriously damaged i can repair most damage, being the builder. 

I am the owner of the property and would represent myself as such. 

[Kevin1322]

@Biodun3  Friends of ours have an Airbnb property they rent out. They are also trying to sell it. They block off Mondays from the calendar and the estate agent only shows buyers round on Mondays. So it works for them with short term rentals.  It has gone OK for the past few weeks.

They have already had a bite from a prospective buyer who wants to let it out on Airbnb herself, as it has good bookings.

Sounds like quite a savvy idea to me, but imho wouldn't work with long term rentals because of the viewing problems.

Short term and short notice bookings might keep you quite busy. What is your time worth? You have to decide whether running an Airbnb business conflicts with being a property developer, or you might find a nich for yourself developing Airbnb properties to sell on to people wanting another income themselves.  

Whatever investment you make in furniture etc, you'll be re-using the furniture in the next one.  You need to furnish it well.  People will expect decent quality.

So it'll give you quite a bit of extra work, which gives you some extra income.  How many hours have you got spare to turn around the place at short notice, and is the extra income worth it. Maybe privately renting it is better than Airbnb?

Lots to think about. I'd ask your accountant.

[Biodun3]

I don't want to do Airbnb full time, just to get a little earnings to help pay for the interest on the loans on the property while i look for a buyer. Unfortunately Saturday is when most viewings are normally, especially if they are bringing down the whole family but i do like the idea of blocking out one day a week. It would limit the letting period to 6 days at a time which suits me. 

[Biodun3]

Firstly thanks for all the feedback. I am an old fart and forums fill me with dread. However, you all been very helpful and I am extremely grateful beyond words. You given me the confidence to furnish and let the property and get my first bookings. i expect i will make mistakes and find things out the hard way but hopefully with your help the mistakes won't be too many