Hosting Concerns

[Jordan337]

Hello Airbnb community,

I'm currently in the process of looking into listing a condo. However, I have a number of obstacles to take care of before it can be done. I was hoping to tap into some expertise of owners with experience so that I can better know how to take care of them.

Obstacle #1: The property I'm looking to list is far away from where I live. I permanently reside in Kansas, but the property is in Destin, FL. I've read a bit about getting a co-host, but I was hoping to find a way around this so that I could keep more of the profits, although I'm aware that a co-host is probably necessary for the first few years. This obstacle also makes some of the logistics surrounding cleaning and that sort of thing a bit more difficult. Does anyone have some experience with listings far from where they reside?

Obstacle #2: A decent amount of personal belongings are in said condo. I'm not sure how to handle this logistically throughout the year. For months at a time this property would be treated as a rental, but 4-6 times throughout the year it would be occupied by family. What would be the best way to go about this?

Obstacle #3: This is easily the biggest obstacle I'm facing. The condominium is owned by my parents. For years they've been adamant that they only want to treat it as a vacation home and not a rental property. But it's become difficult for me to accept that a Florida property 200 feet from the beach is empty 340 days out of the year, just collecting dust. The main worry they have is the liability that would be faced by allowing strangers into our condo. How exactly is this risk best mitigated by most hosts? In order to convince them to give me the green light to list the property, I'll need to be able to give them 100% assurance that our condo won't go up in flames. I'm also prepared to split a decent chunk of the profits with them--I just need to figure out what price would be attractive to them, while still making this worth all the work/hassle from my side.

Obviously, there are plenty of other issues I need to consider, but these are three of the main problems I'm most worried about. I'm prepared to make a trip down to Destin several times throughout the year to keep things in order, but this would be a pretty hands-off listing for the  most part. If anyone has any experience with any of these issues, or any advice whatsoever, I would really appreciate some help.

[Sierra11]

I understand wanting to keep all of your profits but utilizing some sort of property management is a life saver if you don't live near your investment! Try searching for one that solely focuses on short term vacation rentals, such as Airbnb and VRBO. I know we have a few in Tampa Bay area such as VRM Pros and Cohosty who only charge a percentage of your rental income. So, you don't pay them unless you are also getting paid. As a host myself, I know things come up that need attention from someone local. 

Also, as a Realtor, I should point out that with a condo you may come into conflict with lease restrictions. There is usually a minimal lease requirement stated in the condo docs. It varies greatly by building but usually their is verbiage that doesn't allow short term rentals. A lot of people rent anyways but if the condo association does try to stop you, there usually is wording to support it. 

As for your personal belongings, depending on the size of the property, consider having a locked area to store items of high personal value. For example, have a locked closet or one bedroom locked off. 

As for your parents, pull up similar Airbnb properties in the area and put together a projected summary of profit potential. Know that typically the first few months you price a little low to gain reviews. Then you can also go over Airbnb's Host Protection Insurance to give them some peace of mind. Also, stress that this is a trial run. Test out short term rentals and see if it works for you. Nothing has to be permanent if it's not working. 

Hope that helps some. 

[Jordan337]

Yes, this definitely helps! Thank you so much!