AirBnB in Basement of our home rental

[Anonymous]

This would not be legal in DC. The main house has to be owner-occupied to have a short-term rental. I have an airbnb in my basement and have never had noise complaints, but we go out of our way to be mindful of our guests because the money is so good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only way that would work is if the renters agreed and managed things for you.

wrong. As a renter you don't get to choose anything. The landlord is in charge. It owns the home. They set the rules. You accept the rules and you do whatever they tell them to do. That is why the renting class is lower than the owning class. Just packs of life. Get used to it or suck it up

I cannot imagine that would be ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This would not be legal in DC. The main house has to be owner-occupied to have a short-term rental. I have an airbnb in my basement and have never had noise complaints, but we go out of our way to be mindful of our guests because the money is so good.

It’s not legal in DC, you’re right, and the new law is ridiculous. Basically the new law allows owners of row homes who can’t get certificates of occupancy to rent out their basements to long term tenants - the majority of basement apartments in this city - to rent them out instead as short term airbnbs. This has the opposite effect in the case of basement apartments of what the law is intended to do - namely, to discourage short term rentals, which take away affordable housing. It’s a very shortsighted law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a poor plan.

Not having a basement will reduce the rental rate of the main portion of the house that husband is hoping will be made up on the short term rental part.

I don’t know what your house is like, but generally there isn’t a lot of money to be made in renting single units/duplex’s. The nominal rent dollars are just small - might make a few hundred bucks a month or something. So, having said that, how much additional $ does he expect to bring in running an Airbnb out of the basement vs including the basement in a long term rental? I bet not much. Maybe it makes less money than if operated as one long term rental. Running the Airbnb will mean he needs to deal with the property pretty much constantly.

The logistics of it probably aren’t great either -
- are you planning on submetering?
- where’s the laundry?
- where are the mechanicals?
- does zoning allow for an str? Do you need to make modifications to the unit for code reasons?

Big picture sounds like a lot of hassle for not much payoff

Not the OP, but I live in Bethesda and basement rentals/or a room for rent inside of a single unit still go for big money -- tenant's are charged anywhere between $1000 - $3,000... not a few hundred dollars.

Here are a few examples.

https://www.apartments.com/10221-tyburn-ter-bethesda-md/qbwb56z/

https://www.apartments.com/5106-bradley-blvd-chevy-chase-md-unit-5106-bradley/zbbnnsx/

This one is on the NIH list that I mentioned in my previous post about temporary assignments at NIH, Walter Reed, etc for $1,650.

https://www.samslist.us/nih-area-samslist/newly-renovated-basement-in-potomac/

This link has ALL rooms for rent for a ROOMMATE situation in Bethesda, inside of a private home, and they're still all between $1,000 to $2,000.

https://www.roomies.com/rooms/bethesda-md/basements

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have read reviews of basement AirBnBs and one common complaint is the noise made of whoever is living above. It's one thing if the owners are living above and can be mindful of the noise they are making, but you will have no control over renters living there. All of a sudden it's negative reviews and you won't get any takers for that Air Bn B. Not worth it.

I rented a basement Airbnb for an out of town seminar. It was the creepiest place ever and the reviews had been glowing. My honest review never posted. The place smelled and I had the choice of using the private around the back entrance with poor lighting or running the gauntlet of chitchat with the owner - who was difficult to politely walk past. Oh and there was an uneven grade I nearly broke my ankle on when the hall light outside my room went out. I was stuck for cash and had to stay the week. Never again will I rent owner occupied/basement unit again. They’re always sketchy. Even if you think it’s nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have read reviews of basement AirBnBs and one common complaint is the noise made of whoever is living above. It's one thing if the owners are living above and can be mindful of the noise they are making, but you will have no control over renters living there. All of a sudden it's negative reviews and you won't get any takers for that Air Bn B. Not worth it.

I rented a basement Airbnb for an out of town seminar. It was the creepiest place ever and the reviews had been glowing. My honest review never posted. The place smelled and I had the choice of using the private around the back entrance with poor lighting or running the gauntlet of chitchat with the owner - who was difficult to politely walk past. Oh and there was an uneven grade I nearly broke my ankle on when the hall light outside my room went out. I was stuck for cash and had to stay the week. Never again will I rent owner occupied/basement unit again. They’re always sketchy. Even if you think it’s nice.

TLR no one wants to Airbnb your basement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have read reviews of basement AirBnBs and one common complaint is the noise made of whoever is living above. It's one thing if the owners are living above and can be mindful of the noise they are making, but you will have no control over renters living there. All of a sudden it's negative reviews and you won't get any takers for that Air Bn B. Not worth it.

I rented a basement Airbnb for an out of town seminar. It was the creepiest place ever and the reviews had been glowing. My honest review never posted. The place smelled and I had the choice of using the private around the back entrance with poor lighting or running the gauntlet of chitchat with the owner - who was difficult to politely walk past. Oh and there was an uneven grade I nearly broke my ankle on when the hall light outside my room went out. I was stuck for cash and had to stay the week. Never again will I rent owner occupied/basement unit again. They’re always sketchy. Even if you think it’s nice.

I can assure you, you are wrong. There are a lot of sketch airbnb places but not all of any category is bad. Mine and my neighbors in the Dupont and Logan Circle areas of DC are all nice, legal, and exactly what tourist like. Most even clean their own units. So we are not absent owners but engaged and invested in our business.

[Anonymous]

This is an unfortunate thing for 2 reasons:

(1) You are taking housing stock out of the hands of potential buyers.

(2) Your neighbors will really not appreciate having a random AirBnB in their neighborhood. It may be profitable for you, but how would you like it if random people came in and out of the house next door to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you not care about your neighbors?

+100.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This is an unfortunate thing for 2 reasons:

(1) You are taking housing stock out of the hands of potential buyers.

(2) Your neighbors will really not appreciate having a random AirBnB in their neighborhood. It may be profitable for you, but how would you like it if random people came in and out of the house next door to you?

Unless you're breaking an HOA rule or a local zoning law it doesn't matter what the neighbors think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have read reviews of basement AirBnBs and one common complaint is the noise made of whoever is living above. It's one thing if the owners are living above and can be mindful of the noise they are making, but you will have no control over renters living there. All of a sudden it's negative reviews and you won't get any takers for that Air Bn B. Not worth it.

I rented a basement Airbnb for an out of town seminar. It was the creepiest place ever and the reviews had been glowing. My honest review never posted. The place smelled and I had the choice of using the private around the back entrance with poor lighting or running the gauntlet of chitchat with the owner - who was difficult to politely walk past. Oh and there was an uneven grade I nearly broke my ankle on when the hall light outside my room went out. I was stuck for cash and had to stay the week. Never again will I rent owner occupied/basement unit again. They’re always sketchy. Even if you think it’s nice.

+1. One year, I was looking for a rental in Arlington, and looked at a few basement units. They were all depressing and it looked like the owners had done the bare minimum to make them livable. Some of them had a faint smell, and I was concerned that there could be a mold problem lurking. I hate apartment buildings, but was able to find a duplex for not much more than one of the sketchy basement units, and it was better in every way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have read reviews of basement AirBnBs and one common complaint is the noise made of whoever is living above. It's one thing if the owners are living above and can be mindful of the noise they are making, but you will have no control over renters living there. All of a sudden it's negative reviews and you won't get any takers for that Air Bn B. Not worth it.

I rented a basement Airbnb for an out of town seminar. It was the creepiest place ever and the reviews had been glowing. My honest review never posted. The place smelled and I had the choice of using the private around the back entrance with poor lighting or running the gauntlet of chitchat with the owner - who was difficult to politely walk past. Oh and there was an uneven grade I nearly broke my ankle on when the hall light outside my room went out. I was stuck for cash and had to stay the week. Never again will I rent owner occupied/basement unit again. They’re always sketchy. Even if you think it’s nice.

I can assure you, you are wrong. There are a lot of sketch airbnb places but not all of any category is bad. Mine and my neighbors in the Dupont and Logan Circle areas of DC are all nice, legal, and exactly what tourist like. Most even clean their own units. So we are not absent owners but engaged and invested in our business.

That is an entirely different kind of basement than what this op is proposing.

A suburban basement is not the same vibe. Ever. Even if well maintained. Also I’m pretty sure this host thought they were on top of things as well. Plus with their filtered reviews they were consistently booked.

I’m glad you take good care of your place but that not how so many of these rentals go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have read reviews of basement AirBnBs and one common complaint is the noise made of whoever is living above. It's one thing if the owners are living above and can be mindful of the noise they are making, but you will have no control over renters living there. All of a sudden it's negative reviews and you won't get any takers for that Air Bn B. Not worth it.

I rented a basement Airbnb for an out of town seminar. It was the creepiest place ever and the reviews had been glowing. My honest review never posted. The place smelled and I had the choice of using the private around the back entrance with poor lighting or running the gauntlet of chitchat with the owner - who was difficult to politely walk past. Oh and there was an uneven grade I nearly broke my ankle on when the hall light outside my room went out. I was stuck for cash and had to stay the week. Never again will I rent owner occupied/basement unit again. They’re always sketchy. Even if you think it’s nice.

I can assure you, you are wrong. There are a lot of sketch airbnb places but not all of any category is bad. Mine and my neighbors in the Dupont and Logan Circle areas of DC are all nice, legal, and exactly what tourist like. Most even clean their own units. So we are not absent owners but engaged and invested in our business.

That is an entirely different kind of basement than what this op is proposing.

A suburban basement is not the same vibe. Ever. Even if well maintained. Also I’m pretty sure this host thought they were on top of things as well. Plus with their filtered reviews they were consistently booked.

I’m glad you take good care of your place but that not how so many of these rentals go.

Thank you. It was a lot of work to get it up and running. I will add that hosts have no way of altering or deleting reviews. In my experience airbnb is transparent. That being said I think there is a culture of over inflating reviews by hosts and guest by one another. Kind of like uber: if the driver gets you from point to point in reasonable time and doesn't annoy in any way they get 5 stars. Not a high bar.

[Anonymous]

What's your location?

"Inside the beltway" -- suburban MD or VA? I think to make an AirBnB work you need to be in transit-accessible parts of the city. Ideally you'd be walkable to good restaurants and on top of a DC metro station. Failing that, no more than a few minutes' walk from a station that will get you into downtown DC in 30 minutes or less.

If you are in the burbs and can't easily get around without a car, I don't think a basement AirBnB would do well.