There is no way you personally can manage the AirBNB from that far away. You'll need a property manager. Expect to make no profit unfortunately.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a good idea to me. I'd pull the trigger.

Just make sure you know what the culture in the area is regarding AirBnb. We have a place on the Shenandoah River, and in our little community I'd say it's about 1/2 weekenders and 1/2 folks who live there full time. In the past several years there have been about 5 properties that have become AirBnbs. And there is hatred for them. Rabid hatred. (It is common that the people renting the places out speed on our roads, make too much noise, and are generally disrespectful -- or seen as such by locals anyway.) I would never rent our place out as an Airbnb when we aren't using it for that reason alone. Just something to consider.

Same where we are. And some towns are cracking down on short term rentals. Weekly rentals are less common in the off season than in season so could be a risk of OPs plan.

OP here. That's what one would think, but looking at one particular Airbnb nearby, there are multiple reviews each month through the fall, winter, and spring.

One property does not make a market.

Just make sure you can carry the house without any expectation of off season rental income.

+1 look at the average of comparable properties not the best one to gauge your own performance. Also you will have to underprice the average competition for 1-3 years to establish yourself as a equal to those properties (i.e. a good collection of favorable reviews)

Anonymous wrote:OP, we bought a second home during Covid when houses on our island were renting out 18-22 weeks per year. We were careful and didn't count on that amount of rental income.

Good thing. After Covid was over, our house has only rented out 8 summer weeks and 2 fall weeks per year. That might be because it's on the higher end price-wise, and we aren't looking to lower the price to attract more families. But for sure, our out-of-pocket costs are much higher than we anticipated.

We do love it and will hold onto it until we retire. ( When we'll figure out if we want to live there fulltime or not.). But if you're not comfortable paying those mortgages in the winter and spring with no income, think twice.

I should have clarified that this will be a cash sale, so no mortgage payments. That said, I am not counting on the income. It’s a nice to have to help cover insurance and taxes and other upkeep expenses. The home that I referenced was one of many and it is one of the more expensive properties.

OP, we bought a second home during Covid when houses on our island were renting out 18-22 weeks per year. We were careful and didn't count on that amount of rental income.

Good thing. After Covid was over, our house has only rented out 8 summer weeks and 2 fall weeks per year. That might be because it's on the higher end price-wise, and we aren't looking to lower the price to attract more families. But for sure, our out-of-pocket costs are much higher than we anticipated.

We do love it and will hold onto it until we retire. ( When we'll figure out if we want to live there fulltime or not.). But if you're not comfortable paying those mortgages in the winter and spring with no income, think twice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a good idea to me. I'd pull the trigger.

Just make sure you know what the culture in the area is regarding AirBnb. We have a place on the Shenandoah River, and in our little community I'd say it's about 1/2 weekenders and 1/2 folks who live there full time. In the past several years there have been about 5 properties that have become AirBnbs. And there is hatred for them. Rabid hatred. (It is common that the people renting the places out speed on our roads, make too much noise, and are generally disrespectful -- or seen as such by locals anyway.) I would never rent our place out as an Airbnb when we aren't using it for that reason alone. Just something to consider.

Same where we are. And some towns are cracking down on short term rentals. Weekly rentals are less common in the off season than in season so could be a risk of OPs plan.

OP here. That's what one would think, but looking at one particular Airbnb nearby, there are multiple reviews each month through the fall, winter, and spring.

One property does not make a market.

Just make sure you can carry the house without any expectation of off season rental income.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a good idea to me. I'd pull the trigger.

Just make sure you know what the culture in the area is regarding AirBnb. We have a place on the Shenandoah River, and in our little community I'd say it's about 1/2 weekenders and 1/2 folks who live there full time. In the past several years there have been about 5 properties that have become AirBnbs. And there is hatred for them. Rabid hatred. (It is common that the people renting the places out speed on our roads, make too much noise, and are generally disrespectful -- or seen as such by locals anyway.) I would never rent our place out as an Airbnb when we aren't using it for that reason alone. Just something to consider.

Same where we are. And some towns are cracking down on short term rentals. Weekly rentals are less common in the off season than in season so could be a risk of OPs plan.

OP here. That's what one would think, but looking at one particular Airbnb nearby, there are multiple reviews each month through the fall, winter, and spring.

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a good idea to me. I'd pull the trigger.

Just make sure you know what the culture in the area is regarding AirBnb. We have a place on the Shenandoah River, and in our little community I'd say it's about 1/2 weekenders and 1/2 folks who live there full time. In the past several years there have been about 5 properties that have become AirBnbs. And there is hatred for them. Rabid hatred. (It is common that the people renting the places out speed on our roads, make too much noise, and are generally disrespectful -- or seen as such by locals anyway.) I would never rent our place out as an Airbnb when we aren't using it for that reason alone. Just something to consider.

Same where we are. And some towns are cracking down on short term rentals. Weekly rentals are less common in the off season than in season so could be a risk of OPs plan.

Sounds like a good idea to me. I'd pull the trigger.

Just make sure you know what the culture in the area is regarding AirBnb. We have a place on the Shenandoah River, and in our little community I'd say it's about 1/2 weekenders and 1/2 folks who live there full time. In the past several years there have been about 5 properties that have become AirBnbs. And there is hatred for them. Rabid hatred. (It is common that the people renting the places out speed on our roads, make too much noise, and are generally disrespectful -- or seen as such by locals anyway.) I would never rent our place out as an Airbnb when we aren't using it for that reason alone. Just something to consider.

Cape Cod poster here. We don’t rent and wouldn’t because high end rentals need to be pristine. The plus of our own house is that it is our family home. We leave clothes in the closets. We have our remote work set ups on the desks. When we come back, it’s how we left it. To rent we’d have to completely depersonalize it. So weigh what is important to you in your calculations.

Anonymous wrote:Will spending the entire summer there make the home unaffordable in retirement without the rental income?

Hidden costs of coastal seasonal property - seasonal rates for everything goes way up. I know it’s not an exact comparison but our Nantucket landscaping costs for ten 12 weeks is just under $10k (mowing). To get an understanding of the tiny lot we are on - they are in and out in 30 minutes. But the cost is what it is. Fall and spring clean up are separate.

Obviously having the rental income is preferable, but it would be worth it to be able to be in a coastal community all summer. I looked at reviews of airbnb rentals nearby and it looks like there is demand in the off season, so it might not be an issue. If anything, if the demand is anything like I observed with one very high end rental (similar to the house we are looking at), I am pretty confident we will have a nice income stream.

Just do it.

I would do it. You can always sell it in the future if needed.

Will spending the entire summer there make the home unaffordable in retirement without the rental income?

Hidden costs of coastal seasonal property - seasonal rates for everything goes way up. I know it’s not an exact comparison but our Nantucket landscaping costs for ten 12 weeks is just under $10k (mowing). To get an understanding of the tiny lot we are on - they are in and out in 30 minutes. But the cost is what it is. Fall and spring clean up are separate.

Go for it. RI is not far. We have had a house on Cape Cod for 20 years and absolutely no regrets. And yes, our adult kids much prefer gathering on the Cape vs DC.

DH retiring in the next couple of years and last kid heading to college next year. We like spending time during our summers in the Aquidneck Island area of RI. Waterfront property in some parts of the island are still affordable and we are considering purchasing one with the intent of Airbnb when we aren’t there. Once DH retires we will spend the whole summer there.

My concern is the distance, but I don’t want to regret not doing it years from now when prices become more out of reach. We found a beautiful place with minimal flood risk, which was one of our concerns with waterfront. I am so on the fence with this and DH is ready to pull the trigger.

Both kids love spending time there, and I feel like the place could be a magnet to get our family together during the summer.