topic Re: Short term rentals in Community Chat

Short term rentals

Trailrun23 — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 19:21:43 GMT

Do you have any homes in your neighborhood that are being used for short-term rentals. or STR? Several of our neighborhoods a mile from mine are starting to have problems with them. I am appalled at the things I see on the news. These are affluent neighborhoods, and now they are dealing with these homes being rented out for weekends...for loud music, drugs flowing, and alcohol use among minors. Our city council is spineless and won't ban them, but is talking about adding rules for them to follow. Ha! I am so worried a few house for sale in our own block could be bought by out-of -state landlords, listed on Vrbo or Airbnb and used for this purpose.

Re: Short term rentals

mimomof4 — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 19:25:59 GMT

I know there is one in my subdivision but we haven't had any issues. My township government and other localities near me are starting to work on laws regarding these properties.

Rental properties whether long term or short term have good and bad renters. Even as a property own I can't choose who purchases the house next to mine. I have to cross my fingers that we get good neighbors.

Re: Short term rentals

Kachina624 — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 19:31:42 GMT

There are virtually no rentals of any type available in my community. Housing shortage.

Re: Short term rentals

kaydee50 — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 19:37:44 GMT

Our condo allows rentals for a minimum of 6 months. Another condo we lived in allows 30 day minimum rentals, which I did not like. I would not live in a community that allows short term rentals.

Re: Short term rentals

Trailrun23 — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 19:44:40 GMT

We have a couple who rent the house across the street from us and they are great. They take care of the yard, come and go at reasonable hours, and seem very friendly. No issues. The STRs on Vrbo and Airbnb are the problem. We want STRs banned. I think you should just go to a hotel if you need to rent short-term. If our city council does not ban them, we will be moving out of the city and get away from this. There are real dangers of human trafficking that have already been found. DD moved last year when someone from Georgia bought fa big, beautiful home around the corner from her and said he was setting up a halfway house for abused women. Problem? The abusers were driving around looking for their victims. No way that should have been allowed in a family neighborhood, especially right across the street from an elementary school.

Re: Short term rentals

SilleeMee — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 20:45:02 GMT

Where I live I'm more concerned about things like burglary, vandalism, drive-by shootings and abandoned cars with people living inside them. That's what happens to older neighborhoods in a boomtown.

Re: Short term rentals

cjm61 — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 20:42:47 GMT

Yes, we have a home that is in a community that allows STR's. We knew this before purchasing. In fact, the previous owners of our home used it as a STR. Our HOA is very strict though. No parking on the street, no noise after 9:00, in fact, no porch lights can be on after a certain time. These rules are strictly enforced. The homeowner is fined heavily so they rarely have issues as the fines are passed down to the renter.

Our home is located in a popular vacation destination. We have several homes in our area that are STR's. Honestly, there's been very little trouble. Once a home was rented for the weekend by the locals and they just party'd. Needless to say, new requirements were put into place and that stopped it.

The key is to have an organization, like the HOA, that will enforce the rules.

Re: Short term rentals

Trailrun23 — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 20:47:34 GMT

The STR homes I am concerned about have had shootings, drug trafficking, and other crimes. Loud music and slamming of car doors all night was how it started...but it has escalated to serious crime. You are fortunate to have crimes the police will respond to. STR complaints get zero attention until the next day, when the partiers are long gone. It would be common for STRa in vacation areas...we have stayed in several. The ones that are causing problems are those in family neighborhoods in suburban areas. Causing many to move away.

Re: Short term rentals

SilleeMee — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 20:51:39 GMT

There are far too many people here. Not enough police to do the jobs that need done. Unfortunately rapid growth of my city is suffering from growing pains on all levels of development. Call the police, take a number and wait.

Re: Short term rentals

Puppy Lips — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 20:57:57 GMT

I don't have a comment on STR. I don't think there are any near me. But our small quaint town is building, building, building. Not just houses, but big apartment complexes. A new highway came through and now all the land around us is more attractive. We already are having traffic problems. Can't imagine how bad it will be in a few years. Before long, I won't want to live here anymore. The residents all show up to the meetings and complain. But somehow all these projects get approved anyway. There may be only so much that city planners can do, even if they wanted to stop the growth.

Re: Short term rentals

chrystaltree — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 21:04:40 GMT

Not a problem where I live.

Re: Short term rentals

JaneMarple — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 21:14:03 GMT

I live in the land of short term rentals, daily, weekly, summer and winter rentals. A few issues here and there but no significant problems.

Re: Short term rentals

GenXmuse — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 21:36:27 GMT

One of our neighbors does Air BnB and I wouldn't have known had he not told me. They mostly rent for game day or to visit their kids in college.

Re: Short term rentals

SilleeMee — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 21:37:27 GMT

In the big ski resorts here STRs are all there is. That and the hotels. Many of the homes in places like Aspen and Vail are corporate-owned and those are rented out short term. I'm sure those places have their own share of problems, too. Neighbors complaining ...the whole nine yards. People don't change. Just the places do.

Re: Short term rentals

Meowingkitty — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 22:12:22 GMT

We are 7 miles from this years Super Bowl and I'm sure several houses in the area will be STR. Phoenix Open, and Super Bowl all the same weekend. Great way to make a few thousand dollars. After the events are done the owners move back in so the don't stay short term rentals.

Re: Short term rentals

Trailrun23 — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 22:25:27 GMT

Developers know exactly how much it costs to get permits and approvals. They know who to pay and how much. We are wanting ti move farther out of our town...but the area we looked at a couple of years ago is now has been sold to developers and is full of tall apartment buildings where all the trees used to be. So moving will require moving even farther away.
you can go on Airbnb or Vrbo and see if there are any STRs in your area. You may be surprised. P

Re: Short term rentals

ValuSkr — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 22:43:57 GMT

Our condo association keeps things under control. I don't believe rental periods of less than one year are allowed. But people probably get away with less.

But it is fun to look around the Airbnb site. At the top of the home page, you can search on treehouses, tiny homes, rooms with a view, lake homes, etc.

Re: Short term rentals

RedTop — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 01:48:40 GMT

I am aware of these rentals in my local area of southern WV, but not in my very rural location.

Re: Short term rentals

FiddleDeeDee — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 03:02:02 GMT

Where we currently live, your contract must be for at least 1 year and it must be approved by the HOA.

Back in MD, it's a WHOLE different story. Some counties don't care, some enforce. Some communities don't care, some do. Investors research communities and prefer to buy in those that turn a blind eye (or make it very hard to report issues) because they know anything goes. We're dealing with this nightmare where our home in MD is located; the community is changing for the worse and we're going to have to make some decisions. Can some of the issues be traced back to short term leases and Airbnb? Yes. But the BIG issue is the HOA not doing anything and the county not giving a blip.

Re: Short term rentals

Snowpuppy — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 05:10:01 GMT

It's very touristy in my area. Summer and winter.

I'm house hunting and stunned to see Zillow listings as "rental friendly" townships.

Local governments often charge inspection and licensing fees for ANY rentals here. They want that $$.