I would like to retire in 24 months.I am a superhost. I have a separate guesthouse next door to me that consistently brings in about $2400 a month.Its very small, 500 sq ft but I seem to get a lot of business even in the slow season(california weather I geuss)When I sell my house will the income of about $28,000 a yr add value to my property?Since you still have the main house to live in and guesthouse is just gravy? I dont even know if a realtor can answer this question since this airbnb thing is just so new…But heck,I have a 4 bedroom house I rent and I only get 2100 for it!Cant wait to retire!So sick of working at hotel and managing rentals AND an airbnb!
Of course! Just like any separate guesthouse would add value! I am sure your buyers can easily see the Air potential. Maybe printout your totals for the realtors to show them. 
Now, see, this was a question I had posed a while ago, but no one had an answer. I was curious to know if people had transferred reservations to the new homeowners in a similar manner as many traditional landlords pass on their current good tenants when they sell their home.
It’s a bit different in that it also requires exponentially more work than a traditional rental. So, the new owners would have to be fit for that. On one hand it’s income, but at the same time buying the house would be like getting a second job immediately on moving.
For the right person, I’m sure it would be a value-added feature. For others, it might just be a nuisance.
Even if the potential buyer has no interest in Airbnb, they may value the extra property as a place for guests to stay, or to rent out long term to locals for extra income.
The person who appraised my house said he does include the rental income potential in the valuation. So if you get ready to sell, it wouldn’t hurt to get a formal appraisal.
One related issue to be aware of is how it affects the mortgage. We just purchased our home about a month ago, and it includes a basement apartment we knew we would turn into a vacation rental. We specifically sought out a home where the layout could work for a legal homestay. Our existing income (thankfully) covered the cost of the mortgage, but during the process of providing everything to the lender, we were told that underwriters don’t want to even hear about potential vacation rental income because they view it as a business. They don’t want it to be involved in a personal home loan. I thought that was very interesting!
If done carefully, you can definitely show the revenue as an additional source of income when buying a house.
Set up an LLC and pay yourself a salary from that. If they want to know the nature of the business, just indicate something vague, like consulting.
The income is probably not so significant to throw up red flags, but significant enough to help one get a loan they may not otherwise be qualified for.
After you’ve got steady income on the books, yes. But they didn’t want the potential of a new STR in the equation.
I often wonder the same question. It used to be you needed to own an apartment building or a multifamily property to generate income as a landlord. Now – you run an Airbnb. All the single family homes in the area with many rooms have been snapped up by enterprising Airbnb hosts and turned into rentals where each room is listed out and a cleaner sent in for upkeep since the hosts don’t live there. I bought my home when everyone around me was living here long term in their home and this was considered an “affordable” neighborhood. Now at least 3 homes around me are Airbnbs and prices have skyrocketed. Prices were skyrocketing anyway, this being Seattle with its low job shortage, but people planning on moving here are always mind-blown at what places cost now to live and work here. We are a neighborhood of Airbnbs! This article is too true: