Hosting while living overseas

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Hello everyone

I am planning on moving to the U.S in the next 12-18 months. I have an apartment in a desirable inner city suburb of Melbourne that I am considering renting out as an Air Bnb. Has anyone here hosted/currently hosted while living overseas for extensive periods. What are the pros and cons of doing so. What things do you suggest I do to make this a successful exercise. What are the things I should look out for. All advice and (respectful) input is welcome and appreciated.

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Yes you can do this as long as you employ a cleaner and local co-host to manage things on the ground ??

Are there an STR restrictions in your area or for your accommodation ?

Pros you cover your mortgage and other costs.

Cons you don’t cover your mortgage and other costs/ your property is damaged/ your guests upset neighbours with anti social behaviour .

When you put together a profit and loss budget what did it tell you about likely profit levels?

Is this less or more then you would generate from a long term rental?

Have looked into supply and demand in your area

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I have not hosted remotely but here would be my advice:

  • Develop a spreadsheet showing the economics of renting on a long-term basis versus renting as an STR. ‘Stress test’ your assumptions. Talk to a local relator to get a sense of the long-term market. You can use the Air site to get a sense of the current daily rate, whether it’s seasonal, occupancy rates. Consider a pricing service like Wheelhouse for more data in your area.
  • Make sure that there are no legal restrictions that would prevent you from making your apartment an STR. Melbourne rules? Registration with City? I don’t know if you own the apartment and there is an HOA, or if this is a lease where it would be wise if not essential to get the landlord’s permission.
  • Make sure the unit is ‘safe’ and in compliance with all building and safety codes, as well as having fire extinguisher(s), first aid kits. No trip hazards inside or outside.
  • You’ll want to get commercial liability insurance either with your own insurer if they offer it or another insurer.
  • Get a co-Host local to the STR unit. The co-Host should be an experienced Host. This is KEY. Co-Host should probably be a person, not a management company. YOU should be Host.
  • Systematize your process with scheduled messages and standardized replies that the co-Host could use as is or customize.
  • Make sure that you have a very well documented House manual.
  • Get all your appliances in an electronic format in a Google Drive that your co-Host can access; consider making QR codes for these that your guest can access.
  • Develop a cleaning checklist for the cleaners. Make sure you have a backup cleaner. Get a sense of the price of cleaners (it’ll likely be expensive and housecleaning vs cleaning for an STR is very different.
  • Make a list of all vendors who you wish to work on the property, for co-Host to use.
  • Establish bank account that co-Host can access for funds needed to maintain property for surprise/emergency needs.
  • Develop maintenance checklist for unit.
  • ‘Guest proof’ the apartment. That is, if there are appliances or aspects of the apartment that a guest might inadvertently damage (e.g., expensive furnishings) you might wish to change them.
  • Consider OwnerRez if you wish to be in multiple channels like Airbnb and VRBO.

The biggest disadvantage of making your apartment an STR – and it’s a BIG disadvantage – is that it appears that you are not an experienced Host and so will not have processes to systematize. You’ll be counting on finding that experienced Host and it might be difficult to evaluate their expertise and style of management. Their fee might be substantial. We often hear numbers like 30% of the gross revenues.

The advantage would be that you’ll likely make more money than if you made this a long-term rental and you’ll avoid what in the U.S. are onerous tenant rights applicable to long-term but not short-term rentals (don’t know if that’s true in Melbourne). Also, if there’s a possibility that you’ll return you’ll have more flexibility to return if you’re renting on a short-term basis.

My advice would be that unless you find someone exceptional that you would likely be better off simply making a long-term rental arrangement.

Good luck!

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Thanks for your detailed response

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Thanks for your detailed response and info you shared

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There’s a lot of wisdom and knowledge here, so stay tuned for more.

When you do make your decision, it would be helpful to the members here to understand what helped you most and any insights you’ve gleaned along the way that might inform us and all who come here. It’s a two-way street.

So, better informed ourselves, we can also share what we learn from you with those who come here that our knowledge and advice becomes better attuned.

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lots of good advice. I’d say there’s a learning curve to hosting remotely and you are going to need a really excellent co-host who is experienced, because they are probably going to be a lot of things that you haven’t considered yet - guests have a marvellous way of discovering issues that haven’t been there whilst you lived in the place. :laughing:

I live in Qld and my listing is my farm in SA, where my daughter lives and manages the day to day stuff, but I still fly down every 8 weeks to tweak things. I also do 90% of the guest messaging and all of the listing online stuff.

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And be prepared to pay management fees!