Long term guests horror stories

Exactly, thankfully they mostly leave by Sunday.

RR

1 Like

I don’t do long-term through ABnB; I use a month-to-month lease. The only weird thing was a family who boarded up a window from the inside and left drugs in the house when they moved out. ABnB guests have been more trouble than any long-term tenants so far. Maybe I’ve been lucky. We live down the street so it’s easy to keep an eye on the place.

2 Likes

More feedback—if you don’t feel good about it, don’t do it. About 90% of those rare times I second guess myself and don’t go with that first reaction, I regret it

Other things to consider:

  1. An Airbnb rental in my area for > 30 days is cheaper than a commercial furnished rental. I used to do 90+ day rentals for relocations & contract workers.

In general it was good money with less cleaning headaches than short term rentals. When the market in my area changed (not a vacation area) driving the rents down, I changed to long term only. (I do have short term vacation rentals at the beach)

  1. Mine was a whole home (not shared) so personality or personal habits didn’t matter

  2. Get a separate from Airbnb long term rental agreement signed

1 Like

Well, that isn’t even fool proof…I also board dogs and have had more issues with the owners than their dogs, although overall the number is super low across the board there.

OMG! Did they board the window when no one else was home to hear it??

I don’t accept long term rentals. 7 days max. ALthough once I accepted a couple of months but only after they had stayed for a week and we were compatible and became friends actually. Like if I cooked something I’d invite them to eat and then they would cook and we would have dinner together. But what are the chances of this happening? Sometimes I get guests I can’t wait for them to leave.

I also have horror stories being a landlord. Basically they destroyed my house. I had to put 20k in fixing it up. It was horrendous. I will never ever be a landlord again. I much rather sell the property than being a landlord again.

I host a lot of (mostly) LT guests. My horror stories are with ST guests. That said, I have maybe… a handful of stories, and I’ve been a host for almost 6-years. And of those, two being the worst, they really weren’t as bad as some others that I have read.

1 Like

Hi Laura,

Long termers are definitely an acquired taste. I have always been a big fan. The guest has a lot on the line, and it has been my experience that they tend to cooperate more with a lot at stake.

A lot depends on what they will be doing. Hanging around the house tends to get on everyone’s nerves.

You generally get a sense of compatibility in the first week. It’s the ability to get along with others, follow the rules, and show basic respect.

Very recently I had a 4 month direct. Guy held out in his room all day on the computer, never went out, and started knocking on doors at 1 am, mucking with the modem, etc. After repeatedly being asked not to. He had an excellent deal here. I asked myself if I was willing to put up with 4 months of him being a law unto himself, and kicked him. Much hue and cry, but he should have thought of that.

3 Likes

Anne, I’m very interested in your experience. I just rec’d a request for a 6-week stay during our off-season at the beach. We have hosted lots of 7 days stays but that has been our max. The guy says it’s his immediate family: himself, pregnant wife, 3 kids and an au pair. Usually my gut says no way, but I’m actually considering this as it’s more income than what we could get anyway. Any advice/suggestions welcome! Thanks!!

Do not book it through Airbnb. Book it with an actual lease that specifies all the usual lease things: deposit, references, payment, cancelation terms, what tenant has access to, what tenant doesn’t have access to, etc. Best to get the lease from a knowledgeable local attorney.