Any landlords here?

[Teenwolf]

Is there a lot of call for AirBnB in Thunder Bay? Just seems like a long shot to me...

My Dad owned a fourplex back in the day and he hated being a landlord, for all of the reasons already listed, and some that weren't. Every time it snowed, he had to go and plow out and shovel the driveway and sidewalk. Every leaf that fell needed to be raked, and all of the piddly repairs had to be taken care of ASAP.

I wouldn't count on hiring out much work until you've owner the place for several years. You'll get more than a few 3am phone calls to mess you up...

Surprisingly, there is a lot of Airbnb business in Thunder Bay. Isolation helps... 5-8 hour drive in any direction to the next city, so lots of 1 night road trippers. It's also a medical hub for surrounding areas, so lots of nursing students and patients and folks visiting their parents. I was shocked that we could have had our rooms filled consistently, but we also offered a very cheap price, $40-$60/night, or $90-$100 for booking 2 rooms. Winter is less bookings with less roadtrippers, but typically books up through holidays at a premium price. 1 nighters all the time can be annoying, so we had tiered discounts based on length of stay.

As for clearing snow, it's an expensive service. $1000 for a winter or so. I clear snow through the winter (28 driveways last thursday), so I'm able to handle it to start, but it definitely eats into profit margin after I move away.

I should also mention that we're on a 4-7 year estimated timeline to move away. 6 month winters are too much, need a longer work season. 9.5 months in BC was perfect.

[Steve 2.0]

Here's one:

[Sour Masher]

I prefer this one:

d7192a0974589108a97bdcaac334aea57e3ab8aee3fb32f094298ec6a0cb949f.jpg

[Gregg]

As landlord you will be "The Man" you will be disliked because you are the owner. Your renters will think you owe them because you have so much more than they do. You are the owner because you are privileged and lucky rather than a hard working risk taker. You will not be trusted. If an unforeseen circumstance happens in their life that makes them late with their rent, they will expect you to understand an allow late payment without interest. It is because you are the owner and can afford to do so. If you push for the payment it is because YOU ARE THE MAN!

[Steve 2.0]

As landlord you will be "The Person" you will be disliked because you are the owner. Your renters will think you owe them because you have so much more than they do. You are the owner because you are privileged and lucky rather than a hard working risk taker. You will not be trusted. If an unforeseen circumstance happens in their life that makes them late with their rent, they will expect you to understand an allow late payment without interest. It is because you are the owner and can afford to do so. If you push for the payment it is because YOU ARE THE PERSON!

fixed.

[Teenwolf]

As landlord you will be "The Man" you will be disliked because you are the owner. Your renters will think you owe them because you have so much more than they do. You are the owner because you are privileged and lucky rather than a hard working risk taker. You will not be trusted. If an unforeseen circumstance happens in their life that makes them late with their rent, they will expect you to understand an allow late payment without interest. It is because you are the owner and can afford to do so. If you push for the payment it is because YOU ARE THE MAN!

Very compelling points. All the more reason to avoid long-term tenants as much as possible. Airbnb is preferable until the loopholes are closed, or higher direct taxes are enforced. We only had a couple issues, with about 70 guests, and they were personality/creep issues, not abuse of facilities or ever a payment issue...

Although I'd go back to being a slave to the 5 star review... my oh my... it's a lotta work keeping folks happy. A few days at a time or renting, pros and cons to each. Money has to be the #1 factor. A small private suite could Airbnb for $80/night, so if you project 20 nights, $1600/mth on a place that would only fetch $850-$1000 renting (typical 2 bed, 1 bath rental)... money would dictate the Airbnb route.

I feel like there's some good neighborhoods close to the university and hospital where a lot of folks move to town temporarily either as health care professionals or students. If I can find something in proximity to that part of town, I should stand a better chance of renting to desirable tenants. Can't rely on Airbnb longterm.

[Fresno Bob]

I know I would end up having someone killed if I was a landlord

[revo]

As landlord you will be "The Man" you will be disliked because you are the owner. Your renters will think you owe them because you have so much more than they do. You are the owner because you are privileged and lucky rather than a hard working risk taker. You will not be trusted. If an unforeseen circumstance happens in their life that makes them late with their rent, they will expect you to understand an allow late payment without interest. It is because you are the owner and can afford to do so. If you push for the payment it is because YOU ARE THE MAN!

Some parts of this are accurate. Of my 7 tenants, 4 have trouble paying in full by the first of the month, and one is usually a full month behind. They offer excuses all the time and expect you to forgive them constantly, and find the concept of "having savings" to be completely foreign. Like, how do you expect me to pay the rent when I have other bills to pay now, or haven't gotten my paycheck yet?? They totally don't understand, or care to understand, that I have a mortgage to pay. For instance, if I owe $4,000 a month on my mortgage and I collect $4,500 in rent, when someone who pays $1,500 a month can't pay, then guess who has to cover the $1,000 shortfall? And guess what happens when 2 or 3 tenants do that? Guess who's responsible for a $4,000 shortfall?

OTOH, I am very liked by my current tenants (or at least I think so). But I have also gotten into fights with tenants. Some very loud fights. Once, I broke my hand punching a wall behind a tenant's head. I never got into fights before.

If you have a short temper, you may hate being a landlord.

[revo]

As far as AirBnB -- who would clean the place after someone leaves? Do the laundry?

[Steve 2.0]

As far as AirBnB -- who would clean the place after someone leaves? Do the laundry?

Her?

[Teenwolf]

As far as AirBnB -- who would clean the place after someone leaves? Do the laundry?

It's an expense to consider. I would do the cleaning myself or pay a service. To do an entire house clean is usually a 2 hour job. Likely falls to me unless work is too busy... you can sort of work cleaning fees into the cost, but typically they're only $10-$20. Might cost $50 to get someone to do a full clean. Could probably find someone to do it through craigslist for the times I'm too busy.

[revo]

Normally, renters on AirBnB are charged a cleaning fee— but for single night renters, charging $50-$100 might be too much. That’s why most owners require a minimum of 2-night stays.

I’ve considered buying another property for AirBnB use only. But after using one myself, I can see it being a lot of work and an even bigger pain in the ass — remember, each renter expects a top flight experience, so that’s 10-15 possibilities to annoy every month. So if the cable or internet isn’t working great, or the hot water is lukewarm, expect a flood of phone calls — and worse, bad reviews that can damage your business.

[Fresno Bob]

As a datapoint, I'm renting a flat here in london for 8 nights and sharing with one of my coworkers, and I have several issues. No coffee maker, no book explaining the workings of the place (I'm struggling getting the shower to deliver something other that scalding hot water, took quite a while to figure out how to work the stove (had to flip a switch, unmarked and several feet from the stove), there are 2 ways to enter the flat, and I could not determine how to unlock the deadbolt from the inside of the 2nd door, and most enraging, only 1 set of keys for a 2 bedroom flat, makes it quite tough to share with a co-worker

this is the kind of bullshit you have to deal with as an AirB&B owner, and yea, I'm going to leave this kind of stuff in a review

[revo]

As a datapoint, I'm renting a flat here in london for 8 nights and sharing with one of my coworkers, and I have several issues. No coffee maker, no book explaining the workings of the place (I'm struggling getting the shower to deliver something other that scalding hot water, took quite a while to figure out how to work the stove (had to flip a switch, unmarked and several feet from the stove), there are 2 ways to enter the flat, and I could not determine how to unlock the deadbolt from the inside of the 2nd door, and most enraging, only 1 set of keys for a 2 bedroom flat, makes it quite tough to share with a co-worker

this is the kind of bullshit you have to deal with as an AirB&B owner, and yea, I'm going to leave this kind of stuff in a review

Exactly. I rented a beach house in Florida for 2 weeks this summer, and the wifi was so bad, I had to constantly call the property manager — who finally just had to replace the entire router. Then one bathroom wouldn’t get hot water. Then we couldn’t find the remote for the TV. Then some bricks by the pool edge got loose — and with small kids, that wasn’t a good thing.

All minor annoyances, but when you’re paying $1,200 a week, you expect the best.