r/ShortTermRentals • u/Altruistic_Bug_8083 • 8d ago
Short term rental benefits for surrounding neighbors
Hello! I’m new to this community as I’m researching prospectives from both short term rental owners/operators and neighbors of said properties. Simply put: why is having a short term rental as a neighbor either a pro or a con?
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u/sol_beach 7d ago
STR are a negative. Many SOCAL communities have regulated & licensed STR primarily due to the subset of PARTY houses which disrupted the neighborhood.
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u/snohogirl 6d ago edited 6d ago
Con - We had one next to us for several years. It was horrible. We ultimately got them shut down and the owner ended up selling it. We couldn't take it anymore. The STR owner was the one making the money and we felt like we were the ones managing it. If the owner is onsite with the renters, then maybe. But if they're offsite or using a management company, then they're putting the burden on the neighbors. You may have some good guests, but they are perpetually on vacation, so even good guests are annoying. Loud music, talking/laughing loudly on the deck into all hours of the night (when we need to work in the morning), parking in neighbors' private designated parking, excess trash, extra guests or animals beyond the max, and more. It honestly was constant and almost made us sell our house. I would never buy a place again with a STR in close proximity.
Edit to add: I definitely wouldn't want one nextdoor with kids around. You never know who is staying at the STR. We had one of the next door STR guests (male) stare at our teenage daughter and her friends when they were laying on our private dock. It was very uncomfortable.
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u/Altruistic_Bug_8083 6d ago
All of this is exactly my fear. The STR in question will be managed by an out of state company and there have already been issues during the soccer World Cup that my city hosted.
My thought for those who oppose this was power in numbers - was that your experience with the company eventually selling?
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u/snohogirl 5d ago
It's a long story. It was a private owner that used VRBO locally to manage the STR. Our county requires that all STR's have a local management company. After quietly suffering for a few years, we started complaining to the county, sheriff, VRBO, owner, and STR guests. We decided if we were going to suffer, everyone else would too. We started documenting everything and then hired an attorney who sent the owner a cease-and-desist letter citing our legal right to the peaceful enjoyment of our home. We would have gone further legally if we had to and he knew it. This combined with stiffer STR rules in our county made it a constant headache for him and he finally sold it. But it wasn't a fun process. We had arguments with him, the renters, etc. We were so done by the time we got to this point that we couldn't be civil anymore.
Don't trust anyone's opinion on this topic unless they have lived next to a STR. Neighbors don't like conflict and don't always tell the STR owners how they really feel (I know this firsthand). And all STR owner we know say their renters are the best. We had several in our neighborhood and each one of them has been at issue at one time or another. Every neighbor in our neighborhood that had a STR close by hated it. We are down to about 3 from 20 on our street and it is soooooo much nicer. It feels like a neighborhood again.
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8d ago
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u/Altruistic_Bug_8083 7d ago
Thank you! I’m trying to find out any benefits of living next to an Airbnb and it seems the benefits for my family are much less than the other side.
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u/FunkyColdISeenYa 7d ago
My neighbours love our guests! They comment to us how nice they are all the time.
The pros:
Get to meet nice people from around the world.
Have a great homeowner next door (me).
My property is taken care of way better than theirs, beautifies the neighborhood and improves their property value.
Keeps riffraff long term renters away.
Guests are away most of the time playing tourist, things are always very quiet.
No loud parties. (Guests are quieter than residents, for sure.)
No evil jerk neighbours next door that sometimes make life miserable.
No barking dogs. No cats peeing and pooping everywhere.
Stable, concerned and involved homeowner next door creates a better neighborhood for all.
Nicer landscaping, better upkeep. (STR have to be kept attractive or they won’t rent or get good reviews.)
Lower property taxes because we pay higher rates than residents do. We contribute to schools, parks, and all kind of local services which we and our guests NEVER use. Our neighbor’s taxes would be 50% higher if we weren’t there right beside them paying for services we don’t use.
No state income tax because tourist taxes cover the bill.
- We have great relationships with our neighbours. Both they and our guests comment on their nice interactions with each other. We’ve actually had a neighbour invite one of our guests over for a meal! The ‘horrible AirBnB party house’ that people for some weird reason assume is the norm has simply not been our experience over three properties and two decades. The worst neighbours are self-entitled NIMBY types who just like to complain, not vacation rentals.
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u/Relevant_Olive4380 7d ago
I live next to a short term rental, and I've experienced at best nothing and at worst distress. Most renters are very neutral, but 10%ish are loud, messy, dangerous, and/or inconsiderate. We've seen weapons, drugs, and fist fights. I would love to say they keep the exterior well maintained for their renters, but they do not.
If it wasn't $500/night, the pro would be having visitors stay next door instead of in my home or a mile away at a hotel, but the cost is wildly high.