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How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

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Re: How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

#41

Post by sliverstorm »

msrpotus wrote: post #6
debacle wrote: post #3

Title should read "How using AirBnB without first consulting my lease earned me $20,000 and a restraining order from my landlord."

But people violate leases in little ways all the time. As long as the renters didn't cause any additional problems, I don't see what the big deal is.

There are clauses in leases the landlord will often let slide. For example, limits to number of cars on the property. Such clauses are often there so that the landlord can take action if the tenant does something like put eight cars on blocks on the lawn, rather than actually attempting to limit the tenant to 1 car.

There are also clauses in leases that are completely unacceptable to break. For example, paying rent.

Re: How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

#42

Post by nsxwolf »

The more I think about this and how it impacts me as a landlord, I am starting to see Airbnb as (warning: the following analogy is not perfect) the Napster of lodging. I think they'd better step up and become the iTunes of lodging in this regard, before more news stories like this start creating a rift between landlords and Airbnb.

Re: How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

#43

Post by heliodor »

fleitz wrote: post #24
heliodor wrote: post #18

In general, I'd have to agree this is a clear violation of his lease and doesn't deserve sympathy, but have you guys seen the piles and piles of legalese in these New York City leases? The lease itself doesn't deserve sympathy! For example, my lease last year from a private landlord even stipulated I'm not allowed to go to court and must use arbitration instead. I didn't think through it well, but next time I'll know…

See a clause like that would be handy in a case like this, no restraining order because the landlord can't use the court.

New York is considered much friendlier towards renters than most other places. It's generally agreed(?) arbitration favors the repeat customer (the business) because why would you bite the hand that feeds you? So, I'd say arbitration is not as good as it sounds from a first glance.

Does anyone have any insight to cast on this whole arbitration system?

Re: How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

#44

Post by [deleted] »

zefi wrote: post #22
hack_edu wrote: post #7

Again and again, people who use Airbnb to 'hack' the rental market get little sympathy from me when the chickens come to roost. If your landlord was interested in running a tenement home/boarding house/hotel, they wouldn't sign you into a year-long lease. Also, and I know this has been hashed out before on these comment threads but he's grossing $30k a year on the back of his landlord. The landlord has every right to…

"Come on, the guy lives alone in a 3+ bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. We all know he signed that lease specifically to run a pseudo-hotel business under the guise of an Airbnb profile." Categorically not true. Chris is a good friend, and he had a long term roommate until recently. He took on the lease because he knew they could cover rent whether or not the third room got let out. It is an amazing apartment in an awes…

[deleted]

Re: How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

#45

Post by btilly »

ed209 wrote: post #12
hack_edu wrote: post #7

Again and again, people who use Airbnb to 'hack' the rental market get little sympathy from me when the chickens come to roost. If your landlord was interested in running a tenement home/boarding house/hotel, they wouldn't sign you into a year-long lease. Also, and I know this has been hashed out before on these comment threads but he's grossing $30k a year on the back of his landlord. The landlord has every right to…

"If your landlord was interested in running a tenement home/boarding house/hotel" - then he would have to staff it himself too, promote it and take the risk of no bookings. With a tenant he has someone making sure the place is looked after + he has a contracted income for the whole 12 months. By the sound of this place, the landlord could probably do quite well out of airbnb. But in that case, why not just approach t…

Read the article, the landlord is getting into AirBnB. Why would the landlord want a middleman in this case?

Re: How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

#46

Post by sliverstorm »

darylteo wrote: post #4

Huh... I thought there are usually clauses regarding "subletting" when signing a rental lease? At least where I am anyway, "subletting" is generally frowned on.

The only place I've seen subletting really tolerated has been college towns, specifically for the summer term of school. Students sign 1 year leases, and are often not in town over summer, so a certain degree of tolerance for sublets seems to have developed.

Re: How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

#47

Post by ari_ »

engtech wrote: post #23

I wonder if the IRS will ever start targetingthe more popular AirBnd profiles. I imagine most people do not declare the income, and $20k a year is significant revenue.

Why would you imagine that? It's all there.. AirBNB issues a 1099 http://www.airbnb.com/help/question/122.

Re: How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

#48

Post by calibraxis »

yequalsx wrote: post #31
zefi wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Come on, the guy lives alone in a 3+ bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. We all know he signed that lease specifically to run a pseudo-hotel business under the guise of an Airbnb profile." Categorically not true. Chris is a good friend, and he had a long term roommate until recently. He took on the lease because he knew they could cover rent whether or not the third room got let out. It is an amazing apartment in an awes…

The only part of your comment that is germane to the GP is that before his roommate left they could cover the rent without renting the third room. "Chris being a good friend" and "His listing was great value" are irrelevant.

Lends credibility and helpfully lets us know bias.

Re: How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

#49

Post by Karunamon »

planetguy wrote: post #5
jack-r-abbit wrote: post #2

It isn't exactly clear but it seems this person has violated terms of his lease. So I'm not sure what is the issue here. Is he looking for sympathy? Or just warning others to look at their lease agreement before starting down this path?

Nope, it's just a story. And a taste of things to come vis a vis the future of airbnb and similar services. I have no sympathy for this guy, and I have the greatest sympathy for his landlord. I'd be annoyed if anyone started using my rental property as a hotel due to the greater wear and tear; in fact, this is semi-common in the area where I own rental property so I keep an eye out for the possibility when selecting…

>wear and tear

You charge $1200 to rent a dwelling out. It's $1200 flat. Whether 1 person @ 1200 or 3 people at @ 400 each.

How do you somehow accrue more nebulous "wear and tear" from a temporary visitor than you would from a second lessee? It's still no more than two people at once.

Re: How Airbnb Earned Me $20,000 And A Restraining Order From My Landlord

#50

Post by benastan »

jsherry wrote: post #14
hack_edu wrote: post #7

Again and again, people who use Airbnb to 'hack' the rental market get little sympathy from me when the chickens come to roost. If your landlord was interested in running a tenement home/boarding house/hotel, they wouldn't sign you into a year-long lease. Also, and I know this has been hashed out before on these comment threads but he's grossing $30k a year on the back of his landlord. The landlord has every right to…

I'm not even sure he was looking for sympathy. There's very little 'woe is me' in this story. I read it as a cautionary tale more than anything.

It's definitely an interesting story. The author was offering a personal experience that was enjoyable for both the guest and the host. As he said, his guests and he often established a unique connection. On the other hand:

"When I delivered my rent at the beginning of the next month, I found the management company’s office under construction. It's now a hotel. The “loft-style” rooms are now listed on Airbnb for $169 a night."

Is this how airbnb was intended to be used? Isn't the point of a bed and breakfast-style experience the small-scale feel that the author described? Are guests really going to get the same attention/enjoyment out of airbnb if it's more-or-less a run of the mill hotel experience? Also, aren't there different regulations in place for rentals vs. hotels? The property manager may be violating laws as well.

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