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DIY B&B

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Re: DIY B&B

#131

Post by alberich »

larrys wrote: post #95
nostromo wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're forgetting that this problem is already solved by contract law. Tenants sign agreements not to rent out their units all the time. Home owner's associations often have rules against short-term rentals as well. If you don't like the idea of short-term rentals in your neighborhood or building, choose one protected by one of these types of contracts. In fact, they're so common, you probably already have such prote…

"The government making something illegal really should be the last resort for societal problems." Except that the ease to which people can now rent out an apartment short term has created a situation that was not contemplated by existing laws (or if there were existing laws they were not violated to the extent to make enforcement necessary). Let's take as an example, spam. The founding fathers of the Internet didn't…

I wonder if protecting people from bad neighbours is really the intent here.

It looks more like they are trying to shut the short-term rental business down, to please the large hotel business.

Re: DIY B&B

#132

Post by tptacek »

ericabiz wrote: post #100
cletus wrote: post #26

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the negative reaction to this here. The HN demographic is presumably tilted towards young men. What those criticisms seem to be neglecting is that those--particularly for apartment buildings--these temporary visitors impact beyond just you. In Australia, for example, one useful metric used by people when assessing apartment buildings to buy in is to look at the ratio of owner-occup…

I'm female; I rent out my guest room on Airbnb. I have no idea what this has to do with gender. (NB: I own my house, do not live in an area with a HOA, and do not live in a city with an ordinance against short-term rentals.) I've also frequently stayed at other Airbnb properties and always had a pleasant experience. Here's the real issue: So many people say this industry needs regulation. I don't necessarily agree; I…

Municipalities aren't making this unlawful. Running unregulated unlicensed undocumented hotels has been illegal for decades.

What you're asking is for people to engage in activism to overturn statutes and codes that every major city already has on the books. What statutes and codes do you propose to replace them with?

Re: DIY B&B

#133

Post by [deleted] »

DannoHung wrote: post #91
rprasad wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The HOA for a condo generally covers building maintenance, insurance, and other necessary costs that are shared by all of the units in the complex. Thus, if you buy a condo, you do not have a choice about joining the HOA unless you buy the entire complex (meaning the building and all the units*).

Sounds like you bought a co-op, not a condo.

[deleted]

Re: DIY B&B

#134

Post by geebee »

rprasad wrote: post #96
nostromo wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're forgetting that this problem is already solved by contract law. Tenants sign agreements not to rent out their units all the time. Home owner's associations often have rules against short-term rentals as well. If you don't like the idea of short-term rentals in your neighborhood or building, choose one protected by one of these types of contracts. In fact, they're so common, you probably already have such prote…

Once you have children (or nieces/nephews), there is a 100% chance that you will feel differently about short-term rentals. Long-term rentals indicate tenants that are stable enough to at least afford the lease. They are subject to at least some vetting (including background checks) prior to moving in. Short term tenants can be anyone. No background checks are conducted.

While I wouldn't try to tell someone how they'll feel after they have children (especially with 100% accuracy), I can say that as a parent of two small children, I wouldn't like to see a constant stream of new people constantly coming and going from the apartment across the hall. I've lived in a flat with a shared back yard, and my kids knew the people who lived below us. I knew them well and became friends with them, and I do find the notion that my kids would have been safer around a steady stream of strangers kind of absurd. I wouldn't have wanted a new group of people I don't know hanging out in the backyard where my kids play every weekend.

I personally feel that short term rentals work very well in some places, but they can be very disruptive to neighborhoods as well. I guess it comes down to whether you feel that the preservation of the residential nature of a neighborhood is a legitimate reason to regulate. As you can probably tell from the way I set this up, I do.

Re: DIY B&B

#135

Post by untog »

dreamdu5t wrote: post #118
untog wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no legitimate justification to infringe on a contract between a willing buyer and a willing seller Devils advocate: are food standards also a terrible imposition? The government insists on coming around to all the restaurants in the city and inspecting them to make sure that no-one will be poisoned or killed by the food they eat. How dare they stand in between a willing buyer and seller. Right? Right? Food s…

It has little to do with the reasons for regulating food, and everything to do with the means. In order to keep me from buying soda, you have to forcibly come between the peaceful and free association of me and another person. You're not going to convince me that I would still buy raw milk, or that pasteurized milk would be unavailable, in the absence of FDA regulation.

How would you know if you were buying raw or pasteurized milk if there were no food labelling regulations obligating people to label it accordingly?

Re: DIY B&B

#136

Post by tgrass »

cletus wrote: post #26

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the negative reaction to this here. The HN demographic is presumably tilted towards young men. What those criticisms seem to be neglecting is that those--particularly for apartment buildings--these temporary visitors impact beyond just you. In Australia, for example, one useful metric used by people when assessing apartment buildings to buy in is to look at the ratio of owner-occup…

1 in 4 homes [EDIT: mortgages] are underwater.[1]

If the goal by which we make neighborhood/city wide planning decisions is the ability to "look after" one's property, I propose homeowners are clearly more socially derelict and likely to ignore the community.

[only partially sarcastic]

1. http://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news30381/nearly-24-...

Re: DIY B&B

#137

Post by [deleted] »

DannoHung wrote: post #91
rprasad wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The HOA for a condo generally covers building maintenance, insurance, and other necessary costs that are shared by all of the units in the complex. Thus, if you buy a condo, you do not have a choice about joining the HOA unless you buy the entire complex (meaning the building and all the units*).

Sounds like you bought a co-op, not a condo.

[deleted]

Re: DIY B&B

#138

Post by rprasad »

DannoHung wrote: post #91
rprasad wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The HOA for a condo generally covers building maintenance, insurance, and other necessary costs that are shared by all of the units in the complex. Thus, if you buy a condo, you do not have a choice about joining the HOA unless you buy the entire complex (meaning the building and all the units*).

Sounds like you bought a co-op, not a condo.

Condo = unit owners own fractional interests in the shared areas (including the building and land).

Co-op = the cooperative owns the shared areas; the members own shares in the coooperative entity.

Both = the entity (HOA/cooperative) pays for the maintenance/other costs of the shared areas. Co-ops collect the money for these expenses through monthly dues and yearly assessments. I do not know how co-ops collect for these expenses.

My unit is a condo; I fractionally own portions of the building and land. My condo pays for the expenses associated with the common areas through monthly dues and yearly assessments.

Re: DIY B&B

#139

Post by [deleted] »

DannoHung wrote: post #91
rprasad wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The HOA for a condo generally covers building maintenance, insurance, and other necessary costs that are shared by all of the units in the complex. Thus, if you buy a condo, you do not have a choice about joining the HOA unless you buy the entire complex (meaning the building and all the units*).

Sounds like you bought a co-op, not a condo.

[deleted]

Re: DIY B&B

#140

Post by base698 »

rprasad wrote: post #126
base698 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In High Point, NC they have a bi-yearly furniture market that nearly everyone in town rents their house for two weeks. This has been going on for decades and gave most of the people who did it an extra few thousand a year. It's not as radical as it seems even in non vacation areas.

Vacation spots usually have permissive laws regarding vacation rentals to encourage property owners to rent out their properties during the times of the year they are not using their property. (For example, contrast the permissive rules of Dana Point and Myrtle Beach with the prospective rules of Pasadena and Boston.) Different considerations apply in communities which are not vacation spots.

I know that's why I mentioned High Point, NC :) Everyone ignored it there even though everyone was doing it.
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