Short Term Rental questions...

[desamnik]

We live on a cul de sac (small) on a canal system. Of the 5 houses on the cul de sac, 1 is a short term rental, with the property owners living out of the state. Another house sold a couple of months ago. This house is next door to us, the new owners live about 5 hours away.

Both of these owners told the same story initially, "we have a business to sell". The first house is still a short term rental, 4 years later. The driveway to our "next door neighbors" goes right along our house and is the only separation from our back yard. There has never been a fence or anything separating us. We see lots of boats going by this way, so blocking the view isn't ideal.

I watched the new owners move in, lots of used furniture, and was pretty sure it wouldn't be their primary residence. So, the woman invited me over to see what she had done to the house. The couple has 3 grown children, no grandchildren, and they have made two bedrooms furnished with "twin beds". I say STR.
,
My husband asked the owner through a text and his answer was "at this time" they have no plans to do that. UGH.
My husband and I are at odds over this. We have had up to 5 pick up trucks at the first STR. And having this situation basically in my back yard "some day" doesn't appeal to me.
We bought this house and did a lot of renovation to it. It was originally going to be a "vacation" house for us, but things changed and we moved here full time 5 years ago. We never planned on using it as a rental.

This area is mostly retired age people, but these rentals seem to attract a different demographic. The small town has NO sidewalks and the cars are unaware of this. We walk our dogs multiple times a day, and have had several issues with strangers driving fast down the street not realizing they are driving into a dead end.

I guess my question is, will these STR's affect our property value? I would like to move, my husband has zero interest in leaving here. Our backyard was already open to the neighbors across the canal, with little to no privacy, and this potential situation has got me rattled. Thoughts?

 

[lanejudy]

You originally bought a “vacation home.” Is it safe to assume the rest of the cul-de-sac is similar “vacation” properties? I understand the concern about rentals and will the property be kept up, etc. But it sort of comes across that now you changed plans and moved into your vacation home as a permanent residence you don’t like the idea of distant owners. If they are good landlords, they maintain the property and have rules for the tenants. And an occupied property is probably better than one that sits vacant much of the time until the owner vacations a few times a year.

Does your community have any rules about STRs? Many are starting to put limitations and/or licensing requirements. You might speak to your local town council person about concerns.

 

[citruscurtis]

If the culture has changed in your neighborhood....get out!!!!! We are seeing that problem here in Yuma county wilderness subdivision..poor folks moving in with large families into what was a pure retirement community..year round or winter visitor... folks can no longer sell their homes because who wants to retire next to kids and trash yards...7 years ago no families or reckless young folks.. now we have four.on our street alone..and since the seniors can't sell at asking price... price falls and rental investments increase

 

[china mom]

Unless you are in and HOA or in a town where rules or ordinances prohibit STR, you are likely out of luck. But, I do concur with Lanejudy that a STR will likely see better care taken of it than a LTR or an empty house.

Potentially, you could file a civil nuisance case if the STR substantially affects your quality of life but let's hope that it does not come to that.

I have LTRs and one STR and it is hit or miss with the LTR tenants. Some take care of the property and others don't. But my STR is immaculate - because it has to be.

If it does become a STR, hope they have a good property manager and make sure you have their contact information so you can report any problems or concerns. And try to think of the positive. The house could have been purchased by terrible resident homeowners who are loud, messy and make your life miserable. At least with STR, any bad tenants will be gone in a week.

 

[clh2]

I was also going to ask about county and community rules about STR’s.

My dad sold a house in Door County WI last year, and while this is a hot real estate market, many homes in this area got sold to people/investors for AirBnb types of rentals. Many communities in this area (as well as the county) have instituted fees and regulations right up the wazoo.

 

[tvguy]

Does your community have any rules about STRs? Many are starting to put limitations and/or licensing requirements. You might speak to your local town council person about concerns.

The Courts in many areas have not been supportive of such restrictions.

 

[oscarkitty1]

I live on a private lake, and I totally understand your concern. I would not want to have a new set of strangers in the backyard every week, no matter how lovely they might be. Luckily STRs aren't allowed here, but if that decision was every reversed I would move if either of the houses next door became STRs. Best of luck to you that your new neighbors truly do keep the house as their own personal vacation home.

 

[citruscurtis]

... so that is four on our street... the 100 Street community has this problem on every street... that is poor families coming in and buying property that is below value... drastically changing the dynamics

 

[barkley]

I was also going to ask about county and community rules about STR’s.

what is the zoning designation for you/your neighbor's homes? with the way you are describing it might be rural/residential. in some places that SEVERLY restricts ANY business use (such as being a STR). any chance there's no fence between the houses b/c that driveway you refer to as your neighbor's actually straddles both of your properties and was permitted because of an easement your property's prior owner (or builder owner) granted? if so you could explore that b/c most often those easements are granted only for the homeowner's personal non business use (I know someone who went this route). generally speaking you can call your city (or if you live outside city limits-your county) offices and they can educate you on the rules for your particular street.

 

[_19disnA]

I agree with trying to determine what the local rules/laws are for your area. Buying a home in a place where they permit short term rentals or is a vacation destination can be challenging if you want to live there full-time. Probably something that should have been considered when you first bought the property. People on vacation often party/play loud music and generally don't seem to realize (or don't care) they might be bothering the neighbors. If zoning permits such rentals, then moving is probably your only reasonable option.

 

[DCL58]

Our neighborhood just changed our bylaws to prevent short or long term rentals.

This is one of the reasons I have reservations about buying a beach house - having loud, rotating guests as neighbors sounds horrible to me.

 

[kdonnel]

Our neighborhood just changed our bylaws to prevent short or long term rentals.

This is one of the reasons I have reservations about buying a beach house - having loud, rotating guests as neighbors sounds horrible to me.

They have mentioned a couple times wanting to add limits to how many homes can be rented at a time in my neighborhood, I always speak out against adopting any such limits.

At the moment I have no interest in renting my home but I don't want to limit my options in the future. The good news is that any such change requires 2/3 of the homes to approve the change. There is NO WAY that is going to happen, the neighborhood has been trying to change basketball hoop rules for almost 10 years and still haven't been able to get 2/3 of the homes to vote one way or the other.

 

[desamnik]

You originally bought a “vacation home.” Is it safe to assume the rest of the cul-de-sac is similar “vacation” properties? I understand the concern about rentals and will the property be kept up, etc. But it sort of comes across that now you changed plans and moved into your vacation home as a permanent residence you don’t like the idea of distant owners. If they are good landlords, they maintain the property and have rules for the tenants. And an occupied property is probably better than one that sits vacant much of the time until the owner vacations a few times a year.

Does your community have any rules about STRs? Many are starting to put limitations and/or licensing requirements. You might speak to your local town council person about concer

Well, our intention was to get me out of cold winters in New England, not really a "vacation" home. When we moved here permanently 4 1/2 years ago, there were no STR, nor any rentals at all on our street. Not sure about the whole town. Since then we have acquired two. Both from out of state owners. Now, a third one. Our town puts no restrictions on them. They could, but they are choosing to not address it.

 

[desamnik]

If the culture has changed in your neighborhood....get out!!!!! We are seeing that problem here in Yuma county wilderness subdivision..poor folks moving in with large families into what was a pure retirement community..year round or winter visitor... folks can no longer sell their homes because who wants to retire next to kids and trash yards...7 years ago no families or reckless young folks.. now we have four.on our street alone..and since the seniors can't sell at asking price... price falls and rental investments increase

That sounds very sad for the residents. I feel these short term rentals, with no town ordinances is making this a permanent thing. The houses are taken care of minimally. One of them is in dire need of a roof and paint job. Originally this neighborhood was all retirees.

 

[desamnik]

They have mentioned a couple times wanting to aSadd limits to how many homes can be rented at a time in my neighborhood, I always speak out against adopting any such limits.

At the moment I have no interest in renting my home but I don't want to limit my options in the future. The good news is that any such change requires 2/3 of the homes to approve the change. There is NO WAY that is going to happen, the neighborhood has been trying to change basketball hoop rules for almost 10 years and still haven't been able to get 2/3 of the homes to vote one way or the other.

Sadly you are correct. It takes so long to get any changes implemented. I prefer "neighbors" over constant turnover of vacationers.

 

[desamnik]

They have mentioned a couple times wanting to aSadd limits to how many homes can be rented at a time in my neighborhood, I always speak out against adopting any such limits.

At the moment I have no interest in renting my home but I don't want to limit my options in the future. The good news is that any such change requires 2/3 of the homes to approve the change. There is NO WAY that is going to happen, the neighborhood has been trying to change basketball hoop rules for almost 10 years and still haven't been able to get 2/3 of the homes to vote one way or the other.

Sadly you are correct. It takes so long to get any changes implemented. I prefer "neighbors" over constant turnover of vacationers.

Our neighborhood just changed our bylaws to prevent short or long term rentals.

This is one of the reasons I have reservations about buying a beach house - having loud, rotating guests as neighbors sounds horrible to me.

That was one of the reasons we did not buy a beach house. But if you do, you know what to expect. This was a quiet residential neighborhood when we bought it. Even being on a canal system, it doesn't scream vacation to me.

 

[lanejudy]

Well, our intention was to get me out of cold winters in New England, not really a "vacation" home.

OK but you were the one who stated "It was originally going to be a 'vacation' house for us..." Unfortunately neighborhoods change over time. STRs or lousy full-time neighbors, neither is preferrable but hopefully most of the STRs won't be bad. You can try to get the other neighbors together and keep after the town about problems with STRs.

 

[DCL58]

They have mentioned a couple times wanting to add limits to how many homes can be rented at a time in my neighborhood, I always speak out against adopting any such limits.

At the moment I have no interest in renting my home but I don't want to limit my options in the future. The good news is that any such change requires 2/3 of the homes to approve the change. There is NO WAY that is going to happen, the neighborhood has been trying to change basketball hoop rules for almost 10 years and still haven't been able to get 2/3 of the homes to vote one way or the other.

We are a neighborhood of 250 homes in west Cobb (Marietta, GA), built in the 1990 - 2005 range. Normally, getting 75% of the neighbors to agree on anything is like pulling teeth. This was done in a couple months.

Everyone was on the same page once they realized our bylaws allowed unlimited short term and long term rentals. We had one house on air bnb and a few houses were bought by companies, flipped and turned into rental houses. No one wanted any more of that. Now we won’t have any more. The companies will look into other neighborhoods.