This is a more common question than you might expect, but the answer simply is probably not.

And the reason why is because homeowners’ associations have figured it out. They've gotten why is that owners might want to just short-term rent their place and make some money that way. The problem is they're not down with that.

Concern with strangers

And the reason why is because they don't want strangers coming in essentially and renting places and disrupting the neighbors or throwing parties or what have you and I get it. Most tenants that list or rent on Airbnb are not bad people. They're not going to throw raging parties. But the rules say in most homeowners’ associations that you cannot rent your unit for anything less than 30 days. And usually, it's 60 days. And in most cases, they want you as the landlord or owner to be able to give the Homeowners Association notice that you're renting the place. You want to be able to tell who it is. If it's a secure building, you need to put them on to the directory so they can get all that stuff. So, you're not just going to be able to throw it on an Airbnb and just get a weekend here and a weekend there. You might be able to get away with it before you get caught and then get your hand slapped.

Not an investment strategy

But it is not an investment strategy for the most part for buying a condo in the Bay area and putting it on Airbnb. It's just not going to work.

But, you still can rent your condo on Airbnb

Now, that's it. You certainly can put it on AirBnb for say 30 days or more. Or if your Homeowners Association has 60 days or more, you can do that too. So, there's nothing stopping you from getting a tenant on Airbnb. I've done it myself. You just have to be careful and cognizant of what your HOA rules are because you don't want to put yourself in a situation where let's say you have a tenant and then you get caught and then you got a real problem because now you got the tenant in there. It's more dangerous and more trouble than it's worth. And besides, it seems like a great deal because you're going to get so much more money for Airbnb.

Airbnb renting market trend

But these days, the Airbnb market has completely slowed down and you can get people in there, but it is not what it once was. So, buyer beware.

If you have questions about anything else, especially regarding investment condos, we're here to help. Just message us. Thanks.