[sam_little]

Not sure why I'm posting here, but I'm not a member of any other forums, really, so here it goes. I have full basement apartment in a nice part of Portland. I was planning to rent it out as a sublet (maybe under radar), but saw the ad below on CL today and the idea seems appealing. I'm guessing there are loads of insurance, rental income and tax, liability, and other issues to face with turning a portion of your home into an income producing rental business. Anyone on here done anything similar??

::Edit:: I think the guy is crazy in regards to the amount of income that could be generated, but the most I could realistically and consistently rent the apartment for would be about $750. So, if half of total income, less whatever taxes such come out, exceeds that $750, then it seems like a win.

Do a DIY B & B instead of renting. More money than renting- and I do the work!

Renting out a floor of your house, a house or an in-law or have something like that available? Maybe you have some part of your house that could be sectioned off from the part of the property you live in? Why not turn it in to a guesthouse where you don’t even have to do the work of scheduling, cleaning, food, etc?

Most inner city B & B’s have the majority of the their rooms rented for 20 days of the month or more.

I have a background in co managing a B & B guesthouse right now, have beautiful furniture to put in the potential guesthouse space and insurance. I do the scheduling, credit card processing, cleaning, repairs/maintenance, gardening, food (if any), furniture and advertising. We split the income but I’ll pay guesthouse part of water, utilities, reasonable repairs/maintenance and insurance. As well as credit card processing and advertising. It's ok if you have pets.

There either has to be a space already in existence that has at least one bedroom, one bath and a private entrance or way that could be done somehow by maybe putting up a wall or whatever. The guests can't go through the owners living area to get to their quarters. It's better if it's in Portland because there's less competition with hotels which are mainly just downtown or by the airport.

The DIY part is that if there is a 2nd kitchen for the guest's use in their private quarters, they can cook their own food by scheduling the kitchen if they want to cook if there's more than one guestroom and fresh daily coffee and gourmet bakery items complimentary if feasible-but no breakfast served. Also it means a shared bath for the guests use if there's multiple guestrooms. A schedule in the bath for the guests to write their room number helps if the shower is needed at a certain time. This is more a guesthouse set up than a B & B. If there's no kitchen that's fine-mini fridges and microwaves can be put in the rooms. The guests self check in through their own private entrance. A key under their entrance doormat can let them in and there'll be cards in the rooms instructing them to call me if they need anything.

Let’s do the math. 20 days multiplied by $300 ( if there's 2 rooms @ $150 each) = a potential $6000 a month to split. It will be easier to maintain the property because it will be cleaned weekly and any repairs/wear can be fixed while still minor. And you don’t have to worry about background checks of dozens of rental applicants, bad renters and repairs/maintenance. When the credit card is taken, it can tell if it's a bad card.

If it’s in SE Portland, there’s hardly any competition in the Hawthorne/Belmont area or NE in the Alberta Arts or Mississippi areas. There’s hardly any hotels in these neighborhoods for that matter. The DIY type of B & B is a perfect match for these cool, low key type neighborhoods where people may not want to eat with others in the morning and just kind of want to do their own thing in a cool setting. Portland would be best but if I got a couple of places anywhere else that are close to each other that may be considered.

Also, once the guesthouse is ready and is out there it may take a couple months to get going so some patience may be required.

You just need to have the space, willingness and patience; I’ll do the rest! A couple of months after it started it got 3/4th's booked until May at the current guesthouse now so there's definitely a need even in this economy and in this economy couldn't you use the extra cash?Email me and let's see what we can work out!

 

[dan-o]

A business partnership with a complete stranger (or, IMO, anyone) is a recipe for disaster. Mr.50% isn't offering anything you couldn't do yourself, probably for less $. Do some local research, check out other similar businesses (what do you get for the $, how do they advertise, etc) and see if it makes sense.

 

[sam_little]

A business partnership with a complete stranger (or, IMO, anyone) is a recipe for disaster. Mr.50% isn't offering anything you couldn't do yourself, probably for less $. Do some local research, check out other similar businesses (what do you get for the $, how do they advertise, etc) and see if it makes sense.

Agreed, but I like the concept. More interested in other's experience with intermittent rental versus a long term sublease of a separate apartment. Googling the issue around Portland shows a few "guest house" arrangements that seem pretty legit, so I'll probably look into it as a total DIY.

 

[stosh]

Agreed, but I like the concept. More interested in other's experience with intermittent rental versus a long term sublease of a separate apartment. Googling the issue around Portland shows a few "guest house" arrangements that seem pretty legit, so I'll probably look into it as a total DIY.

Interesting idea I agree. I'm so completely anal about "My Time" and "My Space" that I removed the apartment from MY house.

When I want to crazy dance to silly songs with my daughter I don't want to have to worry about annoying the people downstairs.

But if I was single and had a good location for a B&B it would be something to consider.... maybe...

 

[sam_little]

Interesting idea I agree. I'm so completely anal about "My Time" and "My Space" that I removed the apartment from MY house.

When I want to crazy dance to silly songs with my daughter I don't want to have to worry about annoying the people downstairs.

But if I was single and had a good location for a B&B it would be something to consider.... maybe...

Yep... the goal here is to make enough money off of the apartment to finance its eventual conversion into an updated, and more integrated, living space in line with the rest of the house. I don't think the existing granny flat / MIL apartment adds much value, but a fully finished basement with an extra bedroom and wet bar would.

 

[valve bouncer]

A business partnership with a complete stranger (or, IMO, anyone) is a recipe for disaster. Mr.50% isn't offering anything you couldn't do yourself, probably for less $. Do some local research, check out other similar businesses (what do you get for the $, how do they advertise, etc) and see if it makes sense.

Hardly an insurmountable obstacle. If he's legit he'll have no qualms about letting you talk to the people he's already working with. If he umms and aahs say thanks but no thanks. Sounds like a good idea to me as it's something that you really don't want to have to do for yourself. OP, worth exploring I'd reckon.

 

[Austin Bike]

The problem is that once the renters pay him, he sends you a cachiers check from nigeria for 100% of proceeds and then you have to send him a check for his 50%....

 

[stosh]

Yep... the goal here is to make enough money off of the apartment to finance its eventual conversion into an updated, and more integrated, living space in line with the rest of the house. I don't think the existing granny flat / MIL apartment adds much value, but a fully finished basement with an extra bedroom and wet bar would.

Sound like EXACTLY what I've done.

Here's an after the aparment was removed photo. I"m almost done with the new sheetrock but I don't want to post photos until I'm done painting, flooring and ceiling.

 

[dante]

Not sure why I'm posting here, but I'm not a member of any other forums, really, so here it goes. I have full basement apartment in a nice part of Portland. I was planning to rent it out as a sublet (maybe under radar), but saw the ad below on CL today and the idea seems appealing. I'm guessing there are loads of insurance, rental income and tax, liability, and other issues to face with turning a portion of your home into an income producing rental business. Anyone on here done anything similar??

::Edit:: I think the guy is crazy in regards to the amount of income that could be generated, but the most I could realistically and consistently rent the apartment for would be about $750. So, if half of total income, less whatever taxes such come out, exceeds that $750, then it seems like a win.

I've heard of various places doing that, especially in high-traffic areas like NYC. You have to remember, though, that it's random people with no guarantee of occupancy. He pretends the "no background check" thing is a positive, but in reality it means your renting out your apt to people who you don't have a chance to do a background check on...

Dunno, get references (a LOT, like 10), do your homework, and it could very well make sense. The other option would be a guaranteed rent check (or cash) handed to you every month by people you trust.