What Are Short Term Rentals?
Short term rentals are home rented for terms less than a typical lease of 12 months. We are talking about usually for a few days up to a few weeks. You see these for business travelers, family vacations, and even those temporarily displaced from their homes as we have experienced a big increase in here locally due to the Thomas Fire.
This trend of using short term rentals as travel accommodations has become very popular so I can see the appeal of property owners in Ventura County wanting to capitalize on this movement with travelers coming to enjoy our beaches, hillsides, and all points in between. On the flip side there is a very vocal contingent of homeowners who don’t want their neighborhoods invaded by travelers who can be known to disturb the peace and overstay their welcome.
This has led to some very interesting debates on short term rentals and I thought this would be a good opportunity to look at both sides and get your take on if they are good or bad for Ventura County, so let’s do this.
The Backstory
I’ve recently returned from a fantastic trip to Wine Country in California’s picturesque Central Coast. We weren’t there for the wine this time (kind of). It was the location of my son’s youth basketball tournament. Not a bad deal to hang out in the bustling communities of Paso Robles, Santa Margarita, Arroyo Grande, and San Luis Obispo for the President’s Day Weekend while watching some hoop.
Seeing that we had a big group traveling, which included my in-laws, going the hotel route just didn’t seem to be the right fit. We needed space and having a kitchen to prepare our own meals and all hang together was a priority. I started browsing popular short term rental websites like Air BnB and VRBO.com. Wine Country in California has boomed in recent years and there were swarms of available properties to choose from. After much browsing we settled on an incredible property in the hillsides of Paso Robles.
Managed by a firm Stay Paso Robles, upon my reservation I received a call to confirm my information and to see if I had any special requests during my stay. Was a great introduction to the home and what was nearby for us to enjoy while we were in town.
The home worked perfectly for us. Spacious, 3 bathrooms (which sped up the morning routine tremendously), and incredible views of the many vineyards below. Everything we needed to function was in the home including a fully decked out kitchen and entertainment system because we can’t travel without our Playstation.
We had a great time, it was a great way for our entire family to spend a lot of quality time together, so the consensus for us was that short term rentals are a beautiful thing. Where I can see the debate however is when I think about my next door neighbor renting out their home to vacationers and how excited I’d be to see them come and go each week not knowing exactly what type of people we’d be dealing with night in and night out.
The Plus Side of Short Term Rentals
Historically, renting beach homes for a week or even the entire Summer has long been part of the culture in Ventura and Oxnard. Families from all over the world have traditionally brought their families together for special occasions or just because we have the Pacific Ocean and sandy beaches at our doorstep.
With the growing popularity of home sharing websites like AirBnb.com and VRBO.com it has never been easier to find everything from just a room to a palatial estate in just about every city you can imagine. This ease of use of these sites and the competitive fees to getting a hotel room has made it very simple and cost effective to find the perfect place for your family vacation, business trip, or just about any reason to getaway these days.
Going Coastal
We live in a coastal community and by nature our home values are much higher than in other parts of the country. The increased expense to acquire an income property here puts more challenge on the owner to turn a profit.
The proximity to the ocean creates increased traveler demand as people come from all over the world to stay here for quick trips.
The rental rates for short term rentals are much higher and make it easier for homeowners to be cash positive vs. long term rentals.
The positive returns are hard to argue with and I can see why there is a big push to lease out their properties short term and one can easily see why this strategy is especially effective in our area.
The Downside of Short Term Rentals
We’ve all lived through a neighbor having a wild party. Usually it happens when you have a big event happening early in the morning the next day. Yeah, it wasn’t pretty and you might have even called the police to break things up but they are few and far between in most cases as there is a general respect that is owed to the people you see every day in your neighborhood.
Now imagine this happening every week when a new crop comes in who’s “on vacation” and wants to have the ultimate Ventura County experience. This is what many homeowners in Ventura County have experienced and have made themselves very vocal in local community meetings.
A Mixed Bag
With more and more travelers choosing to go this route vs. staying in hotels this has led to some neighborhoods feeling like hotel districts. Seeing that these communities are not zoned for this type of use has led to many homeowners lobbying to have short term rentals banned.
Most homes can’t accommodate multiple vehicles so they spill out and take up street spots usually available for neighbors. Have you ever lost your mind when someone takes your coveted curb spot in front of your home?
Travelers aren’t on normal schedules so it’s common for noise levels to and people coming in and out of the rental property at odd hours can be disruptive to the normal flow to people living there full time.
Many of those passing through don’t know or choose to respect the neighborhood culture and therefore interfere with neighbors’ daily lives. Neighboring homeowners become concierges, being asked where to go and what to do in their town. This type of behavior is expected at a hotel, not in a residential area.
Also, the owners of these short term rental properties have varying levels of talent when it comes to managing them. In my personal experience some of the properties have been meticulously cared for and have strict rules and regulations while some are more lax and disconnected from those they choose to let stay under their roof. This has led to a mixed bag of short term renters and some very horrific results.
The Long & the Short of It
Do a few bad apples ruin the bunch when it comes to short term rentals? Does it make long term financial sense to use your property as a short term rental? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.