🚀 go-pugleaf

Mark Anderson <mea@nospambradnylion.com> wrote:

> I can't see a business model that depends on people breaking both zoning 
> and licensing laws to survive for long.  It is interesting however.  
> There are risks as travelers too.  How do you know the place you rent 
> cheaply from airbnb doesn't turn out to be like the movie Hostel?

Word of mouth I'd guess.

Like they say, it's legal until you get caught doing it.

Melissa stumbled across this a while back, she travels to NYC several times
a year and instead of paying $500 a day for a shoebox sized NYC hotel room,
she checks some site to see if anyone has a house/condo/apt for rent near by
where she needs to be. The site permits comments so it's pretty easy to spot
a good vs. bad place.

We've been doing that as a family when we go back to Houston for an extended
stay, there are a shit load of places that do exactly the same thing. It's
some persons house/condo they just rent out like a hotel room.

Parking right out in front of the place, residential neighborhood, had wifi,
a fire pit/bbq grill out back, access to the local swimming pool. Cable tv
in all the rooms, full kitchen with it partially stocked of dry goods.

Only thing that is not there are landline telephones.

It's probably half the price of a hotel stay and nicer digs.

-bruce
bje@ripco.com

On 6/9/12 7:07 AM, Bruce Esquibel wrote:
> Mark Anderson<mea@nospambradnylion.com>  wrote:
>
>> I can't see a business model that depends on people breaking both zoning
>> and licensing laws to survive for long.  It is interesting however.
>> There are risks as travelers too.  How do you know the place you rent
>> cheaply from airbnb doesn't turn out to be like the movie Hostel?
>
> Word of mouth I'd guess.
>
> Like they say, it's legal until you get caught doing it.
>
> Melissa stumbled across this a while back, she travels to NYC several times
> a year and instead of paying $500 a day for a shoebox sized NYC hotel room,
> she checks some site to see if anyone has a house/condo/apt for rent near by
> where she needs to be. The site permits comments so it's pretty easy to spot
> a good vs. bad place.
>
> We've been doing that as a family when we go back to Houston for an extended
> stay, there are a shit load of places that do exactly the same thing. It's
> some persons house/condo they just rent out like a hotel room.
>
> Parking right out in front of the place, residential neighborhood, had wifi,
> a fire pit/bbq grill out back, access to the local swimming pool. Cable tv
> in all the rooms, full kitchen with it partially stocked of dry goods.
>
> Only thing that is not there are landline telephones.
>
> It's probably half the price of a hotel stay and nicer digs.
>
> -bruce
> bje@ripco.com

Did the same thing for my brother's wedding in Hawaii. Rather than get 
murdered by hotel charges, found a condo online from a gay couple right 
on a beach in Maui. Place was, well, fabulously decorated and equipped, 
was able to pack a good chunk of the family into it, and we had a blast 
there for much cheaper than a hotel would've run.

-- 
smr

On 2012-06-11, smr <me@shawnritchie.com> wrote:
> On 6/9/12 7:07 AM, Bruce Esquibel wrote:
>> Mark Anderson<mea@nospambradnylion.com>  wrote:
>>
>>> I can't see a business model that depends on people breaking both zoning
>>> and licensing laws to survive for long.  It is interesting however.
>>> There are risks as travelers too.  How do you know the place you rent
>>> cheaply from airbnb doesn't turn out to be like the movie Hostel?
>>
>> Word of mouth I'd guess.
>>
>> Like they say, it's legal until you get caught doing it.
>>
>> Melissa stumbled across this a while back, she travels to NYC several times
>> a year and instead of paying $500 a day for a shoebox sized NYC hotel room,
>> she checks some site to see if anyone has a house/condo/apt for rent near by
>> where she needs to be. The site permits comments so it's pretty easy to spot
>> a good vs. bad place.
>>
>> We've been doing that as a family when we go back to Houston for an extended
>> stay, there are a shit load of places that do exactly the same thing. It's
>> some persons house/condo they just rent out like a hotel room.
>>
>> Parking right out in front of the place, residential neighborhood, had wifi,
>> a fire pit/bbq grill out back, access to the local swimming pool. Cable tv
>> in all the rooms, full kitchen with it partially stocked of dry goods.
>>
>> Only thing that is not there are landline telephones.
>>
>> It's probably half the price of a hotel stay and nicer digs.
>>
>> -bruce
>> bje@ripco.com
>
> Did the same thing for my brother's wedding in Hawaii. Rather than get 
> murdered by hotel charges, found a condo online from a gay couple right 
> on a beach in Maui. Place was, well, fabulously decorated and equipped, 
> was able to pack a good chunk of the family into it, and we had a blast 
> there for much cheaper than a hotel would've run.

This is my M.O. for pretty much any vacation now. We've done it in Key West, 
Oregon, Washington, and Michiana Shores, and it's been vastly superior to a 
hotel room every time, especially with small kids (3 bedrooms FTW!).

-- 

Kristian M Zoerhoff

smr <me@shawnritchie.com> wrote:

>Did the same thing for my brother's wedding in Hawaii. Rather than get 
>murdered by hotel charges, found a condo online from a gay couple right 
>on a beach in Maui. Place was, well, fabulously decorated and equipped, 
>was able to pack a good chunk of the family into it, and we had a blast 
>there for much cheaper than a hotel would've run.

Please hide the details from us of how it was equipped.

On 6/11/12 11:46 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> smr<me@shawnritchie.com>  wrote:
>
>> Did the same thing for my brother's wedding in Hawaii. Rather than get
>> murdered by hotel charges, found a condo online from a gay couple right
>> on a beach in Maui. Place was, well, fabulously decorated and equipped,
>> was able to pack a good chunk of the family into it, and we had a blast
>> there for much cheaper than a hotel would've run.
>
> Please hide the details from us of how it was equipped.

Rock that homophobia, bro.

-- 
smr

smr <me@shawnritchie.com> wrote:
>On 6/11/12 11:46 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>smr<me@shawnritchie.com>  wrote:

>>>Did the same thing for my brother's wedding in Hawaii. Rather than get
>>>murdered by hotel charges, found a condo online from a gay couple right
>>>on a beach in Maui. Place was, well, fabulously decorated and equipped,
>>>was able to pack a good chunk of the family into it, and we had a blast
>>>there for much cheaper than a hotel would've run.

>>Please hide the details from us of how it was equipped.

>Rock that homophobia, bro.

The way you phrased it, there was no way to take it other than as a
single entendre.

In article <MPG.2a3c37a270c807629898b7@news.speakeasy.net>,
Mark Anderson  <mea@nospambradnylion.com> wrote:

[ sneck ]
>
>Now what's to stop someone from renting her apartment, backing up a 
>UHaul and stealing whatever isn't nailed down? 

Very little.  
>                                                I was somewhat amazed by 
>this because in Chicago doing this is kind of highly illegal.  Chicago 
>has pretty hefty hotel taxes and the one thing I remember at closing of 
>my place is I had to be read a statement aloud saying I shall not do 
>what this site wants me to do by some lawyer and then had to initial 
>that clause in whatever contract was being signed at the moment.

That was probably part of some Condo/Coop Association covenants.
Such associations -do- tend to frown upon rentals -- be it overnight
or long-term leases -- because tenants tend to be much -less- concerned
about maintaining the common areas than resident owners are.  Which drives
up costs for the -other- owners.  Oddly enough they object to -you- making
money by costing them extra.

>I can't see a business model that depends on people breaking both zoning 
>and licensing laws to survive for long.  It is interesting however.  

It's -usually- not against zoning/licensing *IF* it is rented out only a
_very_ limited number of days/ year.  Doing it as a 'business' *is* contrary
to law, but many jurisdictions have thresholds for what's considered a 
business operation.  And you get some strange distinctions between an 
'innkeeper' and a 'landlord' for a short-term rental.

In article bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com says...
> >                                                I was somewhat amazed by 
> >this because in Chicago doing this is kind of highly illegal.  Chicago 
> >has pretty hefty hotel taxes and the one thing I remember at closing of 
> >my place is I had to be read a statement aloud saying I shall not do 
> >what this site wants me to do by some lawyer and then had to initial 
> >that clause in whatever contract was being signed at the moment.
> 
> That was probably part of some Condo/Coop Association covenants.

My place isn't a condo or HOA and there are no private covenants.  The 
only reason I remembered this is because the lawyer read the passage  
like a priest reading me a prayer -- as if he was required by law to 
read this.  I suspect it was either a city of Chicago or Cook county 
thing -- I can't remember since it was a very very long time ago.  

It is interesting doing something like this and you can more than triple 
or quintuple normal monthly rents but the whole changing of the sheets 
and making breakfast for other people seems like a lot of work.  Plus 
you have to be nice and friendly which isn't always easy.

> Such associations -do- tend to frown upon rentals 

I would rather live in the woods than be a part of any association.  
It's bad enough living next to nosy busybody neighbors without giving 
them actual power to enforce their crackpot complaints against me backed 
by civil law .

On 2012-06-15, Mark Anderson <mea@nospambradnylion.com> wrote:
> In article bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com says...
>> >                                                I was somewhat amazed by 
>> >this because in Chicago doing this is kind of highly illegal.  Chicago 
>> >has pretty hefty hotel taxes and the one thing I remember at closing of 
>> >my place is I had to be read a statement aloud saying I shall not do 
>> >what this site wants me to do by some lawyer and then had to initial 
>> >that clause in whatever contract was being signed at the moment.
>> 
>> That was probably part of some Condo/Coop Association covenants.
>
> My place isn't a condo or HOA and there are no private covenants.  The 
> only reason I remembered this is because the lawyer read the passage  
> like a priest reading me a prayer -- as if he was required by law to 
> read this.  I suspect it was either a city of Chicago or Cook county 
> thing -- I can't remember since it was a very very long time ago.  

Are you sure it wasn't a condition of your mortgage? Mine is very clear 
that it's a residential mortgage, not for rental or income-generating 
property.

-- 

Kristian M Zoerhoff

In article kmz@lavabit.com says...
> > My place isn't a condo or HOA and there are no private covenants.  The 
> > only reason I remembered this is because the lawyer read the passage  
> > like a priest reading me a prayer -- as if he was required by law to 
> > read this.  I suspect it was either a city of Chicago or Cook county 
> > thing -- I can't remember since it was a very very long time ago.  
> 
> Are you sure it wasn't a condition of your mortgage? Mine is very clear 
> that it's a residential mortgage, not for rental or income-generating 
> property.

It could have been a condition of the mortgage -- I never thought of it 
that way.  My place does do rentals but the passage made it clear in so 
many words that the tenants had to live a minimum of one month blah blah 
blah.  It took me awhile to put two and two together -- that they didn't 
want me to hotel it. 

Now that you got me thinking in that direction I might have an answer.  
At the time my neighborhood was considered a blight zone, so much so I 
got special deals on loans for moving here.  Even got a free (really 
free) refi because of this.  There might have been a rule to hammer this 
point to all new owners of rental property in "blight zones" so they 
don't turn their apartments into SROs.   That would make sense.

Kristian M Zoerhoff <kmz@lavabit.com> wrote:
> On 2012-06-15, Mark Anderson <mea@nospambradnylion.com> wrote:
>> In article bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com says...
>>> >                                                I was somewhat amazed by 
>>> >this because in Chicago doing this is kind of highly illegal.  Chicago 
>>> >has pretty hefty hotel taxes and the one thing I remember at closing of 
>>> >my place is I had to be read a statement aloud saying I shall not do 
>>> >what this site wants me to do by some lawyer and then had to initial 
>>> >that clause in whatever contract was being signed at the moment.
>>> 
>>> That was probably part of some Condo/Coop Association covenants.
>>
>> My place isn't a condo or HOA and there are no private covenants.  The 
>> only reason I remembered this is because the lawyer read the passage  
>> like a priest reading me a prayer -- as if he was required by law to 
>> read this.  I suspect it was either a city of Chicago or Cook county 
>> thing -- I can't remember since it was a very very long time ago.  
>
> Are you sure it wasn't a condition of your mortgage? Mine is very clear 
> that it's a residential mortgage, not for rental or income-generating 
> property.

I pulled the paperwork on my Evanston condo, there were two things about it.
The first was an affidavit where I said I lived there (it was a refi),
present tense.  The second was in the mortgage it said I had to occupy
within 60 days and for at least 1 year.

Mark Anderson <mea@nospambradnylion.com> wrote:
> In article kmz@lavabit.com says...
>> > My place isn't a condo or HOA and there are no private covenants.  The 
>> > only reason I remembered this is because the lawyer read the passage  
>> > like a priest reading me a prayer -- as if he was required by law to 
>> > read this.  I suspect it was either a city of Chicago or Cook county 
>> > thing -- I can't remember since it was a very very long time ago.  
>> 
>> Are you sure it wasn't a condition of your mortgage? Mine is very clear 
>> that it's a residential mortgage, not for rental or income-generating 
>> property.
>
> It could have been a condition of the mortgage -- I never thought of it 
> that way.  My place does do rentals but the passage made it clear in so 
> many words that the tenants had to live a minimum of one month blah blah 
> blah.  It took me awhile to put two and two together -- that they didn't 
> want me to hotel it. 
>
> Now that you got me thinking in that direction I might have an answer.  
> At the time my neighborhood was considered a blight zone, so much so I 
> got special deals on loans for moving here.  Even got a free (really 
> free) refi because of this.  There might have been a rule to hammer this 
> point to all new owners of rental property in "blight zones" so they 
> don't turn their apartments into SROs.   That would make sense.

yeah, special programs like that tend to have such restrictions in exchange
for the subsidy you were getting on the fees and possibly the rate as well.