UK Landlord Forum / Life

I employed a Roofer the other day... I call him brainy because he's taking me for a lot of money... but that's by-the-by... we also had a chat about property. He said that he does renovations of small houses in the South Yorkshire area, like me... and, like me, he then lets them... but he does airbnb exclusively, whereas I do traditional lets exclusively. He was laughing at me, telling me that he has no worries about evictions, or even about damage to property... he doesn't have payment worries either... and he proudly told me that he only has to have the property 'let out' for 2 months of the year to make what he would in 12 months in a traditional let.

I was gobsmacked by this... consider that we operate in a Northern post-industrial wasteland and I was questioning him - "what requirement is there for airbnb around here?" - but it turns out it's loads... and Covid has even helped him out... because hotels are having a hard time that doesn't mean that people aren't still working away for work and they seem to prefer to get themselves into a property for a week or two and cook themselves etc.. I told him that I have one property, right in the centre of Sheffield, that I once thought could be suitable for short-term lets around the time of the annual world snooker championship (I let it to foreign students)... but he was adamant that any property is viable for airbnb. I asked about any restrictions on mortgages but he was keen to tell me he had no mortgages. 

He told me all this, with a smile, as he was shoving an invoice for £1,400 under my face. I tried to smile back, but inside I was feeling queasy. It fair made me want to consider having a dabble.

There's a lot more involved though. Handover of keys to each new arrival. Cleaning of the house/appt every changeover. Providing bedding and towels. Locking away personal items etc.

Definitely not as easy as he might suggest!

He covered some of these in the chat. He has a Cleaner who goes in to do the work before a resident arrives. He has a key-safe outside and just provides the code (and changes it every few months for his own sanity). It's an investment property for let, so would have no personal items in there I presume.

I've ran a few figures and 2 months occupancy wouldn't cut it for me... but 4 months would... and anything beyond that is gravy... but I agree that it would not be as easy as an annual tenancy. Maybe something for retirement?

Very few of the reasons people had for visiting my area are unaffected by Covid.It does sound tempting,but I have met people like this, claiming they are making a fortune while the rest of us mugs are missing out. Your guy may well be telling the truth,but he could also be a fantasist.

For a city centre, it would certainly be something to explore. For me, my BTL's are in towns where i really don't think there is a big demand for Air BNB! It could be something to experiment with the next time a property is vacant. Worse thing that could happen is you just let it out again in the normal way.

To me it seems like a lot of work where i really only want a "passive" job at being a landlord.