Buying a House or Unit solely for Airbnb?

Has anyone here bought a property solely for Airbnb before? Any thoughts advice or opinions on doing this and where it would work best?

 

It works but if you're thinking of buying to do it in Sydney now, the capital gains side of the idea is not so good, because the boom has already happened. For what it's worth, I bought a 1 bedroom apartment near Sydney (Redfern/Darlington/Chippendale region) late 2014 and it's been a really strong 3.5 years of airbnbing. I've had something like 90% occupancy and I don't fill the other nights because I don't take 1 night stays.

I think it's also solid to do in a lot of metro parts of Sydney, but I'd suggest the home needs to be very well presented and near transport or else I wouldn't consider doing it.

Interstate... do it at your own risk.

 

Most Councils are still coming to grips with the sharing economy. So far Airbnb is winning, but public opinion may force changes in the future.

If buying solely for Airbnb, make sure you have a Plan B in case, for some reason, it becomes illegal in that property, particularly a unit or apartment.
Marg

 

And I agree with Marg on this too.

 

There has been a number of threads on this which I suggest you look up.

The number one piece of advice would be do not buy it solely for it's Air bnb potential. It's a current "disrupter" but it might not last and there may be other disrupters in the future. If you can't keep the IP at standard rental rates then be very very careful

Air bnb rents are the equivalent of mining town rents except hopefully you won't have an IP in a regional town it will still be in a good location in a metropolitan area.

Consider Air BnB rent as bonus on a good property. Do not buy for that yield. Also when considering yield for Air BnB not all people have good occupancy rates as they over charge. You need to careful look at comparables as to what can be achieved then only look at places which have great occupancy - no point thinking you can get $150 per night when the comparable that charges that can only get that price for one booking a month.