Airbnb illegal now in Ashevile, what about nearby?

[Zooropa]

Originally Posted by Imhere now

Short Term Rentals in Asheville have been illegal in residential areas since 1997. The penalty was recently increased from $100 to $500 a day. STRs are legal in business areas and outside of city limits. Long term rental properties are at .9% vacancy rate, as a result of STRs in residential areas. The Asheville housing market is very robust and it's highly unlikely that anyone could buy a home if their payment was based on income from STRs. However, there are people with cash who can buy homes for STRs as a long term investment. Home sales are meeting asking price and in some locations enter bidding wars. The City's goal is to increase LTRs as service workers can't afford to live in the city. They can least afford the long commutes to more affordable housing. If you're thinking you need to own a stand alone STR home, you're too late as there are many cash buyers.

I think it would be beneficial for the city to differentiate people who are using airbnb to make some extra money from their primary residence while they are out of town for the weekend rather than lump them together with people who want to use the home primarily as an STR (and not the primary residence). I don't it's right to penalize people who are not contributing to the lack of LTRs available for the actions of those who are.

[claud605]

Originally Posted by carolinadawg2

I had the exact same reaction. Must be a catch.

The catch is that people mean a private room in a 2-3 bedroom house, and they are too dense to specify that (or come to think of it, are doing it on purpose to make you think you are getting 2-3 bedrooms and when you arrive you realize it's one of them, and you probably have to share a bathroom with the people renting the other two rooms.)

Airbnb is intriguing to me and I'm dying to try it, but will only try those with tons of reviews that are specific to exactly what you get.