Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › RANT: Living Next to a VRBO
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
August 21, 2015 at 4:16 am #818246
whalewatcherParticipantI know people really like VRBOs (vacation-rental-by-owner); they’re a way to make quick extra income, a fun way to see a city etc.
I hate them. Why? They are hell on the neighbors. The renters party. They love the deck. Oh lordy, do they like to entertain. They’re on vacation, after all. This week, we’ve got the woman who will not shut up. She talked up a storm for TEN hours on that deck yesterday! Today, she only opined for seven hours. Before that, we had the family that played loud, bad music outside late at night. We have the tipplers; lots of those! We have the illegal parkers (they don’t care; they’re on vacation. Besides, it’s a rental car; so what if someone hits it because it’s in a place it shouldn’t be). We have the family reunions, one after the next. It’s like living in a social hall.
Do the owners care? Do they respond to neighbors’ concerns? No. They don’t think there’s a problem; they’re renting to Nice People. Of course, they’re not around to experience it, because they’ve rented the place out.
Are they legal? Maybe. The jury’s still out on that.
So when you think about how easy and fun it would be to rent your place out, please consider your neighbors. They will not be enjoying it.
August 21, 2015 at 5:02 am #827039
KBearParticipantThey probably aren’t legal. My suggestion would be to contact your city council person. You can’t operate a business without a license, and only certain types of businesses are legal in residential neighborhoods. This is going to be a greater issue in the near future. And call in the illegal parkers. At least that issue can be resolved immediately.
August 21, 2015 at 3:41 pm #827040
PangolinPieParticipantInteresting; thanks for posting this. I was thinking about using my house as an AirBnB rental (KBear, I think that’s how people avoid legal issues) but for this and other reasons, I’m not sure it’s the best idea. Though…all those things you mention are things that residents on my street often do anyway.
August 21, 2015 at 5:11 pm #827041
LindseyParticipantI feel your pain. The MIL behind our house (a studio apartment) is currently being rented to approximately 5 grown men who have guests over to party at all hours. We seriously can’t even tell who lives there but we think it’s at least four or five of the guys who are in and out at all hours. Fun.
August 21, 2015 at 7:50 pm #827042
wakefloodParticipantHey everybody, party at LINDSEY’S!!! Oh…wait…
August 21, 2015 at 8:27 pm #827043
DianeParticipantreally appreciate this post on how these vacation rentals of what-was-previously-housing-for-our-locals, impacts our neighbors; that never gets talked about in all the debates about Airbnb or VRBO
~
Airbnb is NOT any more legal than VRBO; not licensed, do NOT pay any lodging taxes; and worst of all, removes what used to be housing for the people of Seattle, while we have this horrific housing crisis
~
thanks for your post; this will be important to share with City Council as they are now debating affordable housing; and thus far, our city has been in total denial about the negative impacts of Airbnb
August 21, 2015 at 8:37 pm #827044
PangolinPieParticipantI agree that the impact to the neighborhood is very much something to be aware of, but how do you figure AirBnB isn’t legal? A quick google seems to contradict that (as long as you do pay taxes):
http://isairbnblegal.com/seattle-washington/
Just curious…
August 21, 2015 at 9:15 pm #827045
lazybeardParticipantYou’d be surprised how quickly Seattle PD will react to illegal parking using their anonymous form here: http://www.seattle.gov/opa/file-a-police-complaint/anonymous-complaint-form
I filled this out and within 30 minutes there was a cop ticketing and towing cars since they were obstructing traffic.
August 22, 2015 at 3:10 am #827046
KBearParticipantOoh a random web site said it’s legal to operate an unregulated hotel out of your home. I stand corrected.
August 22, 2015 at 8:12 am #827047
DianeParticipantseriously, you might want to dig a bit deeper when seeking accurate info on the web; the only contact on that page is some dude “Steve Tepper”; the last 2 links he provided are for our Seattle rental inspection program, to register all apts in the city; not for tourist lodging; he even has a link for feedback “if you see anything inaccurate”; even he’s not sure of what he’s posted
August 22, 2015 at 4:20 pm #827048
PangolinPieParticipantThanks for the snarky and condescending responses! I did say it was a “quick google” and that I too wanted to know the answer. Perhaps you have some links that say it’s definitely not legal? Most of what I find suggests that it might be against the terms of a lease if you’re a renter, but I don’t find anything that says it’s not legal for a homeowner. And I haven’t heard of anyone getting arrested or sued for renting their home on AirBnB.
Here’s what AirBnB says on their own site (which I figured no one would consider the best source either but there ya go):
August 22, 2015 at 4:54 pm #827049
maplesyrupParticipantOoh a random person posting on a blog says it’s probably not legal, right KBear? ;)
I did a search (not an extensive one, I admit) and it looks like it’s legal here if you go through a few steps thereby putting your operation in the regulated category. But look for yourself.
Anyway, in true Seattle fashion, I’d make a flyer politely reminding guests that they’re in a residential neighborhood and the people who live here need a little peace and quiet. Leave it on the door anytime someone is abusing the place.
Or you could astroturf any site offering reviews of the house with negative feedback.
August 23, 2015 at 7:42 pm #827050
beachdrivegirlParticipantCurrently most vrbos are legal. However cities through out the country are looking at changing their occupancy regulations to limit the number of nights a house can be rented as vrbo as well as collect hotel taxes etc if those occupancy regulations are exceeded.
August 23, 2015 at 8:34 pm #827051
JoBParticipantif i was on a limited income and i had space you can be sure i would consider becoming an air b and b source… the money beats what you can get from a full time rental and you can choose when you don’t want to have the intrusion of a full time renter…
and.. bad guests are a lot easier to get rid of.
i use both VRBO and airb&b when i travel because we like to rent houses with kitchens..
and in spite of being on vacation we tend to be pretty good neighbors…
August 24, 2015 at 8:28 am #827052
acemotelParticipantVRBO is definitely legal, I have been renting houses through them for many years. According to my accountant, and my attorney, I am not doing anything illegal. I have a business license and I pay all the taxes to DOR (for the ones in Washington state). I do not use AirBnB, but I am sure it’s the same.
August 24, 2015 at 5:10 pm #827053
richwseattleParticipantThe legality of AirBnB-style operations aside, I strongly recommend making noise and/or parking complaints to the police, and continue doing so while the problem persists. Such complaints could come back to the property owner.
On AirBnB (not sure about VRBO) the renters can rate the property, and the property owners can rate the renters. The owners might not like the renters making trouble for them, and the renters might not like that they can’t make as much noise as they want, whenever they want.
August 24, 2015 at 9:26 pm #827054
acemotelParticipantI have a friend who travels often for his work, and rents his place out when he is gone, on airbnb. He actually has the opposite problem; the guests complain about the next door neighbors making too much noise. :-) The point is that there are so many different circumstances and situations, it’s not possible to make a blanket statement. My rentals in WA are in vacation destinations (Ocean Shores, Sequim) and I am pretty discriminating about who I rent to, have never had a complaint. Mostly it’s retired people using my places, in my experience.
August 24, 2015 at 9:51 pm #827055
beachdrivegirlParticipantAnd we also use both sites for traveling. With two littles it is just more efficient to have bedrooms and a kitchen rather than bothering with a hotel room and restaurants.
August 24, 2015 at 10:22 pm #827056
JeannieParticipantNot to get too off-topic from the OP, but, if you stay at an AirBnB place, you “review” the host and the place, and the host reviews you. These reviews are visible to all users, so they come in handy.
August 24, 2015 at 11:00 pm #827057
JTBParticipantPerhaps a complaint-noise, nuisance, etc.- filed against the owner of the property might encourage them to set some clear standards with the renters. Might take a little time to track the particular dates and times or perhaps a few calls to the police to establish a rationale for a complaint. But if it’s really vexing, the effort might be worthwhile. Then there’s always the satisfaction of thinking you might have annoyed an inconsiderate sot.
August 28, 2015 at 6:06 pm #827058
CeeBeeParticipantWell, there’s an interesting idea by Jeannie. You should be able to go onto VBRO and find the property listing. Then contact the owner via the website and say that they should include in their customer review …and then describe the behavior.
August 28, 2015 at 6:15 pm #827059
HelperMonkeyParticipantdid it really take 21 posts to suggest the offended neighbor directly contact the owner? seems to me that would have been step one. I have friends who run a VRBO in the city and they would be horrified to know that their neighbors, rather than contacting them directly, would choose instead to vent on the WSB.
August 28, 2015 at 9:07 pm #827060
wakefloodParticipantWell, Helper, it’s become common for folks to avoid even the idea of, much less actual confrontation.
In the absence of real analysis of this phenomenon, I’ll chalk it up to an aggregation of fear. Panic rooms are going to be the new “must have” for the 2020’s, replacing bonus rooms.
August 29, 2015 at 7:18 am #827061
whalewatcherParticipantOriginal poster here. Of course I contacted the owners right away, and asked to discuss the problems. They have not been interested.
September 7, 2015 at 10:29 pm #827062
mtnfreakParticipantWhale, one of the rant rules is that you need to contact the owners first, and it would undoubtedly help your case if you had said you had in your first post. Now you just sound like a crotchety old codger.
But I do sympathize.
Its my understanding that Airbnb and VRBO are required to pay B&O and sales tax if they rent for three or more times, for less than 30 days each, in a calendar year.
That’s the only requirement right now for vacation rentals like this.
My source is Seattle Weekly’s article from two weeks ago:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/960313-129/airbnb-is-soaring-in-seattle-is
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.