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Should You Offer Airbnb lodging?
Should you offer Airbnb lodging? Homeowners across the country have begun offering Airbnb lodging to travelers. They’re bringing in a few extra dollars each week by renting out a guest house or even a room or two inside their homes. If you’ve considered getting a little help with monthly expenses by offering Airbnb accommodations, the first thing you should do is your homework.
Before offering Airbnb lodging, check the regulations: Check with the City or County to see if you’re going to be breaking any zoning regulations. Some Cities or Counties – and even some subdivisions – don’t allow rentals. Some don’t allow two unrelated parties to dwell on the same property.
If you pass that hurdle, check to see if you will be required to pay an occupancy tax. Visit the Airbnb website (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2297/occupancy-tax-collection-and-remittance-by-airbnb-in-california) to check the regulations for various California Counties. Note that in addition to the county regulations, you may be required to pay a City tax when you offer Airbnb lodgings.
Now put in a call to your homeowner’s insurance carrier: Don’t assume that your current homeowner’s insurance will cover you for liability should a paying guest be injured on your property. Further, don’t assume that your insurance will cover their possessions should the house burn or become flooded. Call and find out what you need and what it costs before you make the decision.
When you’re talking with your insurance agent, ask about coverage for damage caused by guests. While you may require a damage deposit, any hotel manager will tell you that some guests can do far more damage than a deposit would cover. Offering Airbnb lodgings in your home without adequate insurance coverage could turn into a financial nightmare.
Consider the impact on your family life: Will having strangers on your property change how you and your family members interact? Will it change your enjoyment of your outdoor spaces? If you have a pool and offer it to guests, will your friends and family want to use it when guests are present?
What about the neighbors? Offering Airbnb lodgings could put a strain on your relationships with neighbors. Some don’t appreciate the extra traffic in the neighborhood, the annoyance of guests who assume it’s fine to park in front of their homes, and the added noise.
When you think of offering Airbnb lodgings, it’s easy to think that all your guests will be quiet and respectful, but that isn’t always the case. Some play loud music or invite friends in for loud parties. And of course, some are not respectful of your home. Renting part of your home to short-term guests may give a welcome boost to your budget, but do think it over carefully before making the decision.
If you are in need of professional representation when buying or selling a home, or would like more information on best locations to set up an Airbnb, please call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors at RE/MAX Gold, call 916-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
Real Estate Contracts Using Digital Signatures Like DocuSign
Real estate contracts using digital signatures like DocuSign can be an excellent tool, or it can be a real pain. Yesterday was a prime example. We received a purchase contract on one of our listings in the morning. We sent it out for digital signatures. Our seller had signed it but evidently didn’t click on the finish button. This stalled the entire process. I contacted our seller, but he said he had completed the process and could not finish it. I logged on to DocuSign, and it was not complete. What to do?
Though he was the only legal signature required for his corporation, he also has a silent partner. He informed me he wanted them both to sign the agreement as well. We uploaded the second signer and sent it out again for signatures. Still, no completion alert came in the email. The second attempt had also stalled yet again. Also, the purchase contract had now expired. It is feeling a bit like Groundhog Day at this point.
Signing real estate contracts using Digital signatures like DocuSign was undoubtedly proving to be a challenge for our sellers. DocuSign email also can only sign one person at a time before it is automatically sent to the next person to sign. I always sign first, so I know it went out. The second signer, the managing partner, seemed to be having issues. Or, perhaps he wanted to see his partners’ signatures before he signed? I decided to upload the purchase contract yet again and add my extension of time addendum, which included verbiage: “this is an as-is sale, the roof and pest damage would not be repaired.”
Third time is the charm. I decided to place the second partner of the corporation into first place as a signer, so the managing partner would sign last. it is now 6 PM as the partners were busy during the day. This time It worked like a charm. The purchase agreement came back fully signed. We are now in escrow. Technology is helpful, but it can not replace human interaction. DocuSign could not know to add on another buyer. It does not resend when stalled with the second party. Also, it is not intuitive, so it could not figure out what was needed as there was another factor that had not been communicated; the managing partner needed to see the second partner’s signature, before feeling comfortable to sign.
Maybe someday DocuSign will be able to ask questions and complete the process without human intervention. These are not new glitches, and they’ve not corrected this glitch in the last 17 years. I was the first Realtor to use a laptop and digital signature in my office. I had a buyer friend, Jason Smith, and he worked in the technology field. He wanted to buy a home in the Phoenix Field area of Fair Oaks. He said, ” You do use digital signatures, right?” I replied, ” I do now.” I logged on and used it for the first time. Jason signed the offer, and within two hours, including showing the property, I had the proposal sent to the agent’s email. The offer was accepted within 10 minutes. I knew at that moment, my life as a Realtor was about to change in a big way.
Before DocuSign-type technology was available, I had been delivering offers in person or by fax. I no longer use a fax machine. My transaction coordinator has e-fax in the event a client who is not comfortable with digital signatures needs to fax. The moral of this story, technology can expedite; however, in this case, I could have driven to the two partners’ homes, obtained the signatures and scanned them to the buyer’s agent in less time than the digital process had taken yesterday.
If you want to buy or sell using digital signatures, call us as we never give up. We will sign you in person or use fax if needed, whatever it takes. Call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors at RE/MAX Gold, 916-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
Top Agents in Sacramento Receive 5-Star Reviews
Most of the top agents in Sacramento tend to receive 5-star reviews, but some reviews exceed even 5-stars. Some reviews are simply coming up roses every single time.
Going on appointments is what a busy Sacramento Realtor does; however, after all is said and done, smelling like a real estate rose is no easy task at the end of each day. (This photo was taken in my rose garden.)
Talking to new people every day is the life of a listing agent. Some people will not ever turn into clients, some may take years, some things just happen in their life and they don’t list. The key to all this is to recognize that we are like the rose in this photo, vibrant, full of life, and open to all who want to linger near us.
Three listing appointments this week were ready to list and through no fault of the potential sellers, things shifted. They decided not to sell for personal reasons. No new listings today, that does not slow me down one bit. My job is to help as many people as I can, every single day. So, when the phone rings and a new person is on the line wanting to know if Weintraub & Wallace are the real deal, I can say YES.
You might ask: what does that mean to be the real deal? It means we will do what we say: sell their property for the highest and best possible price, to negotiate as few repairs as possible, if any, with the best possible terms. We will over-communicate throughout the transaction. Now, to accomplish all this may sound easy but there are pages and pages of action items to make all this happen.
You know why clients hire us? They see the hundreds of 5-star reviews our clients post, additionally, the 1,100+ closed sales, these results speak volumes. This provides clients searching for an agent to have confidence in our abilities to deliver 110%. Every. Single. Escrow. When top Sacramento agents receive 5-star reviews, you can bet we earned it.
What drives us to do a job that is often 18 hours a day, 7 days a week? It is that sole client, we know we made a real difference in their life. It wasn’t strictly that we sold their home, it was everything in between.
When we get that special online review where a person puts their heart onto a page, we feel our work was so valuable. What a great feeling and we go right back to work to make it happen again and again.
Yesterday, we received a Zillow review for our exclusive buyer’s agent, Josh Amolsch. The review was lengthy, full of praises for the great work Josh had provided this client. He clearly put their interests in front of his own. The client was over the moon for Josh. When top Sacramento agents receive 5-star reviews that go above and beyond, it is even more special to us. This is not an EZ job. If it was, everyone would do it.
Josh is all about integrity and placing the right information in front of me so that I can make the right decision for myself.
Mallorie Rose
There is a price for success, but it is a price that Weintraub & Wallace Realtors suit up for everyday. We can’t imagine doing anything else. To say we are committed to our job would be an understatement. Selling real estate is not a job, it is a lifestyle. Call Weintraub & Wallace today at 916-233-6957 to obtain your real estate objectives…
— JaCi Wallace
Wondering About Full-Service Realtors vs Self-Help Real Estate?
Wondering about Sacramento full-service Realtors vs self-help real estate? Listen to this, I had been running hard all week and decided to quickly dash into the Ulta Store near one of my favorite pocket of homes in Elk Grove to buy makeup. Dashed in, grabbed my mesh bag, and headed for the face makeup.
Too many choices at the Clinique counter. There are so many types: sheer coverage, full coverage, matt, bronzers, different skin types, Yikes! So, of course, I take samples and brush them onto my hands like a real pro, NOT! My hands are now covered with 5 different kinds colors of face makeup. I wipe it all off. As I was about to start on the other hand with samples, I decided ok, this is crazy. I don’t have time for this, why did I even come into this store?
Then I approached another cosmetic counter. A very nice makeup artist in a white coat asks, May I help you? No, thank you. We are so trained to say: no, I can do it on my own. All of a sudden I realized I do need help or I will be here all day and I need to get back to selling Sacramento real estate.
Changed my tune: excuse me, I’m so sorry for being rude, I really do need help. She says ok let’s get to it, with a big smile. A few questions and she comes back with a pretty bottle. She puts my makeup on and it looks great, a perfect match!
Then I realize, ok, I need several other products and with her efficient and knowledgeable help, I can get in and out in 20 minutes. Sure enough, she soon had a bagful of items and I left looking like a million bucks, at least I like to think so, LOL …
She wrote it all down and said next time you come, I have your list. I can pull your items have them ready and waiting for you … I thought wow, full-service is the only way to go! Why do we feel we have to do it all ourselves?
This got me to thinking. People sometimes think a full-service Realtors vs self-help real estate services may not matter. After all, why do we need a Realtor to help? Think twice, as that’s what a couple I talked to recently believed. We can Google anything, they said, we do not need professional help.
I explained just a few reasons why hiring a Sacramento top producer is so fundamentally important. Further, Realtors have access to information they do not and years of dissemination training. Soon enough they changed their tune: Well, I guess we really do need your help,
After carefully listening to their goals and objectives, we set up a custom plan and began to execute it immediately. These people no longer seem confused about full-service Realtors vs self-help real estate services. They became our clients and value working with a full-service real estate team. If you desire top producers and professional representation to achieve your real estate objectives, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors 916-233-6759, partnered with RE/MAX Gold.
— JaCi Wallace
RE/MAX Gold
