Your metro-Phoenix vacation home as a short-term rental, like through AirBnB or VERBO … Can you do that? Maybe! Or maybe not!
By Arizona law, Arizona cities and towns cannot enact laws that prohibit short-term rentals.
So, you have a vacation home somewhere in metro-Phoenix that you are able to be here and enjoy four weeks per year, maybe six weeks at most. And you are thinking, since this is a very high-demand vacation destination, does it make sense to offer it as a short-term rental … and wondering (2) how much time would be required to make that work, (3) what risks your property would be subject to, and (4) would doing this turn your vacation home from a joy to a burden?
The answers to those questions depend entirely on your approach. If you engage a full-service property manager, the answers are (2) not much, (3) not much, and (4) not likely. If your approach is 100% DIY, the answers are (2) lots, (3) some, and (4) maybe.
For comprehensive answers to these questions, check out these resources:
https://invitedhome.com/property-management
https://bit.ly/2LPU6hK … a shortened URL to a page on the above website
Actually, you have a more fundamental question to resolve even before getting to those three: (1) are there any prohibitions to your vacation home as a short-term rental?
As the Introduction states, Arizona passed a law a couple years ago that cities and towns cannot pass regulations that prohibit short-term rentals. However, there is no Arizona law against CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions) prohibiting short term rentals. If your property is within a HOA (Home Owner Association), it is subject to CC&Rs. Check those for any short-term rental restrictions.
Your thinking about a short-term rental may have been motivated by becoming aware that other homes in the community are being offered as short-term rentals. So, reading the above about CC&Rs, you may be thinking your CC&Rs are not an issue … even if there are prohibitions there, other owners are doing it, and for quite some time, so you could if you wanted.
Possibly Not so! … if your HOA decides to put a stop to it.
As explained by Christopher A. Combs, an Arizona real estate attorney, in the Sunday 9/29/2019 issue of the Arizona Republic, even if a CC&R has not been enforced for years, the HOA could legally decide to enforce a CC&R against current and future violations if the CC&Rs include a “non-waiver” clause that states that even if a specific CC&R has not been enforced in the past, future enforcement is allowed.
Of course, you could offer your vacation home as a short-term rental as long as the HOA didn’t object. If they do, just stop.
