Guides
Evergreen explainers on the concepts that matter most when sizing up a short-term rental: permits, pricing, financing.
- STR Permits 101: How Short-Term Rental Licensing Actually Works
A plain-English walkthrough of short-term rental permits, licenses, and zoning rules, what they are, who requires them, and how to check before you buy.
- ADR vs. Occupancy: Which One Actually Drives STR Cash Flow?
ADR and occupancy both feed gross revenue, but they behave very differently under pressure. Here’s how to think about the tradeoff when pricing a short-term rental.
- DSCR Explained: How Lenders Actually Underwrite STR Loans
DSCR (debt service coverage ratio) is the single number most investor-property lenders care about most. Here’s what it means and how to improve it.
- Cap Rate vs. Cash-on-Cash Return: Two Numbers, Two Questions
Cap rate and cash-on-cash return often get quoted interchangeably, but they answer completely different questions about a short-term rental deal.
- How to Check if Airbnb Is Legal in a City Before You Buy
A step-by-step way to find out whether short-term rentals are allowed at a specific address, which offices to ask, and what to get in writing.
- Short-Term vs. Mid-Term vs. Long-Term Rentals Compared
How the three rental strategies differ in income, effort, regulation, and risk, and how to decide which one fits a given property and your goals.
- STR Occupancy and Lodging Taxes Explained
What occupancy, transient, and lodging taxes are, who collects them, and how to build them into your numbers without guessing at a rate.
- STR Moratoriums, Permit Caps and Grandfathering Explained
How moratoriums, permit caps, and grandfathering clauses work, why they change the value of a property, and what to check before relying on an existing permit.
- How to Estimate Airbnb Revenue for a Property You Might Buy
A practical method for estimating short-term rental revenue from comps, seasonality, and conservative assumptions, plus the mistakes that inflate projections.
- STR Operating Expenses: What a Short-Term Rental Really Costs
A category-by-category look at short-term rental operating costs, which ones scale with bookings, and which ones investors forget to model.
- HOA Short-Term Rental Restrictions: What to Check First
HOAs and condo associations can ban or limit STRs even where the city allows them. Here is what to read, who to ask, and what can change after you buy.
- Owner-Occupied vs. Non-Owner-Occupied STR Rules
Why many cities treat a host’s home differently from an investment property, what counts as owner-occupied, and how it changes your options as an investor.
- Short-Term Rental Insurance Basics for Investors
Why a standard homeowners or landlord policy may not cover a short-term rental, what types of coverage to compare, and questions to ask an agent.
- STR Due Diligence Checklist Before You Make an Offer
A practical checklist covering regulation, revenue, costs, financing, insurance, and property condition to work through before buying a short-term rental.
- Buying an Existing Short-Term Rental: Do Permits Transfer?
What to verify when buying a property that already operates as a short-term rental, including permit transferability, records, and what the seller’s numbers can and cannot tell you.
- How STR Regulation Risk Affects Property Value
Why the same house can be worth different amounts to STR and non-STR buyers, and how to price regulatory risk into an offer instead of ignoring it.