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same here had to buy off craigslist

2 days ago on HTC in disarray: staff departures, 'disastrous' First, and production problems cloud company's future

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it’s called “children”.

13 days ago on Behind the VFX and stuntmen who created 'Iron Man 3's' Air Force One rescue scene 1 reply 2 recommends

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My main issue with this is that the law against short-term sublets smells of a complete money grab. Why else would they not be hunting down the couchsurfing community in the name of “safety”? It seems like a complete oversight to exclude room sharing from their pursuit of “government protection”. The idea of running a short term BnB was not invented this year. However, the huge profits for running them have only been recent, and it seems like the aggressiveness in the government’s “pursuit of justice” seems to only focus on things that will get them a piece of the pie and not on the HOA/landlords true agenda which is liability/risk.

I expect the government reactive to their outcries is to focus on ALL forms of short term rentals, and that includes couchsurfing, room sharing and whole house renting, because they all increase risk.

13 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks

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Then where is the witch hunt for room sharing or couch surfing? Both are considered completely legal.

13 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks

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I use it all the time for vacant space. I put Airbnbers through a similar interview process. In fact I wish I had the ability to check long term tenants using the same social verification platform as Airbnb. Sadly, the law punishes anyone, regardless of whether you’re a landlord or a tenant.

13 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks

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I’m a landlord too, and I hope you dont just trust the law to do your job for you. The way I view it is, if I want to run a high quality business, I’m going to be in complete control over the situation, that includes the lease they agree to and my enforcement of the terms of that lease. The city has never had to step in because I failed to do my job.

13 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks

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The “unscrupulous organizations” problem is easily dealt with on the airbnb side via account limitations etc. It’s also driven by a social aspect ala Yelp, where places are reviewed; if your reviews are terrible, you won’t get much business. Plus, why don’t you ask Homeaway/VRBO? They seem to be able to deal with massive real estate corporations just fine. Again, driven by reviews.

For the safety issue, are you suggesting to ban couchsurfing as well?

13 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks

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No one is arguing about the enforcement of the law. My question remains, why is the existing law essentially picking and choosing for no apparent reason?

13 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks

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Well, unless your lease allows for it as a sub-lease.

BTW the laws are cracking down on apartment OWNERS too. Some landlords use airbnb to fill the random temporary vacancies when they are between tenants.

14 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks 1 reply

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Of course, I agree on the govt enforced contracts. But if they are meddling in rental rules beyond the lease, then why meddle with only half of Airbnb’s business? Why not go after the whole business?

What happens here is they are creating a loophole, with which people will run towards. The definition of “room share” is that someone is renting out less than 100% of the apt/house. Thus if it is legal to “room share”, then people will start renting out 99% entire apts as room shares.

14 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks 1 reply

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Point taken but my topic was using safety as an argument, which is it not.

Enforcing a lease using legal aspects is different than using legal aspects to enforce a law regardless of lease. I’m all for landlords using legal means to enforce a contract, but if the contract allows for it, the why should the government all of a sudden be involved?

14 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks 1 reply

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Agreed, you should follow your lease rules and landlords have rule over their property. I know, I’m a landlord. But I don’t need a law to enforce the rules I’ve already imposed on my tenants via lease.

So answer my question, why is room-sharing left out of the profit taking by government? Either tax all short term rentals or don’t.

14 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks

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you sound like a great neighbor :P

14 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks 1 reply 1 recommend

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It’d be interesting to hear Airbnb’s take on the “mass scale rental company”. I’ve always assumed that was for Homeaway/VRBO and Airbnb was for the Joe Schmo with 1 or 2 properties.

14 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks

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The argument here is safety, not money. Friends and strangers all pose the same safety risk. Thus, safety is a poor argument for involving the legal system.

As a landlord myself, I say to all the whining landlords/property managers out there:
Do your f** job and enforce your lease.

14 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks 1 reply 1 recommend

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btw i agree that you must follow the details of the lease, but thats between the landlord and you, not government.

14 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks 1 reply

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How is banning all forms of house renting unrealistic? Why not tax room sharing along with whole apt renting? What’s the difference? I mean, what city wouldn’t like more tax money? Hell, tax “friends staying over for the night” too.

(I’m pointing out the ridiculousness of picking and choosing)

14 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks 1 reply 1 recommend

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if you ask your city, “do i have to give you money to do this?”, what do you think their answer will be?

14 days ago on Landlords beware: Airbnb is booming in big cities, but many users run legal risks