Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Rental of rooms or Air BnBs? (Linda Smith)

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Jan 28, 2019, at 3:48 PM, Kathy Tymoczko <kathy.tymoczko [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> I'm wondering how (if?) your renting those spaces and operating the guest
> room "like a hotel" affects the ability of buyers to get mortgages or the
> type of mortgage a buyer can get.  

In 2000 when we moved in, we discussed various options with our lawyer. Her 
response was, So then what are you? If we began charging money to the “public” 
even if we called them associate members, we wouldn’t be functioning as a 
condominium. If we were running a community workshop with neighbors using 
tools, etc., we were not a condominium. What other license, insurance, etc., 
did we need.

Almost every business is regulated in ways that "protect the public” and 
establish the business basis for liability and taxation. If members of a condo 
decide to get together and make dinner for each other, that is not a 
business—it isn’t open to the public. But cooking and serving meals on a 
payment plan for non-owners who are also not personal guests puts you under 
another set of regulations dealing with food safety, inspections, etc. Each 
kind of business has to demonstrate that it meets the standards set for that 
business. 

Thinking about it that way may help you clarify whether you want to engage. It 
ultimately costs time and money to earn money.

It is just as hard to paint a small painting and a large painting of equal 
complexity, but the large painting will sell for far more. Businesses work the 
same way. You still have to do everything for a part-time business that you 
have to do for a full-time business but you have less income. Is it worth it?

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org