Hosting on the Rock, San Juan Islands Vacation Rental Owners Group

10/04/2023

Another interesting article on why our country is short on affordable housing:

While challenges to single-family zoning draw attention, other reforms could have an even bigger impact. Real estate investors should be paying attention.

11/02/2023

Seattle residents vote this week on a social housing Initiative. Here's an overview of what that means:

Initiative 135 would create a publicly owned developer that builds and preserves affordable housing. KUOW’s Joshua McNichols recently reported on some of the arguments for and against I-135, which is the only item on the Feb. 14 ballot. We received a number of questions about the initiative. We lo...

08/01/2023

Our whole region, not just the San Juan's, are feeling the effects of growth on Housing.

The Seattle area is growing. Because we're not building enough homes, people are getting pushed farther and farther out. This is the ripple effect of growth. In KUOW's four-part series "The Ripple Effect," reporter Joshua McNichols covers the issue and explores some potential solutions.

02/12/2022

We hear locals talking about "corporations from the mainland" buying houses and turning them into vacation rentals. We haven't seen evidence of that - yet.

We do wonder if it's coming. Read this article! Would you want this type of property in the San Juans?

The 18-month old short-term rental company Wander will announce later today the raise of a $100 million debt facility from Credit Suisse. CEO and founder John Andrew Entwistle discussed the new REIT model the company is bringing to market.

06/11/2022

THE GUEST HOUSE by RUMI

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

25/06/2022

Excellent overview of housing in the U.S.!

https://youtu.be/L4qmDnYli2E

John Oliver discusses why rent has become increasingly unaffordable, what we can do to combat a system that is stacked against tenants, and, of course, Dakot...

08/06/2022

https://youtu.be/7J9b23lKhok

San Diego just limited STRs to 1% of their housing, with two exceptions:
1-Homeowners can rent rooms & second units in their own primary residence.
2-The Mission Beach area is not limited to the 1% rule.

Very curious to see what actually happens to the long term rental situation. Will this open more homes to renters? Or will they still be too expensive for working people?

This isn't a complete parallel for the SJI's, as we are a part rural/part vacation destination county. San Diego is a true city. Interesting that they are not limiting their vacation destination area (Mission Beach).

The exception of allowing homeowners to rent their own homes is an attempt to stop investors from buying homes. This is why many of us wanted this exception in SJC. Our Council did not seriously consider adding this to the new caps.

Are you considering living in San Diego? Well, nobody is talking about this MASSIVE news that is going to make buying and renting homes a whole lot easier!Th...

09/05/2022

Is this what's happening in the San Juan Islands; do we have more tourism than we need or want? Get involved with the tourism discussions now!
https://www.sjctourism.com/

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/how-to-stop-overtourism/index.html

Destinations from Barcelona to Bali are overwhelmed by visitors. Find out how some places are putting the brakes on overtourism -- without driving away too many travelers.

06/05/2022

Airbnb Is Ending Its COVID-19-era Cancellation Policy

Airbnb this month is ending its coronavirus-era cancellation policy that allows travelers to cancel a reservation for virus-related reasons, according to the company. Starting May 31, cancellations due to COVID-19 will no longer apply to Airbnb's policy.

06/05/2022

Vrbo Logo
Notification of Washington short-term rental laws.
Jan,
Vrbo is required by the State of Washington to notify you that…
1. Your current insurance coverage may not include liability protection, defense costs or first-party coverage when your property is used for short-term rental stays.
2. You are responsible for collecting and remitting all applicable local, state, and federal taxes unless the platform does this on your behalf.
3. Washington law requires that you do each of the following:
a. Comply with RCW 19.27.530 and applicable rules regarding installing carbon monoxide alarms.
b. Post the following in a conspicuous place inside your unit:
a. Your unit's street address
b. Emergency contact information for police, fire or emergency medical services (i.e. 911).
c. Your unit's floor plan with fire exits and escape routes marked
d. Your unit's maximum occupancy limit
e. Your contact information or the information for your designated contact
To read more about the short-term rental bill, click here.
Thank you,
The Vrbo Team

01/05/2022

Ha! So true...

19/03/2022

“Sixty-five percent of our homes back in 2016 were vacant more than 50% of the time,” she said. “We recognized that as an opportunity: Could we figure out how to unlock those homes for our workforce? And we knew that second homeowners would have to be looked at.”

Here in San Juan County, around 40% of our home are 'vacant', while 4% are vacation rentals.

https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/town_county/california-town-pays-up-to-10-000-to-get-homeowners-to-lease-to-locals/article_25a82287-eef0-593c-be36-9e55258822d0.html

TRUCKEE, CALIFORNIA — After a few years of short-term renting her mom’s place in another part of town, Judy Zachariasen decided she was done.

13/03/2022

This is an interesting blog post on the differences between managing short term rentals and long term rentals.

Having heard from owners over the last few years, I have been shocked by how many people said the sentence "I will never rent my house long term again." (spoken with much emotion!)

When things go wrong with tenants, it seems they go wrong in a big way.

https://www.2ndaddress.com/research/short-term-vs-month-to-month-vs-long-term-rentals/

Short-Term vs. Month-to-Month vs. Long-Term Rentals: Which One Is the Best? by Andrew Simmons August 2, 2019 Nailing down a viable business plan is a crucial first step for would-be landlords. Some landlords prefer short-term rentals for high-profit margins with a high maintenance cost, while other....

11/03/2022

As if we needed it...more evidence of the rising rental costs of a home. Country-wide, not just here in SJC.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-10/rents-rise-most-in-30-years-signaling-more-pain-for-americans

A measure of rents in the U.S. posted the largest monthly increase in three decades, underscoring an increasingly high cost of living that’s poised to contribute even more to inflation this year.

10/03/2022

The R**T tax will bring more affordable housing units to the islands.

Capping STRs will NOT.

https://www.lopezrocks.org/page.php?type=item&return=newsletter&newsletter=2022-03-09&menu_type=news&item_handle=1646783044

LopezRocks - a community website by Lopez Island

06/03/2022

Here's another article about lack of housing in vacation destinations.

Let's all remember that in SJC, 41% of our homes are owner occupied and 16% are renter occupied. That is a full 57% of resident-occupied homes.

According to this article about Breckenridge, "Currently, 11 percent of Breckenridge’s housing stock is resident-occupied, but its goal is 35 percent."

I'm not saying we don't have a housing shortage. I'm just pointing out that we have not yet reached the dire circumstances of some other communities. We do not have the same situation as Breckenridge, but perhaps we should take steps to ensure we never do.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/locals-are-priced-colorado-mountain-towns-fight-keep-workers-rcna17970

Communities are turning to innovations, like lease limits and new taxes, to confront a housing shortage worsened by remote workers and second-home owners.

21/02/2022

Watching the housing situation across the U.S...
This article focuses on year-round rent increases.

"Only two states, California and Oregon, have statewide rent control laws, while three others – New York, New Jersey and Maryland – have laws allowing local governments to pass rent control ordinances, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.

And laws in some states like Arizona actually restrict local jurisdictions from limiting what landlords can charge tenants."

Do you think we should have some form of rent control in SJC?

https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-us-news-miami-florida-a4717c05df3cb0530b73a4fe998ec5d1

Krystal Guerra’s Miami apartment has a tiny kitchen, cracked tiles, warped cabinets, no dishwasher and hardly any storage space. But Guerra was fine with the apartment’s shortcomings. It was all part of being a 32-year-old graduate student in South Florida, she reasoned, and she was happy to liv...

18/02/2022

Other vacation destinations are experiencing pressure on housing, just as we are.

Wealth disparity is a huge issue.

What do you think? Do you want people of varying incomes to live in the San Juans?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2022/02/16/how-billionaires-helped-kill-a-housing-development-in-a-montana-ski-town/?sh=764e0d7a1d4b&utm_source=ForbesMainFacebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflowForbesMainFB&fbclid=IwAR3NHzkuybRv0I_EovPciNIfk7riXPLZXRs5aKoLYUt-rohm4lKjq2YhshA

Facing a housing crisis, the northern Montana ski town of Whitefish is trying to build new affordable units. One of those projects ran into stiff opposition from the town’s billionaire denizens.

30/01/2022

Lack of housing is a national problem: San Juan County is not alone.

Many say that zoning is too restrictive; if people could build more housing, they would.

What do you think of this?

https://news.yahoo.com/would-banning-single-family-zoning-really-solve-the-housing-crisis-223207110.html

Blue-state lawmakers have begun to roll back laws that make it illegal to build anything other than free-standing homes, but skeptics say these reforms aren't the answer to the housing shortage.

25/01/2022

A thoughtful article regarding housing in the San Juans.

If there are 4,000 new residents in the last two decades, have there been 4,000 new homes to house them, regardless of price? No.

Are there several large cities within driving distance, with high-income jobs? Yes.

We have an affordable housing problem. What can be done?
https://theorcasonian.com/guest-opinion-we-need-to-resolve-our-working-community-housing-crisis/

||| FROM BILL BANGS ||| Most of us know or have heard of someone who has been a hardworking neighbor in our county for many years and who has lost their long-term rental home. Some of these friends and neighbors have been

31/12/2021

More thoughts about the complex reasons that housing is so expensive in our area. Note that when this article mentions 'rentals', they are referring to long-term rentals, not vacation rentals.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/so-you-cant-afford-a-house-in-seattle-are-investors-to-blame/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=owned_echobox_f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2xQ17Mvpqlx4_BHK7E9L4YKBhMvfMShCyUIkTgXHH2QfDURTfHyA6VLOU =1640633434

Homebuyers often want to know if investors are to blame for the skyrocketing price of housing in the Puget Sound region. New data from Redfin shows that the answer isn't straightforward.

18/12/2021

Another great episode about the vacation rental saga! This one specifically addresses what we owners have been doing at home here in San Juan County; bringing our voice to Council and the Planning Commission.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/becoming-part-of-the-solution/id1529277874?i=1000542899263

‎Show How to Save Your Vacation Rental Business, Ep Becoming Part of the Solution - Nov 23, 2021

17/11/2021

Really enjoyed this podcast episode about Fair VR Regulation. They outline this definition:

What is Good Regulation?
It’s data driven, not emotional. It’s fair, equitable, and pursues compromise by supporting vacation rental owners and the community at large.

What do you all think? Do you agree with compromise, and do you see that here in SJC?

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/it-could-never-happen-here/id1529277874?i=1000540586018

‎Show How to Save Your Vacation Rental Business, Ep It Could Never Happen Here - Nov 2, 2021

15/11/2021

If you are a short term rental host, please take this survey!

https://cofc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8CIAURKSatYiQ0S?fbclid=IwAR00frNdeUkFBaZFD0RspNqoBqm_DkzsMqMcBB7KCsU9xqAbvyO8J9TXkzs

Survey of short-term rental operators conducted by the College of Charleston and Rent Responsibly.

11/11/2021

Have you seen any fractional home ownership in the San Juans? What do you think about the model? Should our county ban this model?

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/08/24/1030151330/a-unicorn-startup-is-turning-houses-into-corporations?fbclid=IwAR3My-4a7KIhxGNFS9IppFJvf3ajolKi0w1dDH0GSJN2c_mLBDCeChFVNRQ

The real estate startup Pacaso has rocketed to a billion-dollar valuation — but its recent fights with communities could foreshadow business troubles ahead.

08/11/2021

This legislation is considered somewhat balanced, as it contains concessions for both sides. Vacation Rentals will still be allowed as a residential use, but they are limited to two per local owner and there will be a cap at 30% of the housing stock.

In San Juan County, we are currently at around 3% of the housing stock on Lopez and 4% on San Juan and Orcas.

https://theorcasonian.com/michigan-house-approves-controversial-short-term-rental-protections/

||| FROM THE DETROIT NEWS ||| REPRINT AT REQUEST OF A READER Michigan House lawmakers in an overnight session Tuesday approved legislation in a 55-48 vote that would prohibit cities and townships from banning short-term rental housing.

29/10/2021

We are thrilled! Thank you, . A housing study is sorely needed, and will help to encourage solutions.

https://www.islandssounder.com/news/housing-study-requests-proposals/

Submitted by the San Juan Makers Guild.

26/10/2021

26/10/2021

Orcas Island provides environmentally responsible laundry services!

https://www.islandssounder.com/life/environmentally-conscious-laundry-services-on-orcas-island-women-in-business-profile/

Daniela Wagner has done well around the globe starting businesses that meet a critical need.

26/10/2021