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My lesson has been to neglect or ignore any statement made with certainty without any underlying data. The most credible statements ever made always had an elem

My lesson has been to neglect or ignore any statement made with certainty without any underlying data. The most credible statements ever made always had an element of probability/odds associated with them. That being said, some of the points this chap brings up don't add up to they hyperbole. AirBnB income - being double the actual rent in a particular neighbourhood ? How is this even possible. If you average out AirBnB rental income over a year, you probably will end up with a slightly higher percentage than rent perhaps 10-30%. Then it's not guaranteed, rental income is. So almost every landlord will choose a guaranteed rental income over the fluctuating AirBnB income. Unless they own multiple properties and can afford the risk. Also, good luck managing an AirBnB rental in Miami without ground support sitting somewhere in Manhattan. Housing as a means of profit and leverage - To some extent this needs to be stopped. Shelter is a basic need and unlike food, hoarding costs nothing. I am yet to understand the mentality of hoarding houses. Many of my friends are owning 2-3 flats/houses for their kids etc. While, it is more prudent to invest that money in liquid index funds. There is still this perceived notion of 'houses are guaranteed sources of income that will keep increasing in value every year' amongst the average family man. This certainly needs to change, I don't know how. So housing as a source of profit and leverage is bad but I don't see a way out. Space is limited, everyone wants a 5000 sft house. That being said, it's by no means a doomsday scenario as depicted in this article. I don't know why people get into such hyperbole just to bring about such unrealistic doomsday scenarios. The world is still a better place. To hell with these naysayers.

KingMachiavelli 5y ago
> If you average out AirBnB rental income over a year, you probably will end up with a slightly higher percentage than rent perhaps 10-30%. Really depends on what kind of 'AirBnB' it is. If it's a condo competing with hotels then that's one thing - although probably still more than 30%. In comparison, vacation rentals can easily take in ~$500 to $1200/night. The only real difference between the two is that the later targets larger parties so the cost per person is actually cheaper than a hotel. That said there are a lot of costs besides rent but net profit is still going to be 2-3x that of a long term renter but these only work in certain locations (that said the ban on AirBnB in certain cities actually produces more of these areas). Also, the house and other costs are all deductible such that you actually have near zero taxable income while having significant positive cash flow.
- muzz 5y ago
  Agree with everything but the last sentence. Not sure how that could be the case-- if your actual costs are the same as your revenue your taxable income is zero but your cash flow would also be zero.

KingMachiavelli 5y ago

> If you average out AirBnB rental income over a year, you probably will end up with a slightly higher percentage than rent perhaps 10-30%. Really depends on what kind of 'AirBnB' it is. If it's a condo competing with hotels then that's one thing - although probably still more than 30%. In comparison, vacation rentals can easily take in ~$500 to $1200/night. The only real difference between the two is that the later targets larger parties so the cost per person is actually cheaper than a hotel. That said there are a lot of costs besides rent but net profit is still going to be 2-3x that of a long term renter but these only work in certain locations (that said the ban on AirBnB in certain cities actually produces more of these areas). Also, the house and other costs are all deductible such that you actually have near zero taxable income while having significant positive cash flow.

muzz 5y ago
Agree with everything but the last sentence. Not sure how that could be the case-- if your actual costs are the same as your revenue your taxable income is zero but your cash flow would also be zero.