What a great property this is, but can you actually Airbnb it?
More than often we get foreign clients with the same question, and the answer you get, from either us, another realtor, or someone passing itself as a realtor just to get a few bucks off you, depends on how the question is actually asked.
First off, #Airbnb is just a platform to help homeowners get rental clients on the Internet, thus, Airbnb and short term rentals ARE NOT THE SAME. You can easily put your property on Airbnb for monthly stays and still be abide by the law. Considering this, is the “Can you Airbnb it?” the question you want to ask, or is it “Is this #property legally available for short-term rentals?” the kind of question you are actually looking for an answer to?
When Airbnb came onto the scene in 2015 in Medellin, the market was flooded with illegal #short-term rentals that supplied the demand of digital nomads attracted by the new mecca of digital workers. Those properties were actually illegal, as the Colombian government, at the bequest of the hotel industry, passed a law in which it was stated that no building in Colombia could allow properties to be rented out for less than 30 days unless the bylaws of the HOA (Building) specify it is in fact allowed. With the pace of #Colombian enforcement, you can imagine how well that law is being enforced.
Until this day, the market is still flooded with these kinds of properties; rental companies and #brokers in general, have found ways to get around the law, without compromising the property, nor the homeowner legally. And just to be clear, we are not condoning going against the #law or not doing something is required, we are just portraying in words the reality of Medellin’s #rental properties.
Soon this reality is going to change and it is actually changing right now. Just like what happened to Uber in Colombia; plenty of Taxi drivers doing everything at their disposal (even illegal stuff) just to take a toll on the incomes of a new business model that proved to be reliable, safety and cost-friendly as opposed to the traditional taxi companies who abide by the licensing rules of the country. Now, plenty of taxi drivers are changing from taxi companies to this new platform that takes advantage of grey areas and loopholes in Colombian law.
About 95% of the buildings cannot legally rent short term and that hasn’t stopped seasoned #investors that are full aware of the potential of Medellin and the likeliness that, in the near future, a law will be passed embracing a business model that hasn’t only helped #tourism, offering great opportunities for emerging startups and entrepreneurs, creating jobs and strengthening our local economy. Illegal Airbnb has helped put Medellin on the map.