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5 tips on renting your place for Super Bowl
he excitement of Super Bowl XLIX coming to Glendale on Feb. 1 is upon us and along with it the dollar signs of renting out your place to voracious fans By Errol Shifman, in search of a place to stay with money My Home Group to spend. Rents are advertised upwards of $3,000-$4,000 per week for a condominium. In order to make it a worthwhile experience both monetarily and for peace of mind here are some factors to consider to determine whether to rent or not. If you go for the cash do it safely … and legally. 1. Does the county or city where the property is located allow vacation rent-
als? Is there a homeowners association? If so, does the HOA allow short-term property rentals? In Scottsdale short-term stay rentals (fewer than 30 days), such as vacation rentals and bed and breakfast boutique hotels, are not allowed in single-family residential districts. (See www.scottsdaleaz.gov/codes/ zoning/sfruses.) But, multifamily zoning areas like condos are fair game. Check the zoning where your home is located. In Phoenix there is no explicit prohibition for short-term rentals. The definition of “residential purposes” in the zoning ordinance is one month or more. Some HOA CC&Rs talk about shortterm rentals, but check to see if it explicitly prohibits vacation or short-term rentals. 2. Will you have to have a business license or pay a business tax?
Both the codes of Phoenix and Scottsdale say that a person who has less than three residential units rented or available for rent in their cities does not have to pay a privilege “sales” tax. There is however a 5 percent transient lodging tax on any hotel, motel, apartment or individual charging for lodging space to any person for 29 days or less that may apply. Please contact your tax advisor to see if any of these taxes apply to you because the combined city, county and state privilege and transient taxes can add up to about 13 percent. (See Phoenix Code 14-445 and Scottsdale http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/taxes/tlfaqs.) 3. What about insurance? Your homeowners insurance will not cover damage by your tenants. It may cover some medical if one of the renters …continues on page 62
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January 2015 Scottsdale Airpark News | 59