|
Show
Me Your Place By Ryan Brown Super Bowl XLI has created such a huge demand for lodging that just about anyone, it seems, with access to four walls and a roof is renting out space, for a price. Take, for example, the following Craigslist Miami post: $200 / 2br - Crash on our couch for Super Bowl weekend (Coral Gables / Miami) I decide to respond. Two days later: a reply. Jan. 24 Hello Ryan, Thanks for your interest in crashing on our couch. I see that you have a 305 area code on your cell phone. Do you reside in Miami? You do realize that the idea was to offer lodging to out-of-towners who didn’t want to get ripped off at the pricey Miami hotels. Let me know. - Joe
Hey Joe- I am scouting out options for friends coming into town who I can’t have at my house (already have enough people crashing on my couches!) What’s the daily rate? How long can they stay? It’ll probably be one or two people at most... -Ryan
As long as their [sic] cool people, we would have no problem putting both of them up for the weekend. $300 per person for the entire weekend. If you want a third person to crash and he has an air- mattress or doesn’t mind sleeping on the floor, he can do so for half price $150, but we really can’t house any more than 3 people. -Joe
Hey Joe- I’ll let them know... PS have you done this before?? If so did it work out OK?? I mean...you’re not bothered by strangers sleeping on your couch? Thanks so much Joe, -Ryan
Jan. 25 I’ve put up people before, yes. Sometimes it’s hassle-free, other times I have to be on my toes the entire time because some people will steal anything that isn’t bolted down. It’s really a crap-shoot. The smoother they make it on me, the more enjoyable the entire experience is for everyone (I can assure you this from personal experience, cool people make for great houseguests and they ALWAYS have a better time than people who force me to be on edge.) I’m in Coral Gables within walking distance to Miracle Mile. Plenty to do: theater, shops, restaurants, also just 20 minutes in good traffic from South Beach.... -Joe
According to Det. Nelda Fonticiella, the Miami-Dade Police Department media relations officer, it is completely legal for people to rent out their homes for any amount of time. “It’s their house, they can do whatever they want,” says Fonticiella. But in Miami Beach, rules are more complicated. “In Florida there’s a provision that says if you rent out a property for less than six months, you have to pay what’s known as a ‘transient rental tax,’” explains Richard Freeman, general counsel for Villazzo, a company that rents luxury vacation homes around the world. “The planning director of the city of Miami Beach has taken the position that if you’re paying a resort tax you must be a resort. If you have a resort you must not be operating in a residential area. … Here’s the irony: When people who do this [rent out their homes and] pay the resort tax, the city comes and shuts them down. They end up just not paying the resort tax to avoid being shut down.” Despite the possibility of legal troubles, people are passing out fliers, posting online, and telling friends and/or complete strangers that their Miami Beach homes are up for rent. I contacted a local real estate agent who told me he’d be able to get me anything I needed on South Beach, even a small mansion, for $30,000 for the weekend. I ask him if it’s legal. “Well, some condo associations don’t let you rent out for less than a month … some don’t care — you can rent by the day. We deal with the ones who don’t care … but houses are usually OK,” he says. Nannette Rodriguez, Miami Beach’s public information officer, says code compliance people will be watching for people renting their homes in Miami Beach. Comments? E-mail ryan@miamisunpost.com. |