Changing Property from Long-Term to Short-Term Furnished Rentals

[hunt_ak]

Hello!  We attended the Landlords Almanac class in Anchorage regarding short-term furnished rentals and have a few questions, which I will detail below.  We have recently acquired an 11-plex in Palmer.  We are hoping to slowly renovate the property unit-by-unit and, in essence, turn the property into a 'hotel'?

Before we dive in head-first and throw a ton of capital into this place in the form of renovations, we are going to go through our due-diligence to ensure we have everything taken care of at the state, borough, and finally city of Palmer level regarding the Public Accommodations regulations.

In the regulations it states: 

18 AAC 30.460. Permits

 

(a) The department will, in its discretion, issue a permit required by AS 18.35.040 for the operation of a public accommodation upon receipt of an application on a form provided by the department. The department will, in its discretion, require an inspection of the public accommodation.

I've done a fair bit of digging but cannot find this permit application, which I assume is the very first step we need to complete before doing anything else.  Does anyone have a link to where I can download this form?

Additionally, there was a link that was supposed to be posted here, which I'm not immediately finding, which highlights the ADA requirements for public accommodations as well.  Can that link be posted?  

We will start there and I look forward to your replies!

[Kassandra RPM Alaska]

I can quote what I do know....but it might not fully help...or it might 

1- Palmer has a city tax on rentals if you are in the city limits. Be sure to check on that. This is why we don't manage rental properties in the city limits because Palmer really doesn't want rentals and they tax our clients then they tax us as property managers again.  

2- There is one document that is posted and it is a reference guide from UAA for the State Of Alaska on making this type of transition. I haven't read it to know if it covers your situation or not.  It is posted under Store / Resource Guide / Air B&B  

 

3- I have a feeling this permit is probably in the planning department of Matanuska Municipality. Honestly, don't be shy, it is sooo much better to just call the departments and someone will point you to the links and page.  Even on forms I'm used to filling out I have to call and ask because it gets moved and they want 15 clicks before you get to it.

4 - ADA....Are you referring to Pets or Disability? I remember a few different conversations and I've been working to load it into the resource section of this site for everyone.

Good Luck!

[hunt_ak]

On 8/27/2018 at 1:52 PM, Kassandra RPM Alaska said:

I can quote what I do know....but it might not fully help...or it might 

1- Palmer has a city tax on rentals if you are in the city limits. Be sure to check on that. This is why we don't manage rental properties in the city limits because Palmer really doesn't want rentals and they tax our clients then they tax us as property managers again.

We spoke with the gal at the City of Palmer office and she indicated that there was a 3% tax, capped at $1000 per month, per door...and she didn't care how we managed the property

2- There is one document that is posted and it is a reference guide from UAA for the State Of Alaska on making this type of transition. I haven't read it to know if it covers your situation or not.  It is posted under Store / Resource Guide / Air B&B  

Very good!  I'll work on figuring out how to download that!

3- I have a feeling this permit is probably in the planning department of Matanuska Municipality. Honestly, don't be shy, it is sooo much better to just call the departments and someone will point you to the links and page.  Even on forms I'm used to filling out I have to call and ask because it gets moved and they want 15 clicks before you get to it.

Good to know.  I'll just start calling around.  I assumed this to be a State of Alaska form though...maybe not!

4 - ADA....Are you referring to Pets or Disability? I remember a few different conversations and I've been working to load it into the resource section of this site for everyone.

Disability.  Need to dive into the requirements for the property.  All rooms, a percentage, etc.?  One benefit is that only two rooms are on second level, everything else is ground-level.

Good Luck!

2

Thanks for your help!  I did reply in orange above...

Edited August 29, 2018 by hunt_ak