From Houston Public Media:
Lydia Afeman owns a townhouse in Houston’s Sunset Heights. It’s a two-story building that from the outside doesn’t necessarily strike one as an architectural beauty – with its white, square, bunker-like appearance.
But it’s what’s inside that makes this home special.
“You could easily just shut one unit off or you could leave it all open if you don’t have a guest,” she said, showing off her home. “But when you do, you can just have your privacy.”
Afeman hired local architect Michael Murrow to design her townhome in a way custom-made to host short- and long-term guests.
The homeowner or primary renter is meant to occupy the first floor, with a spacious living room and kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom.
Upstairs has a separate unit with all the same amenities. And then there’s a third unit above the detached carport.
Afeman had a feasibility study done, which concluded the concept could be a money maker.
“There would be return on investment and I could make enough money to cover the mortgage,” she said. “And while I was sleeping at night this whole house would be basically a revenue-generating property for me.”
That’s assuming that there is an 88 percent occupancy rate throughout the year, which Afeman said is feasible.
The idea is to host not just Airbnb travelers but longer-term medical tourists, function as corporate housing or even to simply rent out the different units.
So is this an investment opportunity for the future?
Steven Barth, an attorney and professor of hospitality law at the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, thinks it’s a good business model.
Read the full story.
