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Disclaimer

 

bnbBlight: the short-term rental position taken by the Columbus Realtors was shocking. no entity should be more "pro-residential" than the realtors. Yet, they are now taking a position that is cancerous to your quiet residential neighborhood.

It is "buyer beware" for home buyers because your real estate agent may now be working directly against what is in your family's best interest.

If you are an ethical realtor and you are against the columbus realtor's leadership's position, contact bnbblight.com via a feedback message.

 

Position Taken by John Myers, Columbus Realtors

City Council Hearing - June 14, 2018

Good evening Council Pro Tem Stinziano and members of council that are here. My name is John Myers. I am president elect of Columbus Realtors. I’m also speaking on behalf of the Columbus Apartment Association.

John Myers
Myers - Click to enlarge
Both trade organizations have the same interest and concerns with this legislation. I’m also a short-term rental host myself and also broker owner of Myers Real Estate. A considerable amount of our business involves property management. Again tonight, we have many of the 7,800 Columbus Realtor members present, several of whom are short-term rental hosts, but all who believe in private property rights and responsible property ownership.

bnbBlight: If the Columbus Realtors see no problem with Short-Term Rentals (str), then the ethical thing to do would be to warn potential buyers of a house near a STR by using the Multiple-Listing Service (MLS).

I will keep this brief as Council and the administration know our positions on this issue. Our members certainly understand concerns surrounding short-term rentals. We fully realize there are a few bad actors and it takes just one, however we believe the issues mentioned are best handled by the appropriate authorities and the issues aren’t just limited to short-term rentals. As a property manager I can assure you sound, trash, partying, parking, funny smells can be a nuisance for all types of property not just short-term rentals. This can include owner occupied properties or hotels. It there is an unwanted or illegal activity next door, they can be reported to the appropriate authority and dealt with. Well, we heard a few stories at the last hearing, we are likely to hear a few tonight.

bnbBlight: other cities have banned non-owner occupied Short-Term Rentals. This eliminates the enforcement issue of day counting. [Click for other cities' regulations]

The cap on days wouldn’t be effective in addressing any of those concerns. What it would do is essentially ban non-owner occupied short-term rentals, not to mention is likely unenforceable. Restricting the ability of property owners to rent their property is not the Columbus way. As we have stated previously, we support code enforcement with criminal penalties where applicable and we believe it is fair for the city to collect a short-term rental excise tax that we also are amenable to the short-term rental registration as proposed. Our concern is with the negative impact on private property rights that a cap on days would impose.

bnbBlight: The "Columbus Way" is not to dump strangers into the middle of a residential neighborhood. Commercial businesses should not be intermixed with residential homes. this has been addressed by zoning regulations for generations.
Lastly, we have heard concerns about transient guests and changing neighborhoods. I think it is important to point out that the owners of these properties in many cases are investing tens of thousands of dollars in these communities and therefore contributing to their revitalization. The Columbus way is to be inclusive and welcoming - not to eliminate viable lodging options. We call on all neighbors to be respectful or responsible property owners and we remain committed to continuing to work together on this issue and I thank you council member Stinziano for allowing us to speak again tonight.