Arbitrage: long-term letting + short term subletting

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cambodiaeo
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Arbitrage: long-term letting + short term subletting

Post by cambodiaeo »

Business model: a way to test the real estate/rental market without risking too much. Rent long term ($300 to $400 per month) a one bedroom apartment, sublet it short-term (AirBnB etc., $35 to $45 per night).

Questions:
- is this legal? Does it depend on the contract signed?
- is this likely to be profitable?
- what about empty days during low season?
- best area in SR to do this?

Thanks!
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Duncan
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Re: Arbitrage: long-term letting + short term subletting

Post by Duncan »

I think if you need to ask questions like those, you have not done much homework, or have no experience in the rental/property field.

Best you start off with something small like selling peanuts or water along riverside and graduate up from there. ,,,,, OK I feel like being a sarcastic old bastard today. Please forgive me,, ,but ,,
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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frank lee bent
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Re: Arbitrage: long-term letting + short term subletting

Post by frank lee bent »

siem reap rentals are through the roof.
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StroppyChops
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Re: Arbitrage: long-term letting + short term subletting

Post by StroppyChops »

Duncan wrote:OK I feel like being a sarcastic old bastard today.
Turns out you're pretty good at it, too! :D
Bodge: This ain't Kansas, and the neighbours ate Toto!
NokTang
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Re: Arbitrage: long-term letting + short term subletting

Post by NokTang »

StroppyChops wrote:
Duncan wrote:OK I feel like being a sarcastic old bastard today.
Turns out you're pretty good at it, too! :D
A friend of mine did that with his wife. Married her, then leased her out to those with prying eyes. It worked out great for him for about two months. Then she got the idea she could lease him out and suffice to say, the deal fell apart for both of them.
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Cowshed Cowboy
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Re: Arbitrage: long-term letting + short term subletting

Post by Cowshed Cowboy »

Okay I'm going to be the naive one in posting this but a couple of people I met up in Siem Reap effectively do this on a slightly larger scale. One person leases a building with 3 apartments, lives in one and rents out the other 2 which effectively covers his own rental cost. Another leased a big house and spent a fair bit doing it up and rents out the other rooms. No idea on the lease specifics but obviously it is done with the owners knowledge and consent, they are getting the rent they are happy with per the lease. Not sure if I've got the wrong end of the stick on this, other than the OP talking single unit sub-letting. Both properties are close to the centre of town.
Yes sir, I can boogie, I can boogie, boogie, boogie all night long.
cambodiaeo
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Re: Arbitrage: long-term letting + short term subletting

Post by cambodiaeo »

Thank you CC! Good to know this approach may work. Scale is important for sure, based on the return one can get on the time invested promoting/renting out the places.

Just a note to the other participants: when a person posts a question, I believe it is evident he/she is not very knowledgeable about it. And the poster must be open to whatever answer people want to give. However, I see a trend on online forums: answering a question with another question, or an ironic remark. That's perfectly OK, but I just wonder if the people replying in that manner have nothing better to do :-)

Usually, I answer when I know something about the question, and I feel I have something to add. That's a personal choice anyway, and from now on I will follow-up only with posts I consider meaningful. I am still posting questions, because among the noise there are usually a few pearls worth reading. Thanks!
flying chicken
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Re: Arbitrage: long-term letting + short term subletting

Post by flying chicken »

Like others already said, do your homework and spend some time in person in your targeted location. I already get the feeling you are doing so. Contract means shit here even moreso if you are a foreigner. Cowshed Cowboy is right -- there are people making good dosh in this sort of business, but it few in between or you have a substantial amount of investment, and to become fruition at it you'll a local (you can trust) and have it in their name i.e. differences in tax between locals and foreigners and avoid being financially bullied from the bureaucracies, etc.
EVERYONE BOW DOWN AND PAY EXTREME HOMAGE TO HIS MAJESTIES flying chicken©
cambodiaeo
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Re: Arbitrage: long-term letting + short term subletting

Post by cambodiaeo »

Thank you FC! That makes sense.

Online payments for the accommodation would not be received in Cambodia :-) Still, one needs some safety, not to build a good reputation for an accommodation and then the place is taken over by someone else before the rental agreement expires etc.

Cheers
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