Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village DriveJake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
crosslandproperties.com/ MGN CAPE CORAL, Fla. – More people in Southwest Florida are making thousands of extra dollars a year, simply by hosting guests. You may have heard of websites like Airbnb or HomeAway. They are websites that allow you place your home or a room inside your home, for rent. Renting out a home as a vacation rental has always been popular in certain parts of our area, but now with these sites, the trend is exploding. Why People Rent Out Rooms “Of course we do have free beer but we do have a tip jar,” joked retired tavern owner Joan Tribulas. When Tribulas retired to Cape Coral from the Philadelphia area, she first tried to make some extra money by having a roommate, but that did not work out. Then one day, she stumbled onto an ad online. “I was on the internet and all of a sudden this Airbnb popped up on the right hand side and I thought what’s this? Rooms rent anywhere in the world. So I went into the site, and I liked it and I signed up.” And the rest is history. For years now, Tribulas has rented out her extra two bedrooms with one shared bathroom for around $50 a night. The Financial Gains “I add in a cleaning fee and then I also add in if there’s extra people…In season I don’t have a room for rent. Um, my place is booked solid from December all the way through March, okay? And I usually don’t have a room for rent. So it’s booked all the time,” she told us. The extra cash she brings in, makes a difference. “As of today as of this year, I have– my income has been over $9,000 on Airbnb,” she told us. The Financial Costs Tribulas does not want anyone to forget how much money you may have to put into your rental. “This is not for everyone you know,” she explained. “…You have to make sure you have to make sure you have extra sheets, extra towels. I supply my people with anything they need for the beach. It’s out in the garage. I have chairs, umbrellas, uh toys for the kids.” She said all the extras do add up. Tribulas also makes sure to provide some sort of breakfast or comforts of home, for her guests. “I often wonder if I’m breaking even or if I’m making a lot of money at this because it depends on who comes here and how they treat me, you might get invited to dinner with wine,” she explained. Don’t forget the taxes What many people may not know is that when you rent out a room or a home, you should be paying taxes on the money you make. “There’s no way of getting around it because Airbnb sends you documentation every year of what you made or you can take it off online under your account. So you know you have to claim all this. But then again on the other side of the picture, it’s very, very good for write-offs,” explained Tribulas. “Because I can write off my meats, my cheeses, my soaps, my laundry, um– you know there’s many things you can write off.” But the things you cannot write off include paying your Tourist Development Tax, or TDT, and the state’s sales tax. Anyone renting out a room or a home for less than six months should be paying both of the taxes. We talked to the governments of Punta Gorda, Cape Coral, Lee County, Fort Myers and Sanibel and all the communities say they are trying to monitor home rental sites like Airbnb to see who is renting, but not paying taxes. If they find someone breaking the rules, each municipality tries to educate the homeowner about the taxes. In Lee County, they have sent out 5,093 educational letters to people over the last four years who they think should have been paying their TDT taxes but were not. Airbnb may start to make collecting those taxes easier. An email went out to people in our area stating that on Dec. 1 the company will start collecting the “occupancy” tax and turning it over to local governments. We went online to see what the company meant by occupancy tax and found that it could mean “sales tax” or the “tourist development tax.” Who is Using Sites Like Airbnb? “It makes it more personal,” said Marla Montgomery of staying inside someone’s home versus staying at a hotel. Montgomery, visiting from Mt. Dora, Florida says she originally looked at the home sharing site because of her daughter. “My daughter had used Airbnb and said you might want to look it up. So I looked it up and I started cruising through and just reading about all the different homes,” she recalled. “I thought I could pick one that was more my personality and I would have a place to sleep.” Along with more personality in her room, she discovered a big discount in price. Already spending almost $700 for a five-day art class in town, adding another $100 a night on a hotel seemed too costly. Spending about half of that amount by booking with Tribulas made sense. She also decided that she liked the idea of giving her money to small businesses owners. “I am supporting an artist in New York. I am supporting Joan here, personally. Who am I supporting when I check into the Holiday Inn? Corporate. I don’t know these people,” she said. Is Renting Out a Room Safe? “Because of my background, I was born and raised in the tavern business, I’ve toughened up a lot,” said Tribulas. She explained that Airbnb has safety checks in place. “Usually there is a reference on Airbnb for the people who come to your home and if you don’t want the booking you do not have to accept it. So it’s entirely up to you and you can email back and forth on Airbnb provided that you do not give out any of your personal information, your phone number, your email– they have to book first. Okay? So it’s– and I feel as thought it’s basically fairly safe. I’ve heard horror stories from people but I’ve had the most wonderful people from all over the entire world come here.” Her renter Marla Montgomery feels the same way. “Read the reviews,” she suggested before booking a room. “I write reviews on places I stay, on restaurants I go to, so read the reviews… I do my research and then I trust that it is going to be okay. You know when you check into [a hotel], they say it’s clean, but I don’t know that they don’t have bed bugs. They’re probably more apt to have something I could catch there because they go through so many volumes of people compared to Joan’s bedroom.” Another aspect to consider is keeping your belongings safe when renting out to strangers. Tribulas said Airbnb tries to help with that. “If you list your rooms or your home on Airbnb, they give you up to a million dollars of coverage for damage and theft,” she said. But Tribulas also has a word of caution. If you get someone who is booking with you for the second time and you both choose not to go through Airbnb, you will not be covered by the site’s insurance policy. “There is a policy that you can buy for your home and it will run you approximately $3,000 a year… I decided to carry it because I was sued so many times in the bar and restaurant business in Pennsylvania and I would like to protect my assets today,” she explained. Other Rules and Regulations Besides the taxes, before you decide to put your home or a room to rent on a website, you may want to contact your HOA or local government to see if you are even allowed to participate in short-term rentals. For example, on Sanibel, rules and regulations regarding short-term rentals have been in place for years. Depending on what part of the island you live on, you may not be able to rent out your home for less than six months. In Fort Myers, a recent interpretation of the city’s ordinance means no residential home can rent for less than 30 days, but that interpretation is being challenged.