Last updated on June 22nd, 2023
Are you interested in achieving financial independence through passive income? Here’s a disclaimer: you don’t need to own a property to start the Airbnb rental arbitrage business! In this article, we featured the entire process of Airbnb rental arbitrage in Belfast, its profitability, and the best areas and neighborhoods. Continue reading to learn more about short-term regulations and ways to convince landlords to sublet properties for rental arbitrage!
What is Rental Arbitrage?
Rental Arbitrage is a way to start an Airbnb business with no money. By convincing landlords to lease you a property, you can furnish and sublease it on Airbnb and VRBO. No need for you to buy a property!
It is perfectly legal and is a proven scalable business model. In my podcast, I have spoken to various entrepreneurs doing Airbnb arbitrage full-time.
Here’s a proof! In Belfast, Andrew manages 65 listings and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t own the all properties. He made £882,232 in the last 12 months.
How much can I make with rental arbitrage in Belfast?
Before you dive in and start putting out your hard-earned money on a property, it’s important to know how much profit you can make. For instance, the best neighborhood to invest in is Belfast City Centre, located in the BT1 district. Overall, Belfast ranks 5th in the UK for rental yield!
Since this neighborhood has generally lower prices than the rest of the UK with an average cost of living, Belfast entices more and more investors yearly! Now that we have the best neighborhood to invest in Belfast, let’s talk about profitability and monthly expenses.
Profit & Monthly Expense in Belfast
Based on Airbtics’ data, you can earn a whopping £4,126 per month for a 3-bedroom apartment in Belfast City Centre alone. With the data provided, you can certainly tell that investing in a property in Belfast is profitable!
| Average Rent Price | Airbnb Monthly Revenue | Monthly Expense | Monthly Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1,063 | £2,855 | £571 | £1,221 |
Source: Airbtics dashboard
The monthly profit can be calculated by subtracting the Airbnb monthly revenue, the rental price and monthly expense (£2,855-£1,063-£571= £1,221).
Startup Cost in Belfast
Now that you have an overview of how much your monthly expense and revenue is, let’s talk about the start-up cost! How long does it take for an investor like you to get back the startup cost? Let’s take a look at this calculation:
| Total Startup Cost (Average startup cost + 2 months rent price) | Cash Return Time |
|---|---|
| £4,126 | 3.3 months |
The average estimated startup cost (for furnishing) in Belfast is around £2,000. To compute the total startup cost, it is necessary to add the 2 months of average rent price (£2,126). Now that we have a total startup cost of £4,126, cash return time can be calculated by dividing this by the monthly profit (£1,221).
Given your monthly revenue of £1,221, it will take approximately 3.3 months time to get back the startup cost! In such a short period of time, you can already expect profit and consider starting your second unit for rental arbitrage. If this sounds promising to you, then go ahead and look at the other best areas for rental arbitrage in Belfast!
Best Areas for Rental Arbitrage in Belfast
Before investing in a particular area in Belfast, you have to take a look at the top markets and number of listings to set your expectations for success. Check out the top 3 neighbouroods in Belfast ranked by their annual revenue, along with their occupancy & daily rates!
1. Belfast City Centre (BT1)
Numerous investors prefer this area because of the attractive rental yields and solid ROI! Not to mention Belfast City Centre’s steady growth in rent and upward growth in property value. Here’s what you can expect in this neighbourhood:
| Type of Bedrooms | Average Rent Price (pcm) | Average Airbnb Revenue | Occupancy Rates | Average Daily Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bedroom | £738 | £1,628 | 61% | £156 |
| 2-bedrooms | £860 | £2,478 | 71% | £192 |
| 3-bedrooms | £1,063 | £2,855 | 74% | £215 |
According to our Airbtics Dashboard, there are more than 290 Airbnb listings with 51 private room properties and 125 one-bedroom properties in this area. The monthly revenue for most properties in Belfast City Centre is more than £2,272 per month with occupancy being more than 56%.
2. Belmont (BT4)
According to a recent study about Belfast investment, this neighborhood’s capital growth is the strongest in all of the Belfast areas! It is also slightly in the upmarket area with great accessibility for transportation. Here’s what you can expect in this neighbourhood:
| Type of Bedrooms | Average Rent Price (pcm) | Average Airbnb Revenue | Occupancy Rates | Average Daily Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bedroom | £695 | £1,556 | 75% | £97 |
| 2-bedrooms | £866 | £1,805 | 72% | £89 |
| 3-bedrooms | £1,550 | £2,460 | 71% | £118 |
This area has a total of 54 Airbnb listings with 18 private room properties and 28 one-bedroom properties. The monthly revenue for most properties in Belmont is more than £1,4567 per month with occupancy being more than 57%.
3. Woodstock (BT6)
Last but not least, one of the ideal development opportunities for excellent yields — Woodstock! Investors are targetting young professional markets in this area and it has been popular for HMO’s. Here’s what you can expect in this neighbourhood:
| Type of Bedrooms | Average Rent Price (pcm) | Average Airbnb Revenue | Occupancy Rates | Average Daily Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bedroom | £861 | £1,155 | 82% | £97 |
| 2-bedrooms | £900 | £2,353 | 77% | £126 |
| 3-bedrooms | £1,000 | £2,587 | 70% | £182 |
This area has a total of 115 Airbnb listings with 48 private room properties and 65 one-bedroom properties in this area. The monthly revenue for most properties in Woodstock is more than £1,550 per month with occupancy being more than 53%.
Short-term rental regulations in Belfast
To begin with, it’s certainly important to be familiar with the Airbnb rules in Belfast to make sure that your business will run smoothly. Here are some of the short-term rental regulations and laws to take note of:
- The need for planning permission will depend on the extent to which the short-term holiday let changes the character of the use of the property and the degree to which it impacts its surroundings.
- All tourist accommodation providers in Northern Ireland (for example, anyone offering overnight sleeping accommodation to tourists for a fee) must receive certification by Tourism NI before they can trade.
- Under Northern Ireland’s regulations, Airbnb properties are classed as self-catering accommodation. All hosts are required to apply for a certificate that costs £40 and is valid for up to four years.
How to Find Landlords for Airbnb Rental Arbitrage
Airbnb investment through rental arbitrage is one of the best strategies to have passive income. However, it could be a challenge to find a landlord that allows their property for subletting on Airbnb. You can also convince a landlord by following the rental arbitrage email template & be extra creative!
Here are ways how you can find landlords that allow Airbnb rental arbitrage:
- Real Estate Websites
Renters in the digital world who are looking for properties online can easily connect with landlords. Some of the most recommended online real estate websites which allow you to filter by city, state, or ZIP code are:
However, you can also find apartment & condominium properties online in the following websites:
Search Engines & Marketplaces
There are numerous property owners who are leasing their properties and you can easily find them on Google & online marketplaces. Check out some of the most recommended marketplaces:
- Craigslist allows renters to specifically state what kind of property they are looking for. You can try typing in ‘landlords allowing Airbnb’ or ‘sublease property in (city name)’ and try other keywords to get you on the right track.
- Facebook marketplace has a vast community of landlords & renters, so you can try joining the right groups to lead you on the right path. Here are some of the finest Facebook groups that you can join:
Communicate with Landlords
If you are currently renting a space or know someone who is, then it’s also recommended to speak with them. Start by asking if there are vacant rooms or properties and let them know about your intentions of putting them up for rental arbitrage. They might also be able to recommend neighbors or local friends who are also interested in this idea!
