About Those Short-Term Rentals
They Help Pay the Mortgage and Property Taxes
It’s no secret short-term rentals have been vilified in Santa Barbara, and short-term rental hosts are being portrayed out-of-state developers who are ruining neighborhoods and taking away housing from locals. These false narratives couldn’t be further from the truth, and I hope my story as a short-term rental host helps shed light on how critical short-term rentals are.
As a 61-year-old mother of two, I have lived in the same home for the past 25 years. I love to knit, read, garden, sail my boat and volunteer in the community I love. I often can’t walk more than five minutes in my little beach town without giving a hug to someone I know.
I started sharing my home with traveling guests and families almost 10 years ago after losing my job due to a company closure. At the time I had one kid in college and was taking care of my elderly parents. Despite some college education, I couldn’t find a job that paid more than minimum wage, and I was afraid of losing my home.
