# Investing in rental property - better to look for long-term or short-term rentals?



## sousasarss (Jun 27, 2021)

Hello all,

I am currently looking into purchasing a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment in Porto which I want to use as a rental property. I am currently debating with myself as to whether I want to purchase a property that would be more attractive to long term renters or a property which would be better suited for short-term rentals (Air BnB style).

Does anyone have any first hand experience with? 

Is it financially more viable to host short-term rentals? Is there a stable market for short-term rentals at the moment? I personally feel long term rentals are the safer more conservative route, which puts my mind at ease, but worry that I am missing out on a potential money maker by ignoring the market for short-term rentals.

Any insights or personal knowledge would be greatly appreciated!

Obrigada


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## hktoportugal (Feb 25, 2019)

We have both long term and AirBNB in Porto. Besides the obvious challenge right now due to Covid it also depends quite a bit on what your tax status is (resident/non-resident). For instance if the apartment you are considering buying is newly build / renovated and located in an ARU zone it could have qualified (before december 2020) by the city as a property that gets tax benefits associated with it's status (i.e. if you are fiscal resident and rent out long term your tax on rent will be 5% only).

Pre-Covid the Airbnb property had a much better yield, currently the long term rental wins but be aware that many folks switched from AirBNB type rental to long term rental so there are quite a few properties out there that are available for potential renters. In our experience the "long term" rent is typically one year minimum and if it is a new property in a good location you can still rent it out quite quickly. I personally believe that AirBNB will come back strong in the coming years but with everything location is key as well as amenities (parking, dishwasher, washing machine etc). With a T2 you cast a wider net on the AirBNB market (especially for families, friends travelling together etc).

For AirBNB you need to have a good hosting company, typically need time to build up your rating etc.


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