Sarah Avakian found out she was losing the Fairmount house she鈥檇 called home for the past five years two months into 2022.
She鈥檇 known this day was coming 鈥� the landlord told her months earlier he was looking for a buyer. So it didn鈥檛 come as a surprise when in late February, she got the official news: The house had been sold, and she needed to be out by June.
What Avakian didn鈥檛 anticipate was the house鈥檚 new life as an Airbnb. When the new owner, Alexandria Salvo, came to take measurements, she offhandedly mentioned her intention to rent the space as a short-term rental.
鈥淪he was asking me how I like the area and asking me questions about it,鈥� Avakian said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 like, 鈥楪irl. You鈥檙e kicking me out.鈥� Like, of course I like it here. That鈥檚 why I live here.鈥�
As the revitalization of Fairmount and the Magnolia strip continues to gain steam, the once-neglected neighborhood has become a tourist hotspot. Avakian鈥檚 situation 鈥� and Salvo鈥檚 investment 鈥� aren鈥檛 unique.
鈥淲e have had a lot of demographic change and a lot of ownership change in the last 10 years,鈥� Michael McDermott, director of historic preservation for the Fairmount Neighborhood Association, said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy sometimes. You get to know people, and they move away real quickly. Some people who have been there forever move away. And there鈥檚 new people constantly moving into Fairmount.鈥�
Scanning through the nets posts detailing similar instances of long-term tenants losing housing to investors interested in starting a short-term rental. A quick search of rentals on Airbnb generates many listings touting the area鈥檚 restaurants, shops and general culture as selling points.
鈥淭his is right by hospitals, this is right by Magnolia Street,鈥� Salvo said. 鈥淚 feel like the location is pretty prime here.鈥�
While Fort Worth considers updating its ordinance to allow short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, warring interests between long-term tenants and would-be investors have become evident.
鈥淪hort-term rentals reduce the amount of homes available to homebuyers and traditional renters,鈥� resident Daniel Hayes testified at a July 26 public engagement meeting.
The house at 1605 S. Henderson St. has been empty since it was purchased in March. Avakian occasionally walks past the house she previously called home, watching for signs of renovation to the property. Salvo initially bought the house intending to rent it on Airbnb, but she said she has started to consider other options.
鈥淭he exit strategy is still up in the air just because of what鈥檚 going on with the economy right now,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not really sure what the market鈥檚 gonna look like. We haven鈥檛 even gotten to break ground yet on the property just because of all the plans and permitting and everything.鈥�
Salvo lives in Dallas, and when she started researching property in Fort Worth, there were two areas that caught her interest: along Magnolia Avenue and near the Fort Worth Zoo. As soon as she found out Avakian鈥檚 landlord was interested in selling the property, she jumped on the opportunity to buy into the Fairmount neighborhood.
鈥淲e plan on adding about 800 square feet to the property,鈥� Salvo said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a three- bedroom, two-and-a-half bath with an office and, yeah, that鈥檚 kind of what I got planned for it.鈥�
Tenants struggle to find new housing
Over the next several months, Avakian scrambled to find new housing in the neighborhood she鈥檇 grown to love.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 going to be able to live here anymore. That was my first thought, actually,鈥� she recalled.
A teacher and community organizer, Avakian couldn鈥檛 see herself living anywhere else in Fort Worth. After searching for hundreds of hours with no luck, she finally found a 6-hour-old listing for an apartment in Fairmount and jumped on the opportunity.
鈥淚 got really lucky just with the timing and everything,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I know that a lot of people not aren鈥檛 necessarily as lucky to find a place around here.鈥�
One in two homes sold last year in Tarrant County .
Tarrant County ranked third nationwide for the share of homes purchased by investors, at 52%, according to a report by the .
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the thing about putting your house up for sale,鈥� Shelby Kimball, a Realtor with , said. 鈥淲hether you own it for your own personal use or leasing out to tenants, ultimately when you sell it you want to get the most bang for your buck.鈥�
ReAlpha, an Ohio-based real estate investment company, made waves last year when it committed to spending as much as and make them into short- term rentals. The company plans to target areas where it can buy homes in bulk, and take advantage of the end of the federal foreclosure moratorium.
鈥淐orporate buyers, unfortunately, have taken quite a chunk of those (affordable) homes,鈥� Kimball said. 鈥淲e have seen a lot of those offers for full price or even over, and it鈥檚 in cash because they have a large fund to draw from, unlike the individuals who are getting a loan. So it eats up a lot of it. And it does concern us as Realtors, because we do need housing.鈥�
Avakian is paying more than double the rent at her new apartment. She paid $500 a month at the two-bedroom Henderson home, splitting the $1,000 rent with her brother. Now, she pays $1,150 a month.
鈥淭his price is like the lowest that I found,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o I don鈥檛 know what to say about that, but that鈥檚 how housing is right now.鈥�
McDermott has lived in the neighborhood for the last 40 years. While he鈥檚 sympathetic to rising housing costs and the squeeze felt by long-term renters, he isn鈥檛 convinced short-term rentals are the problem.
鈥淚 understand the need for rental and affordable rental,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur rentals in Fairmount are not affordable anyways. Not for the people who need affordable housing.鈥�
McDermott owns a short-term rental property in Fairmount located in a garage apartment. In the decades since he moved into the area, he鈥檚 seen a shift from predominantly long-term rentals to single-family homes and short-term rentals.
鈥淲e have friends in the neighborhood who have gone, and they鈥檝e actually turned some of the crappiest little 1980s duplexes that were horrible, badly run badly managed long-term rentals and turned them into cute little Airbnbs,鈥� he said.
Many people who buy homes in Fairmount for short-term rentals renovate and add value to previously rundown properties, he said. Salvo said when she is done with her planned renovations to the Henderson house, she estimates it will have a value of over $500,000.
鈥淪o I actually went to Roundtop, that big antique show, and I bought so much stuff because I was originally wanting to do this short-term rental,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it was going to be like a Cowboys and Indian themed or an outlaws hideout type of themed Airbnb. And now I鈥檓 like, I got all this stuff in my storage. Am I even going to use it?鈥�
Christine Voigt, a resident of the nearby since 2008, said she moved to the area with the understanding it was residential in nature. She said short-term rentals mean people flow in and out of the neighborhood without contributing to the community in a meaningful way, and she would prefer long-term renters as neighbors.
鈥淟ong-term renters bring stuff to the community,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e polite and involved 鈥� We get to know long-term renters. We have cars broken into, and that can go on if you don鈥檛 know anyone.鈥�
Owner-occupied or investor-owned?
As the city considers on short-term rentals, it has . One option would allow owner-occupied rentals to be treated as bed and breakfast homes; another would allow them by right in certain neighborhoods or citywide, with a cap on the percentage per block.
Proposed regulations on investor-owned short-term rentals are stricter. One proposal under consideration would only allow investors to operate Airbnbs and the like in multi-family districts, and another would require them to secure a conditional use permit like a bed and breakfast inn.
Matthew Townsend and his wife operate one of Fairmount鈥檚 owner-occupied Airbnbs. The couple rent their primary home in Fairmount on Airbnb when they travel out of town. In 2021, they constructed a garage apartment unit in their backyard focused on longer-term Airbnb stays, 30 days or longer.
鈥淲e鈥檝e kind of been focusing on longer-term stays because it鈥檚 easier for us as a host,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I think it鈥檚 really good for the neighborhood because it does provide a place for somebody who needs a place to stay long term.鈥�
Townsend said he鈥檚 provided housing to students in the past, as well as people looking for a new home in Fort Worth who need a place to stay during their search. The rising costs of housing mean there鈥檚 a need for stop-gap options, like longer-term Airbnbs, he said.
鈥淭he cost of housing in the South Side specifically is, I think, a reflection on the really great businesses that we have here on the South Side,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a reflection on a lot of the work and the investment that the city has done. But I don鈥檛 know that it鈥檚 sustainable. And obviously we need places for teachers and firefighters and police people and all those people who don鈥檛 make well into the six figures to live.鈥�
McDermott agrees owner-occupied and investor-owned short-term rentals are different beasts. He proposed the city issue a moratorium on new short-term rentals owned by investors, and do more research on the impacts of each type before rushing to make a permanent policy change.
鈥淕o ahead and register them, that鈥檚 fine,鈥� he said. 鈥淐harge a fee 鈥� tax them like a hotel tax, that鈥檚 fine. The people traveling will just have to pay for it, collect it and turn it in.鈥�
Avakian, the Fairmount tenant, isn鈥檛 against short-term rentals entirely. She鈥檚 used them when traveling, and she said she understands the convenience that comes with it. A limit on the number allowed in the neighborhood, however, is important to ensure long-term housing is still available.
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 lucrative to have an Airbnb because you make more money,鈥� she said. 鈥淵our profit margin is a lot higher than if you鈥檙e doing a long-term rental, but you need to consider the fact that people need places to live 鈥� I know you want to make more money, but we need places to live.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Emily Wolf at emily.wolf@fortworthreport.org. You can follow Emily on Twitter @_wolfemily.
Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
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