The last two years have seen an unprecedented rush into Truckee and North Lake Tahoe of new home buyers and with them a host of unforeseen complications.

With skyrocketing home prices and dwindling inventory of homes and land to actually buy, other pressures are affecting the plans of prospective homeowners, particularly those seeking to generate income from their new properties. 

Along with the new homeowners seeking fresh air and space away from their primary residences in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento region, the already high volume of visitors to Truckee-Tahoe is increasing. That visitorship makes the idea of a short-term rental an attractive way for second homeowners to offset the carrying costs of their properties. 

Indeed, for some new buyers, placing their homes into the short-term rental market is a key element of their investment plans.

But the Town of Truckee is tapping — if not slamming — the brakes on the whole concept of short-term rentals. 

 

TRUCKEE MORATORIUM

The real estate boom of the last two years has put a squeeze on the availability of housing units for the region’s workforce. Many of the homes that were rented long-term to local employees are now short-term, especially in Truckee neighborhoods such as Tahoe Donner. Developments like Gray’s Crossing and Old Greenwood aren’t immune either.  

In September 2021, the Town of Truckee issued a moratorium on short-term rental permits until a plan is formulated to address workforce housing needs. The Town of Truckee is currently considering several recommendations to update its short-term rental ordinance:

• Capping the number of short-term rental registration certificates issued.

• Create a waiting period after a property sells before it can be used as a short-term rental.

• Phase out short-term rentals in condominiums and apartments.

The current moratorium on short-term rental permits and the uncertainty of a future quota are non-starters for prospective buyers who have short-term rental income factored into their financing plans. 

 

SOLUTION? NAKOMA

About 60 minutes north of Truckee and Interstate 80 is Nakoma. The Nakoma community of custom homes and homesites is set on 1,280 acres around a vibrant mountain resort that includes Altitude family recreation center, the Frank Lloyd Wright Lodge and The Dragon, an 18-hole championship golf course.

Unlike the Town of Truckee, Plumas County, where Nakoma is located, does not have any restrictions on short-term rentals. And if that were to happen, Nakoma has a seamless, turnkey approach designed specifically for homeowners in the community.

 

NAKOMA VACATION HOME RENTALS

The Vacation Rental Management program is operated by Nakoma Resort to the same high standards as the 42-room Inn at Nakoma and the Villas at Nakoma. Along with housekeeping and winter snow removal, the resort manages bookings and other aspects of the vacation home rental while the homeowner is away.

In other words, Nakoma’s rental program means homeowners can skip Airbnb, Vrbo and other third party rental management companies. And since the rental is included in Nakoma Resort’s accommodation inventory, applicable taxes and fees are collected when a renter books the property online just like a hotel or Villa reservation. 

What does that mean in a practical sense? If Plumas County were to go down the road Truckee is now on, it wouldn’t impact a new or existing homeowner’s ability to rent short term.

 

MAKE YOUR MOVE

The Nakoma community and surrounding Lost Sierra offers a variety of ways to start living your mountain lifestyle. From buying a spacious homesite and building a custom home to the Ascend Residences in the heart of the community, Nakoma offers something for every buyer.

Owners of Ascend homes can participate in Nakoma’s Vacation Rental program, which allows your property to earn while you’re away. Your vacation rental is managed as a resort lodging asset for short-term guests to Nakoma seeking alternatives to the Inn at Nakoma. 

With business retreats and wedding groups already booked for 2022 and beyond there is demand for more lodging at Nakoma. You’ll have the best of both worlds with your Nakoma mountain retreat and income from short-term rentals.

Likewise, if your custom home in the Nakoma Community Association is a secondary home, you can place it in the Vacation Rental Management program during the times you are away.

For more information about Nakoma and the Nakoma Vacation Rental Management program contact Dan Gallagher at 530-927-8104 or email Sales@NakomaLife.com.