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TEMPE, Ariz. (FOX 10) - Arizona recently passed new laws to get a grip on short-term home rentals on sites like VRBO and Airbnb. But even with the best laws, there's a bad side to renting your home to strangers. Case in point - a home in Tempe is now a cautionary tale for other would-be short-term renters.
The governor signed the law a couple of weeks ago. It's meant to keep track of who's staying where and for how long. But mostly to avoid scenes like this.
A rager broke out of a Tempe home on May 18 with music, drinks, and dozens of young people. Problem is - it was supposed to be a sleepover for sene.
"The original booking say family coming in from Chicago - want to go hiking and need a place where we can relax after we're done," said Charly Brems.
Brems has been renting on Airbnb since spring - doing it during business trips and making a good chunk of change. But he estimates this one night cost him several thousand dollars. From cleaning the mess, fixing things that broke, and replacing items that were stolen.
"I'm guessing when it's all said and done, [it cost] about $16,000," said Brems. "I mean, they burnt carpet marks on walls - it's not just a touch-up job."
Both Brems and his neighbors called police They showed up a couple of times that night and left a nuisance law on the floor - basically charging Brems a fee.
Brems calmed his neighbors and is working with Airbnb to identify the perpetrators. He thinks it was professional party-throwers using fake profiles.
"Judging by the way they scoped out my camerca locations and walking through and hearing the audio of them pointing out the cameras," Brems said.
So, a pretty impressive party with plenty of damage done. As for Brems renting on Airbnb again - that's still up in the air.
Brems says he got a letter from Tempe on Thursday, saying he can avoid the fee if he gives them the names of the renters. But it doesn't look like that's going to be possible. The state's new laws hit the books later this summer.