PHOENIX (AP) -Fans have paid a couple of grand for their Super Bowl tickets and hundreds for the plane trip.
So what’s $100,000 more?
Real estate companies and enterprising Arizona homeowners are hoping that some Super Bowl fans coming for the Feb. 3 game here will shell out big bucks for a weeklong stay at a swank home, complete with maid services, a luxury vehicle and in some cases, home cooking.
William Kerbs, a 34-year-old mortgage company owner, is renting out his suburban Fountain Hills home for $125,000 the week of the Super Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
His 7,200-square-foot home has two spas, a 1,000-square-foot pool, marble and hardwood floors, and four washers and dryers. Kerbs said additional negotiable perks will include a maid and the use of his 2007 Bentley.
“My realtor told me that Beyonce rented out a house in Paradise Valley for $250,000,” he said. “I just said maybe we’ll just try it to see what happens.”
If he gets a taker, Kerbs said he’ll take his wife and three children for a vacation either in Las Vegas or in Cape Coral, Fla., where he owns a condo.
“I think we have a 50/50 shot at it,” he said. “I’m sure there’s going to be some inquiries. It’ll just depend on how serious they are and where they’re coming from.”
Luxury home rentals are being listed anywhere from $30,000 to $250,000 a week, said Shannon Martinson, an agent with Scottsdale Fine Properties, which has 30 listings for the Super Bowl on its Web site.
“The thing that’s kind of driving the prices is location and amenities,” Martinson said. “People are throwing in daily housekeeping, transportation, chef services. So the more people are kind of throwing into the homes, of course the more they can offer as far as price.”
Other homeowners are auctioning off weeklong Super Bowl packages on eBay or posting them to the Internet bulletin board Craigslist.
“Would you like to be treated like the Super Bowl quarterback when you are on vacation?” says one Craigslist posting for a $20,000 rental offering 24-hour limo service, VIP treatment at popular clubs, and a stocked refrigerator and wet bar.
David Moskowitz, a 42-year-old real estate investor, is including tickets to a Phoenix Suns game and the FBR Open, a limo for 12 hours a day and reservations at three upscale restaurants with his two-bedroom downtown Phoenix condo – all for the price of $50,000.
“I think I have this down to a science,” he said. “I can really make some good money on this.”
While many homeowners have that same attitude, they often don’t get results, said Allen Raines, president of Event Home Rentals, a Georgia-based online company that lists short-term homes rentals for major sporting events.
“Generally speaking, the majority of the people get too insanely crazy about the money that they’re asking for and their houses never rent,” Raines said.
He said homeowners need to consider how many hotel rooms are in their market, if they are sold out, and if so, what hotel brokers are asking for.
“Why would I spend $30,000 to stay at a house and do my own stuff when I could stay at the Four Seasons for six grand and be waited on?” he said.
He did say there are good deals to be had. For instance, he rented out a condo in South Beach, Fla., for last year’s Super Bowl for $1,000 for a week.
The year before, he made money when he rented a home in Jacksonville for $9,000 for a week. The home came with two club level tickets to the Super Bowl, which Raines sold for $11,000.
Glendale police Sgt. Jim Toomey said his department neither recommends nor condones short-term Super Bowl rentals, and that in fact, it’s illegal in Glendale unless the homeowner gets a business license.
If a homeowner does decide to rent out, he said they should check with their insurance company about their coverage.
“They should consider what happens if someone falls down the stairs and becomes injured,” he said. “And, what happens if Monday morning they retake possession of their house and there’s a bunch of damage? People would not be able to call us and claim some type of crime occurred.
“It’s between them and their customers,” he added. “That’s the reason for a security deposit.”
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On the Net:
Official site of the Super Bowl XLII: http://www.nfl.com/superbowl
Event Home Rentals: http://www.eventhomerentals.com/
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