- A converted barn in rural Wisconsin has been turned into an Airbnb that starts from $700 per night.
- The 1.81-acre converted barn property was first listed on the market for $945,000 in early 2022.
- Kyle Miklasz, the current owner, says he bought the place in an off-market deal for $775,000.
A converted barn property in rural Wisconsin has been turned into an Airbnb that can be rented from $700 per night.
The quirky barn property first hit the market for $945,000 in May last year, as Insider previously reported. The 1.81-acre lot includes the converted barn, two garages, and a two-flat — a two-story building with a separate apartment on each floor — that was formerly a farmhouse.
According to the listing history, the price of the home was reduced several times until it became $699,000 in October 2022, before it was eventually taken off the market in December.
Kyle Miklasz, the current owner, told Insider he bought the property for $775,000 in an off-market deal without any realtors.
"Back in January, I had plans to buy land to build a barn and silo from scratch, and finish the inside of each structure to be extremely unique and luxurious," Miklasz, a real-estate investor, said.
He first came across the Wisconsin barn house online while looking for building inspiration, and wanted to know what became of it.
After looking up real-estate sites, Miklasz realized it was never sold.
"I immediately opened up the white pages, searched the owner up, and called every number I could find repeatedly until someone picked up," Miklasz said. "I drove to his barn later that day and we had a handshake deal before I left the property."
Miklasz was drawn to the barn because of how much space it afforded as a rental property.
"I noticed an apparent void in the market where there are just simply not enough rental properties for large groups of over 20 people in specific regions and zip codes across the Midwest," he said.
Even as he toured the property for the first time, Miklasz said his brain was already buzzing with ideas to improve the space.
"I immediately noticed ways to bring the barn house to new and exciting levels of fun, by adding in rare amenities such as the nine-hole indoor mini golf course, the nine-foot tube slide off the deck, and the indoor basketball court, among many other things," he said.
After months of renovation, the converted barn home is now a six-bedroom Airbnb that can sleep up to 20 people.
There are eight queen-sized beds and four twin-sized beds, as well as a full-size futon and leather couch for additional sleeping space, per the Airbnb listing.
There are also three full bathrooms on the entire property, and they feature stone brick walls that were crafted onsite, Insider previously reported.
Since the property was well taken care of, only minor structural upgrades were needed.
"We added new HVAC to the first floor of the barn where the mini golf course is," he said. "Corrected a few items that needed to be brought up to code by one of our carpenters, and had some local electrical work done on a few areas of the space."
Outside, apart from adding a cattle fence to line the property, Miklasz also excavated a fire pit and built an outdoor pergola and patio, he added.
The converted barn property is targeting large groups of 15 to 20 people who are interested in an unusual getaway.
The converted barn, due to its spacious indoor and outdoor areas, can accommodate those who are booking trips for family vacations, reunions, company outings, as well as bachelor and bachelorette parties, Miklasz said.
One of the main highlights of the Airbnb property is the entertainment room, which comes with arcade machines and a nine-hole mini golf course.
Some of the arcade games include a SkeeBall machine, a Pac-Man machine, and a Marvel-themed pinball machine, per the Airbnb listing.
The previous owner did not leave anything behind and Miklasz had to furnish the entire property from scratch.
This included the main barn house and a smaller building where the sauna and pool were located, Miklasz said.
"In addition to the reclaimed barn wood Amish-made furniture that we sourced locally, we also sourced all of the end tables from a local woodworking shop that repurposes whiskey and wine barrels," he added.
Outside, there is a tube slide that leads from the second-floor deck to the campfire area in the backyard.
The nightly rates fluctuate depending on the season and the demand — similar to how airline pricing works, Miklasz said.
"We are actually seeing the average nightly rate of about $1,000 per night," Miklasz said. "For example, a weekend in summer might be as much as $2,250 a night, but a weekday in winter might be as low as $550 a night."
When Insider checked the property's Airbnb page over the course of a week in October, the rental rates were between $700 and $760 a night.
"We listed the property on Airbnb about 4 weeks ago and we have already had over 140 nights booked," Miklasz added. "We always knew it would be a success, but we had no idea that over a one-third of the calendar year would be booked up in a matter of weeks."
Miklasz provided Insider with proof of his house purchase.
Axel Springer, Insider Inc.'s parent company, is an investor in Airbnb.
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