Rhode Island man with a fiancee, toddler and 3 Airbnbs wants a 4th property. Why Dave Ramsey says that's ‘dangerous’

Rhode Island man with a fiancee, toddler and 3 Airbnbs wants a 4th property. Why Dave Ramsey says that's ‘dangerous’

Sarah Sharkey

Mon, January 12, 2026 at 11:00 AM EST

5 min read

James, 40, called into The Ramsey Show from Providence, Rhode Island, for real estate advice.

James makes $100,000 a year in a full-time job in hospitality sales. He and his fiancée have a two-year-old together. On top of that, they own three Airbnbs.

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James told Dave Ramsey and co-host John Delony that he currently takes care of everything at the Airbnbs — checking people in, doing maintenance and housekeeping. That’s on top of his full-time job (1).

“You should take up golf,” Ramsey said, laughing at how much James was juggling.

Now James and his fiancée are mulling buying a fourth Airbnb with a bank loan. Their Airbnbs are doing well, grossing more than $100,000 in 2024 with a 62% profit margin.

James expected to close the books on 2025 with $125,000 in revenue from the properties. It’s a lucrative side hustle.

But he acknowledged he’d have to take out a large bank loan to purchase a fourth Airbnb.

Ramsey rhymed off four reasons why that’s a bad idea.

Reasons why purchasing an Airbnb may be risky

Here are things that make James’ purchases of a fourth Airbnb “very dangerous” at this time, according to Ramsey:

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1. Purchasing real estate with someone you’re not married to.

While James and his fiancée are engaged and have a two-year-old child together, Ramsey says the risks of a breakup make it “very dangerous” to invest in property with anyone other than your spouse.

2. Taking on significant debt to purchase an investment property.

Ramsey advises against taking on debt at the best of times, especially when it comes to income properties. He and his wife own a large number of rentals outright, debt-free.

3. Investing in a high-risk business model.

Ramsey said it’s not great to have to depend on a third party — for example Airbnb — for your investment property income. He added that a growing number of municipalities and HOAs are restricting or outright banning Airbnbs (3).

4. Taking on additional work on top of being a busy parent, full-time worker and Airbnb owner.

Ramsey doesn’t think James has the bandwidth to manage another Airbnb, given he has a toddler, a full-time job and three existing Airbnb properties loaded with responsibilities.

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“I think that all you have seen in this is the upside,” says Ramsey. “You’ve not considered any of the downsides.”

Ramsey warned that he treated real estate similarly in his 20s, but the risks ended with him going broke.

He advised that James not buy this property and only add to his portfolio when he could pay in cash with a scalable business model.

“I believe in being a nightmare killer, not a dream killer,” Ramsey said.

Airbnb might not be the cash cow many believe it to be

James isn’t alone in believing that Airbnb offers a path to financial freedom through easy cash flow.

But while gurus across the internet portray Airbnbs as a way to get rich quickly, it’s trickier than it sounds. Newbie investors should be aware of the risks (2).

For starters, Airbnb isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it investment. It’s a hands-on job that involves meeting guests, cleaning, maintenance and more.

Even if you hire other people to take on those jobs, you’ll likely have to manage a team or outsource management for a steep price that cuts into your potential profits.

As Ramsey noted, a growing number of municipalities are restricting Airbnbs (3).

In Ramsey’s words, it’s “a lot of hassle.”

Many Airbnb hosts like James rely on leverage to obtain more properties. Adding more debt to a property portfolio represents a significant risk.

If suddenly you can’t rent out your Airbnb for any number of factors — changing bylaws, changes to the business model — you could end up behind on mortgage payments, creating business and personal financial stress (4).

Short-term rentals surged in popularity during the pandemic. A recent study found that the number of Airbnbs has increased by 300% since 2023, but revenue has fallen by 30% (5).

With an onslaught of fees added to most stays and a rash of scams, some travelers are returning to the known quantity of staying in a hotel (6, 7).

With this growing risk, it’s worth considering all of the potential outcomes before jumping into an Airbnb. For example, you might consider how much you could rent the space for as a long-term rental in the event of a short-term rental collapse.

Run the numbers and make sure you have a backup plan for the mortgage payment if your projected revenue doesn’t match up with reality.

Rhode Island man with a fiancee, toddler and 3 Airbnbs wants a 4th property. Why Dave Ramsey says that's ‘dangerous’