Budget Breakdown: A Bay Area Couple Turn an A-Frame Cabin Near Yosemite Into a $600-a-Night Rental

In 2021, after five months of searching for an A-frame home near Yosemite that they could turn into a short-term rental, Aria Massoudifar and Sam Salehyan found a Zillow listing for one and that same day, put in an offer. Built in 1973 and last renovated in the ’80s, their newly purchased home in Pine Mountain Lake was dated with dark-gray shag carpets throughout the loft and downstairs living area, dark wood paneling covering the walls and ceilings, and vinyl flooring in a walled-off kitchen that had quartz countertops, also in gray, that matched the bathroom counters.

But the cabin, steps away from the local golf course and the town’s marina, had classic A-frame style with 20-foot-tall windows, a rock-wall fireplace, open-beam knotty pine ceilings, and a lofted sleeping area. Aria and Sam were confident that they could turn it into the kind of place they’d like to stay while enjoying the Sierras.

"The Yosemite area is special to us because its natural beauty is so overwhelming and magnificent that it makes everyday stress seem small and irrelevant," says Aria. "The problem is, when we stay here, we often have a hard time finding rental or hotel options that feel updated and modern."