Emily Aguirre is a good sport.
The newly engaged New Jerseyan is temporarily giving up her new home — which she and fiancé Gerardo just spent roughly $10,000 remodeling — to strangers in need of a cozy place to stay this month.
But her sacrifice isn’t exactly altruistic. It’s economic.
“This is supposed to be our first home together, but because the FIFA World Cup is bringing thousands of soccer fans to New Jersey, we decided to renovate the house, postpone moving in, and rent it out for the next few weeks to make some money,” Aguirre, 30, exclusively told The Post.
Aguirre, a director of operations at a childcare facility, and Gerardo, 31, a general manager at a luxury fitness company, closed on their three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom abode in Newark, New Jersey, in March, and almost immediately started a pricey makeover.
Their home is less than 20 minutes away from Met Life Stadium, in East Rutherford, where eight World Cup matches, including the final, will be held once the tournament kicks off on Thursday, June 11.
The bride- and groom-to-be are in the huddle of homeowners nationwide who are rushing to revamp their addresses into attractive Airbnb listings for worldwide out-of-towners — hopefully making bank in the process.
For many, it’s an expensive, albeit worthwhile, endeavor that could pay off in spades. Some property owners surveyed by The Post have high hopes for windfalls exceeding $20,000 and reaching a whopping $45,000.
From the windows to the walls, the Newark couple has spent countless nights and weekends DIY painting, tiling, sanding, glazing, lighting, removing and restoring nearly everything in the house in preparation for any number of the millions of FIFA fanatics expected to descend upon the tristate area.
The blood, sweat, tears and loot they’ve sewn into their home overhaul will, they hope, reap rich rewards from tourists seeking short-term rental accommodations, said Aguirre.
“We hope to make back the $10,000 we invested in the renovation, at least,” explained Aguirre. She and Gerardo are each living with their parents until after the FIFA festivities conclude on July 19. “But any additional money we earn is going towards our wedding.”
Aguirre is even strategically embellishing it specifically for FIFA-natics among Airbnb’s global audience.
“Amazon has become my best friend,” she joked. “I got a couple of FIFA pillows, a FIFA plush trophy that actually just came in the mail, some FIFA inflatable furniture, and world flags I’ll put in the backyard with the grill.”
Now, since placing her home up for temporary grabs at the top of the month, the spot, comfortably accommodating up to seven guests, is completely booked through the second week of July. With a two-night minimum, visitors can expect to pay roughly $1,000 for a weekend.
But she’s not too worried about rowdy sports junkies coming in and trashing her sweet little setup.
“It’s the World Cup, which definitely doesn’t come to New Jersey every day, so I’m just excited about making the money,” said Aguirre with a chuckle. “But we may ask big groups to put down a bigger security deposit.”
Airbnbillion-dollar windfall
Airbnb, an official tournament partner, is expected to generate $1.2 billion in spending throughout the US, Canada and Mexico during the fête, according to a recent Deloitte study. Airbnb hosts across North America are poised to rake in approximately $212 million.
The company has further sweetened the pot, offering $750 to new “entire home hosts” welcoming guests before July 31 in any of the 16 World Cup cities — including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto, Mexico City and New York City, as well as Essex, Hudson and Union counties in New Jersey.
With roughly 238,000 guests who’ll require lodging headed to NYC and its neighboring towns for the matchups, including around 25,000 Airbnb customers, per Deloitte, it’s a cash incentive that’s inspiring locals to take the lucrative leap.
The city, however, has yet to ease its strict short-term regulations, which require hopeful hosts to register with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) before legally opening their doors to visitors. Conversely, New Jersey’s Division of Local Government Services issued a Local Finance Notice on April 7, encouraging the state to make the most of the forthcoming cash flow.
“With the FIFA World Cup, America 250th Anniversary celebrations, and other major events this summer and beyond, this Notice reminds municipalities of their authority to allow New Jersey residents to participate in the short-term rental market, helping them generate income while keeping tourism dollars within their communities,” reads the bulletin, in part.
Hosts within screaming distance of Met Life Stadium — where face-offs between Brazil v. Morocco, Norway v. Senegal, Ecuador v. Germany, and more will be held — stand to rake in an average of $5,700 as the good times roll.
Imported Italian marble — and a waterfall
Folks in and around the Big Apple, however, are anticipating much bigger payouts.
Seven short-term rental properties near the stadium are listed between $13,000 and nearly $17,000 for three-night stays during the championship weekend in July.
Luxe listings, including a two-bedroom, one-bedroom apartment five minutes from the venue, come as freshly painted, fully furnished spaces boasting haute amenities like ample parking, laundry rooms, game rooms — with air hockey, Pac-Man and PlayStation 5 on deck — home gyms, hot tubs, saunas and private home theaters.
One of the most lavish lodgings near NYC, however, is an “Ultra High-End Mansion” in Millburn, New Jersey, just 26 minutes south of MetLife Stadium and less than 40 minutes outside of the city, featuring eight bedrooms, six-and-a-half bathrooms to accommodate over 16 guests per stay.
The swanky setup, recently decked out with a $2.2 million interior and exterior “gut renovation,” comes with new Carlisle White Oak floors, Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances, an imported Italian marble fireplace, a saltwater pool, sculptural waterfall, gas fire pit on a custom stone patio, an upper deck with a motorized awning, a basketball hoop and a playset.
It’s an all-inclusive estate to rival Barbie’s Dream House, demanding a minimum three-night stay for approximately $38,000 — and it’s already sold out through late July.
‘Designed to look like the city skyline’
Aguirre’s 20-year-old house, however, is best suited for soccer spectators in search of quaint comfort, rather than a bunch of bougie bells and whistles.
The pièce de résistance of the couple’s palace will be the new bathroom they’ve installed, which she’s decked out in Gotham-esque glam.
“I came up with this concept of making a Manhattan-themed bathroom that’s really aesthetically pleasing,” said Aguirre, who helped install a new toilet in the lounge.
The pair has saved money by watching YouTube renovation tutorials instead of hiring painters, contractors and electricians.
“I decorated it in deep tones, with burgundy and dark brown accents and wallpaper designed to look like the city skyline,” said Aguirre, who documented their DIY online.
Rich Lema, a 26-year-old Rockland County real estate investor with several rental properties throughout northern New Jersey, also isn’t sweating the small stuff.
He’s focusing on the funds.
“I have three properties to list on Airbnb for FIFA, one single-family home in Belleville, NJ, and a two-family home in Englewood, NJ,” Lema bragged to The Post. “Both are about 15 to 20 minutes away from Met Life, like, 30 minutes from the city.
“If I rent all three units for between $300 to $500 each night for the [month-long event], I could make around $20,000 to $40,000.”
It’s a pie-in-the-sky projection, but Lema’s hungry for his slice.
He even started renovations on the home — a 1,200-square-foot, four-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom oasis — late last year.
But, unlike Aguirre, he’s got an in-house team of construction workers to get the jobs done.
“Sometimes these guys are working until 3 a.m.,” said Lema, happy to pay the crew overtime as kickoff time nears. Renovations across his three locations have cost Lema just over $10,000.
“I’m updating everything in Englewood now. The flooring, the bathroom, the paint,” Lema said. “I’m hiring a staging company to furnish each room, and if I can make it soccer themed, I’m gonna do that as well.”
It’s hopefully dough well spent.
“This is a big opportunity to make serious money,” said Lema, poised to place a down payment on another rental property with soccer earnings. He’s also considering treating himself to a pair of World Cup tickets, which reportedly boast an average price tag of $2,790 per seat.
“If I were renting to a tenant, I might make between $2,400 to $3,100 a month per unit,” he said. “I could make three times those figures from each property.
“That’s crazy.”
‘It’s go time’
Lia Pilla, a Los Angeles-based Airbnb “superhost” — for homeowners with an over 4.8 out of 5-star rating — is bound to pocket crazy cash from West Coast games.
Residents renting out their spaces in her city are expected to earn an average of $5,100 during the head-to-head duels at SoFi Stadium, per Deloitte.
Bonus: They could make a pretty penny for the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics, both set for LA.
Pilla is endearingly known as the “short-term shorty” on social media, where she posts herself spackling, hammering and power-drilling around any of her six rental homes. Now, she’s patiently awaiting a windfall.
Her two-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Hawthorne, located near downtown LA and boasting a hot tub and fire pit, is on the market for $900 to $1,500 per night during the upcoming soccer fest, she told the NBC affiliate in LA.
If it sells out every night, she stands to rake in between $27,000 to $45,000 from that location alone.
Shay Sweeney and husband Ahmad are praying for an equally sweet payout.
The married Houston entrepreneurs recently demolished and reconstructed the home of Ahmad’s late grandparents, scrambling to get it in ship-shape ahead of the first of seven World Cup games at NRG Stadium starting June 14.
Their weeks-long FIFA-rushed facelift has cost a cool $12,000, including renovations, decorations and homey knick-knacks like bedding, curtains, cooking utensils, toiletries, entertaining reading materials, and an outdoor cornhole station.
“It’s go time. It’s been hectic,” Shay, 38, an interior designer, told The Post with an exhausted laugh. “We’ve painted, redid the floors, moved in furniture from our home and storage unit.
“I can’t wait for the day that we can hire a team to do all this.”
An opening weekend stay at their freshly modified domicile will cost $1,542.81, including taxes.
The twosome, along with Ahmad’s brother, Isaiah, who also owns a portion of the property, hope to make their investment — and then some — every week of the playoffs.
“We don’t have an exact dollar amount that we’re hoping to earn through Airbnb, but my husband and I are small business owners in Houston, and hosting people during the World Cup is our time to shine,” said Shay.
She and Ahmad plan to transform the home into a content creation studio, welcoming influencers to film and edit internet-worthy clips there. Soccer soirée earnings will go toward transforming the unit from an Airbnb rental into a wannabe social media star’s dream.
“This is an amazing opportunity to provide a service to guests from around the world, as well as to local business owners,” she added, hoping to encourage folks to explore the community’s eateries, museums and landmarks.
“We want everyone in the area to experience this win,” Shay said. “It’s the perfect setup.”