Stay in a Charlotte FC player’s Airbnb at Lake Norman

What’s happening: Bronico and his wife Rebecca have been busy renovating a duplex near the lake that they’ve converted into an Airbnb. They’ve been documenting the process on Instagram.

Catch up quick: The couple met at UNC Charlotte, where they both played soccer. Chicago Fire, a Major League Soccer team, drafted Brandt in 2017, and Rebecca left for grad school in Louisiana. The couple found their way back to Charlotte when Brandt signed with Charlotte FC in 2020.

• Charlotte FC announced signing Brandt on the day of their wedding.
• They moved back to Charlotte in 2021 and got into the Airbnb business quickly, renting a private suite in the Belmont neighborhood.
• “[Rebecca] is great at the design, I usually do the numbers and we both are pretty handy when it comes to beginner/intermediate home renovations,” Brandt tells Axios.

State of play: The couple closed on the Lake Norman property in June and spent the last several months doing much of the renovations themselves, but they did call in professionals for tasks like electrical work. The space was in pretty rough shape, Brandt says. Renovations include:

• Replacing the flooring and carpets, adding trim, replacing light fixtures, replacing bathroom vanities and kitchen countertops, repairing and knocking down walls, refurbishing the tub and shower, and restoring the kitchen cabinets.
• They also removed nine trees, painted the exterior of the house, stained the deck, expanded and re-graveled the driveway, and added a fire pit, stock tank pool (a DIY swimming pool) with a deck and a putting green. The outside also has new electric work, Rebecca says.

Details: You have three options to rent the duplex: Stay in the bottom unit or the top unit, or rent the entire place. Each unit includes two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen.

• Pricing will depend on the season, but an individual unit will run between $125-$200 per night. The whole property will be $250-$350 per night.
• Amenities include two hammocks, a fire pit, a roughly 2.5-foot stock tank pool with a deck, a bocce ball court and the putting green.
• The property is not directly on the lake, but it is across from one of the marinas, so you’re not too far away. “You still technically have lake views and, if you have a boat, you can launch it at the marina,” Brandt says.

What’s next: The Bronicos plan to add another Airbnb in Charlotte. They may also expand to Wilmington and Asheville.

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