If you’re looking to earn some extra income over the summer, consider renting out your home as a vacation rental. It’s not too early to start thinking about it, especially if you want to buy a vacation rental house. Spring is the top of the real estate market and there will usually be more options available to buy. Even if you want to rent out your current house, there’s some prep work to be done first.
When marketing a short-term rental, think of it as a hotel. That’s where most people stay while on vacation, so you need to make sure it’s attractive to people who would otherwise simply book a hotel room. Advertise the amenities you have and the benefits of staying there over a hotel room. Price probably isn’t going to be one of them, but it’s still definitely something you need to think about. Pricing vacation rentals is difficult because they probably won’t be earning income all throughout the year, especially if you live there yourself most of the time. This means you may need to charge more to cover your monthly costs and retain a profit, unless you don’t have a mortgage. But you don’t want to charge so much that no one rents from you.
The other thing to consider is protecting yourself and maintaining your property. With the property changing hands between multiple tenants, you never know what could happen unless you keep an eye on it, which may be difficult if you are also on vacation yourself. Talk to property management companies to see what services they offer and for how much. You’ll want your home cleaned in between tenants, which may or may not require hiring cleaners separately from a property manager. Also take a look to see if you want additional liability insurance.
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