If you own a home in a vacation spot, you may decide to rent it out to vacationers. But before deciding to take such a course of action, there are many things to consider. You will need to advertise the property, take reservations and make sure it is properly insured. If the house is situated in a popular vacation spot, there should be a selection of vacation rental agencies to help you take care of the details.
Whether you decide to deal with a local agent, or try to rent the property yourself, here are some important tips to consider:
- Make sure your property is properly insured. It can be difficult to secure vacation rental homes for two main reasons. They can be left unoccupied, particularly during the winter months, for extended periods.
- Also due to the nature of vacation rentals and the high turnover of people renting the property, there is a higher chance of theft or damage. However, there are specialized insurance agencies that will help you insure the property.
- Make sure the proposed vacation home meets legal requirements, such as fire safety and furniture standards. Safety certificates will also be needed for gas appliances, and electrical items must be safe to use.
- Before renting out your home to tourists, you’ll want to make sure it’s neat and presentable. Any rubbish must be cleaned up and the containers emptied. Also any personal postal items and circulars must be removed from the property.
- The property must be kept in good repair, with lined pipes. All electrical elements must be turned off when the vacation home is not occupied.
- Prepare an inventory for guests and let them know their responsibility for any breakages.
- Make a list of house rules for guests. But be careful here. The rules must be reasonable and not be tempted to try to cover everything. A general rule of thumb might be that if your rules cover more than one side of the paper, then go a bit overboard!
- Make sure you have received payment for the rental period and that all checks have cleared before handing over the house keys.
- Be sure to state in the rental agreement how much deposits are due and how long after vacating the property guests can expect the deposit to be returned.
A vacation rental agent will be able to address many of these issues if you decide to rent your vacation home. Whether you decide to use an agent or not, these tips will help you.