How do I rent my home on as a vacation rental?
Do you own a 2nd home or a cabin somewhere on a lake where the grass grows tall and spiders spin webs in the unoccupied corners while you sit in a lawn chair at your daughter’s 137th soccer game?
Do feel guilty about not being there as it sits idle while you are headed to games, recitals, jobs, reunions, weddings, camps and all the things that make packing up and leaving town difficult as your kids get older?
Have you ever said, “ I only ran the boat twice all summer?”
While your cabin may be sitting empty and quiet… the bills that accompany it do not.
Consider renting your cabin as a vacation property for others to use while you cannot.
The benefits are obvious:
1. You make money
2. You can use the cabin as a business and write off expenses such as traveling to the cabin to work on it, utilities, insurance and ect…
3. You feel less guilt
4. It makes the cabin more affordable and less likely to cause stress in your life… which most people need less stress.
The down side:
1. The idea of someone sleeping in your bed
2. The idea of people using your space and furniture
3. The work of taking bookings and answering calls
4. The idea of having to find a cleaner/handyman
My wife and I currently run three vacation rentals and here are a few simple steps I’d recommend if you are interested:
1. Get a beer and sit at your computer for 2 hours and research similar cabins in your area on VRBO
2. Try to identify what it would rent for
3. Check with your insurance company to see if your insurance is adequate to rent the cabin/home
That is a good, easy and simple way to start… even if you do not end of renting your cabin… at least you got a beer out of the experience.
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