Good afternoon, As a second home owner renting out your property throughout the year I am pleased to bring you the safest and simplest way to manage your home from miles away without the needs for keys! It will be of great benefit to you and will make your life so much easier when dealing [...]
For those of you renting in a spring break area (I have a condo on the Gulf Coast), will you rent to “spring breakers”? When I first started renting and had a hard time keeping my condo booked, I would rent to the 21-25 crowd with a larger deposit. Maybe it’s my old age and [...]
It’s often said that “the Internet changes everything.” Certainly it has changed–even disrupted–the traditional relationship between vacation-rental owners and their property managers. At the very least, it has introduced a spectrum of possibilities. For some brave souls, the Internet has made it possible to take on everything: marketing, managing, advertising, maintenance–you name it. But what [...]
From a management prospective, i think it is essential to talk to each guest. I deal with a lot of group bookings, and sometimes the groups try to over-max the property, but we would never know this if we didn’t talk to them and tell them the rules. plus it is a bonus to form [...]
Fellow Vacation Rental Owners: As a vacation home rental owner and operator of a vacation rentals by owner advertising website, I have been following the situation closely with regards to the recent sharp decline in both real estate prices (commercial and single family homes) and the stock market. Like a lot of investors out there [...]
When I used to travel for a living, I enjoyed the perks offered by the airlines and the hotels. Upgrade to first class? Sure! Upgrade hotel room? Don’t mind if I do! Everyone likes perks and incentives not available elsewhere. For your vacation home, perks make your rental stand-out. They can make things easier on [...]
Although I realize that we all bought our vacation rental properties to RENT them, sometimes you get stuck looking a week in the eye and realizing that there is no way you are going to get a paying renter in there. Although our 2/2 condo in Blind Pass Condominiums on Sanibel Island has performed very [...]
My mom likes to talk on the phone. A lot. And while she isn’t afraid to browse the web and find what she wants, she still wants to pick up the phone and talk to a human to order. If you want to maximize bookings, make sure to put phone number on your vacation rental [...]
The amount of information you can post on most vacation rental hosting site is limited to a few photo’s and limited text. Do you have documents, links, photos, videos, virtual tours, or other media and information relating to your rental that you frequently share with your tenants? I do! I recently found a great service [...]
The Herald Net has a short article on the main tax rules with regard to vacation rentals. Let me break down the categories of taxation: Renting out your vacation home less than 15 days a year Renting out your vacation home as much as possible while never using your vacation rental for personal use. Renting [...]
If you’ve been around the internet for any period of time, you’re well aware of the scams arriving by email informing you of the vast sums of money you have won. Or, if you help the Nigerian Princess move money out of her country, you can have a cut of it. These scams have permeated [...]
Increase your vacation home bookings by accepting forms of payments that aren’t cash. Below is a list of some popular options. 1. Personal Check As long as you have enough time before check-in, this is usually your #1 option. Since the renter has to send you the rental agreement anyway, have them drop a check [...]
As a vacation rental owner you have ample opportunities to advertise your vacation home. One such opportunity is email signatures. Every email you send out to renters or friends should have, at a minimum, your contract information. Include the following: Your name Your email address Your inquiry phone number Your listing website address from your [...]
Like many of us in the by owner vacation rental industry, you have to have a solution to the “get a key to the renter” conundrum. Here, I run down the ways to solve that riddle. Again, this isn’t for those who are lucky enough (or unlucky, as it may be) to meet the renter [...]
As a vacation home owner, you are responding to inquiries via email pretty often. And those responses are always the same. Either you have availability and you provide the renter a quote. Or you don’t, and you let them know that. Plus, you want to put your name, phone number, and listing website address at [...]
Your odds of being audited by the IRS are greater under the following circumstances: You have rental expenses on your tax return. You have large amounts of itemized deductions on your tax return. You claim tax shelter investment losses on your tax return. Your business expenses are large in relation to your income on your [...]
The contract, aka the rental agreement, is necessary red-tape in when renting your vacation rental today. You might as well make it as simple as you can. Let me help. First, I am not a lawyer and don’t play one on TV. If you want a legally-binding agreement for your location, talk to a good [...]
Hello Fellow Owners: I had the good fortune of being able to do some traveling in Europe and Northern Africa this past summer. Of course, I used my own site, http://www.findvacationrentals.com, as my first choice when locating vacation rental properties to stay at on my trip. After spending a lot of time as a prospective [...]