If you want to start renting out your vacation rental property, there are many things to choose from. One of the main things to consider is whether you want to rent and market your property on your own or hire a property manager instead. When I started renting out my property, I decided to rent it out and promote it myself. I have been managing the rental area of my property for almost 6 years. I have marketed my property on vacation rental websites, collected my money through Paypal, created my rental documents, and managed all contacts with tenants via email and phone. For the most part, possibly, it hasn’t been too difficult. However, you may encounter an amount of stress that I personally would rather not deal with, and sometimes I wonder if I market my property enough. Either method gives you results, however, you may like one more than the other. Here is information on how to manage the property yourself or work with a property manager.
self-managed
I have been a real estate agent for years and have worked with numerous homeowners. I have also used services to rent vacation rental properties for family trips. In reality, there are a large number of owners who manage their own property. I’m sure there are a variety of explanations why one might choose this method. With that being said, I want to list my three reasons why I decided to personally manage my property.
Benefit: If you manage your own property, there will be no monthly fee for a property manager to market and rent your place. Usually there is a fixed bill every month and when something abnormal happens with the property there is an additional fee.
Control – Think about it, who doesn’t want total control! The main goal of my vacation ownership is to spend every available moment making memories with my family there. We simply rent the property to be able to pay the annual bills. It can be good to choose who can rent your property to ensure that it will be taken care of while you are gone. I haven’t always allowed the best tenants to stay on our property, but for the most part we certainly have had great people treat our property like their own.
Marketing: I have been a salesperson for as long as I can remember. Of course, I believe that there is no one who can market my vacation property to potential renters much better than me. I am currently using an online vacation rental website, but there are many other methods as well. You can make your own property website by blogging about its features. I have seen vacation rental properties for rent on Craigslist. Also, as I mentioned, you can advertise your property on any of the great vacation rental websites on the internet today.
property manager
If you decide you’d rather outsource the rental and marketing of your vacation rental property to a property manager, be sure to choose wisely. As a real estate agent, I have met various types of property managers and this choice can be the difference between renting or not renting your property. As I’m sure you are aware, most vacation rental properties tend to be found by renters through the use of the internet. I rarely notice a property being advertised in a newspaper or magazine unless it is for a timeshare. It is vital that the property manager of your choice is strongly associated with marketing their clients’ properties on the internet. A good way to locate a property manager, perhaps even by looking at user comments, might be to search for the term property manager and then include the city where your residence can be found as part of the search term. This is a faster way to get a quick directory of local property management companies in the city of your vacation rental property. Do yourself a favor and interview at least 3 of them to find out which one will be able to market your property the best and who understands your preferences. It is important that you feel secure with the property management company you choose to hire. Don’t forget to check most of the following items before hiring a property management company to rent and market your vacation rental property.
1. How do you advertise strongly on the Internet? What other ways are you going to promote your property?
2. How do you interview potential tenants? Do they contact you for final approval?
3. How do you verify that the tenants left the property as they found it?
4. How do you handle repairs when they are required to the property? What is your additional fee due to this service?
5. How much will you charge monthly to rent your property?
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