For 17 years we had a rental house on the farm next door. 3 years ago when we retired and started traveling a lot with our RV we found that the tenants don't pay if I'm not there to bug them and we got tired of it so we sold the rental farm and bought a beach home near Fenwick, DE (we still live on a farm in PA). We hope renting out by the week during vacation season is better but who knows. I told the wife it will be an adventure one way or another.
I like your style Gary. smiley_thumbsup
When we were kids my dad used to rent a place in Fenwick Island for a week each summer. That was back in the 1970's. There were about a dozen houses, mostly cottages, and a Dairy Queen. One night each year we'd load in the car and go down the the boardwalk in Ocean City MD. Miles and miles of nothing back then. Things sure have changed.
We use VRBO.com for renting out the home place as a vacation rental. I have had very good luck with the quality of renter we get through them. Did not have as good of luck from another flippy place, as they seemed to not be as careful with your home as the ones from VRBO.
I have left VRBO just recently as I am planning a move to MO this fall.
Good luck on your new endeavor, find a good property manager if you are not going to be right there.
Tom
You should have no problem renting during the summers as long as you don't need to charge too much. I would use a local rental management company handle the rentals for you. It will cost a percentage of your monthly rent but alleviates a huge headache for you.
For sure will need someone to clean and repair/fix-up the rental before new arrivals. People just don't leave a place ready for the next ones to move in. And no one wants to move into a rental that is not spic and span from top to bottom.
The local rental mgt. co. may provide that service.
We purchased the house next to us (can't really say next door because there is a bit of distance between houses). After doing some major remodeling we decided to use it as a vacation rental. BBTom steered us to VRBO and it was a very good move. The house is mostly rented by the weekend with occasional 1,2 and 3 week stays. I do all the cleaning and maintenance and I must say it has been a bigger burden than I thought it would be, but I do not regret the decision to buy the property.
If the property is a more than an hour or two away I would definitely recommend a management and cleaning service. Hopefully the rent you can charge will be enough to cover all the expenses (don't forget the property and other taxes).
Talked to someone in my area that uses an agency and their policy is to have a damage deposit and the renter is responsible for leaving the unit clean. A walk through is done to check for damage and cleanliness and a charge is levied if either is needed.
r.man
That is a good plan, however....... say the place is a mess and the "walk through' guy finds damage as well. Now the new weekly renters are moving in that same day (or the next). Food in the refrig, food on the floor, broken shower door, toilet backed up, lawn needs care, windows dirty, etc. etc.
Am sure you see the problem. Pocket full of money but much work to be done in short order.
Have close friends who bought a lake cabin next door to theirs in northern WI. The idea was it would be a place for their own family and friends to stay when needed, but when not needed in the meantime they would let an agency rent it out by the week. They had to be around every weekend when the "turnover" took place, and found out they worked their behinds off doing laundry, making beds, cleaning, repairing, and getting the place ready for new occupants. Said a very small percent actually left the place ready for the next renters, so they sold it.
We have it listed with a local company that will cleaning, etc. I told them I wanted a "hands off" rental. I am at the place right now finalizing everything, such as got the WIFI hooked up so if this posts we did it right. I'll be happy with a few weeks rented a year to cover operating costs.