Реклама. ООО «ЛитРес», ИНН: 7719571260.
RENTING YOUR RECREATIONAL PROPERTY FOR PROFIT
Introduction
Why Should You Read This Book?
1. Is Renting for You?
The Costs of Recreational Home Ownership
Is Renting for You or Not?
Nightmare rental weekend
Just a few more … and the dog!
Emergency calls
Plumbing sucks!
How not to get to know the neighbors
2. The Big Questions
What Do I Want To Get Out of It?
How Much Time Do I Want to Spend Doing This?
Do I Want to Market the Rentals Myself or Use a Rental Agency?
Who Will Look After the Property When I’m Not There?
How Will I Take Bookings?
Can the Cottage Be Rented Year-Round and If So, What Are the Implications?
How Much Am I Willing to Spend to Increase the Rental Opportunities?
What Are the Tax and Insurance Implications of Renting?
How Will This Affect My Family?
3. Setting Goals
Your Vision
Sample 1: Creating a Vision
Financial Goals
Forecasting Expenses
Capital expenditures
Electrical costs
Telephone
Satellite TV
Property management and maintenance costs
Insurance
Marketing, promotion, and advertising
Contingency funds
How Many Rental Weeks Will You Have Available?
4. What Is My Recreational Property Worth?
Location
Size
Amenities
Will It Rent As It Is?
Sample 2: SWOT Analysis
Making Changes
Calculating the Bottom Line
Sample 3: Rental Calculator
5. Getting Ready for Renting
Getting It Right From the Start
Property Audit
Sample 4: Cost of Furnishings
Furnishings and Appliances
Bedding
Personal Items
What to Supply?
Sample 5: List of Supplies
Toys, Books, and Games
Guidebooks and maps
Adding Value
Special Occasions. Christmas, New Year’s, and other festive occasions
Theme weekends
6. Emergencies and Contingencies
The Emergency Section of Your Guest Guide
Medical/fire emergencies
System breakdowns
Power outage kit
7. Booking Systems
Frequently Asked Questions
Holding Period
Rental Periods
Booking Form and Rental Agreement
Sample 6: Vacation Rental Agreement
Party members
Rental Period: Dates and Times
Payments and Deposits
Cancellations
Cancellation Policy
Damage/Security Deposit
Additional Clauses
8. Seasonal Rentals
The Market For Seasonal Rentals
Research the Competition
How to Price Your Seasonal Rental
Security/Damage Deposit
Screening Renters
The Contract
Payment Schedules
Overholding
What Is the Downside of Seasonal Rentals?
9. Marketing Your Vacation Home
What Is Marketing?
The Power of the Internet
Your Own Website
Your web address
Working with a web designer
Site content
Site structure
Writing for your website
Photographs
Exterior photos
Interior photos
Testimonials
Getting your site seen
Search engines and directories. Search engines
Directories
Online advertising
Rental listing sites
Link popularity
Ease of navigation
Availability calendar
Cost
Print Advertising
Creating Your Own Literature
What to put in a leaflet
Photographs
Text
Rates
Printing your brochure
Distribution and mailing lists
Privacy of Information
Monitor Your Marketing
Frequent Guest Incentive
Newsletter
Arts Weekend
Open-House Weekend
10. Rental Management Agencies
Types of Agencies and Services
Booking agencies
Full-service agencies
Agency rates
Viewing
Additional services
Smaller agencies
Choosing an Agency
The Contract
Duration of agreement
Responsibilities
Exclusivity
Agent’s fees
11. Managing Your Property Yourself
Pros and Cons of Self-Management
Management Options
Table 1: Pros and Cons of Management Options
General Maintenance
Meeting and Greeting
Cleaning
Cottage Security and Key Issues
12. Generating Return Visits
Exceed Expectations
Accurate description of all aspects of the property
Up-to-date photos
Clean, clean, clean, then clean again!
WOW your guests from the moment they arrive
Stay In Contact — With Their Permission
Birthdays and anniversaries
Activity breaks
Ask for Their Feedback — Then Thank Them for It
What to Put in a Questionnaire
Ask for testimonials
Keeping in Touch
13. Handling Complaints
Serious Complaints
14. The Guest Guide
Contents of the Guide
Index
Welcome and introduction
How Gooderham Got Its Name
Phone numbers
The local area
Arriving
Systems
Water and Septic Systems
Appliances and operating instructions
Outside the cottage
Fire pits
Keeping the critters at bay
Bugs and other flying creatures
Garbage disposal
Places to eat and things to do and see
Departure
15. Wrapping Up
About the Author
Notice to Readers
Self-Counsel Press thanks you for purchasing this ebook
Contents
Whether you are planning to rent your vacation home for the first time, buying a property as an investment, or already have second home rental income and want to know how to increase it, this is the book for you. The principal aim of Renting Your Recreational Property for Profit is to provide you with a wealth of information to help you be successful in renting your property. The information and anecdotes in the book have come from my own experiences renting cottages in both England and Canada over the last fifteen or so years, as well as invaluable contributions from owners and renters alike, who between them have racked up years of rental know-how.
If you’ve had your recreational home for a number of years and are now thinking of renting for the first time to provide additional income, you may have to look at it from a different viewpoint and be prepared to make some tough decisions. What you may have considered acceptable quirks of the cabin, cottage, villa, or condo will have to be dealt with or fixed, the worn furniture replaced, and kitchen appliances updated. This book will help you with those decisions, provide checklists to make sure you don’t overlook anything, and offer advice on preparing for successful rental.
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Just as you are about to call your guests, the phone rings again. It’s your neighbors on the lake. You’ve met them once or twice — a pleasant couple who run a small resort of five cottages. They have a lovely beach area for their clients with a range of watercraft — canoes, pedal boats, kayaks, and rowboats, and are very proud of the new water slide they have put in alongside their swimming raft. Unfortunately, they explain that your guests’ children have taken over the waterslide and raft, preventing their own guests from using it. When they spoke to the parents, apparently they were met with complete indifference: “They are kids and just having fun; we can’t keep at them all day long.” Your neighbors, although quite calm, are clearly upset and ask you to talk with your renters and firmly tell them that the waterslide and raft are the property of the resort and should not be used by their children. Just as you are about to end the call, your neighbor adds that one of the adults in your party has just taken out one of the resort canoes; please can you act quickly!
Willing yourself to keep your cool, you phone the cottage. The line is busy, as it is when you call again — and again. An hour later, you’ve still failed to get through, so you phone the neighbors again to explain. This time their annoyance is really apparent — the children are still occupying the swimming raft and using the boats. You really need to do something. This is not how it was supposed to be. And as you worry about what to do next, you remember that in your haste to get away last night, you forgot to ask for the rest of the rental money and the damage deposit. What a mess!
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