If any major festival or event is headed to your town, you may wish to get away for the week. This can be a great time to take a week-long adventure out of town to avoid the crowds and traffic that are headed your way.
There’s also one other advantage of leaving town during the event: the opportunity to earn some money. With hotels booking up fast as people make their reservations for the week, you can offer your home as a vacation rental for the week.
List Your Home
Offering your home as a rental is not as difficult as you may think. There are various awesome sites where you can list your house as a vacation rental in three easy steps. To register, all you need is your name, email address, phone number, and location. The rates for booking your rental are reasonable and risk-free, but there are some things you’ll want to take into consideration before you determine that renting your home is right for you.
Check Your Insurance Coverage
First, make sure your home insurance policy is up-to-date and includes coverage for anything unexpected that may happen while the renters are in possession of your home. You should also check with your company to see what kind of coverage you’ll need to protect yourself from anything that may happen while the renters are in your home, especially injuries or damages to the renters or your home
Review Your Association’s Rules
Check with your homeowner’s association to make sure you’re allowed to rent your property. Some associations may simply not allow it. If they do, find out what the proper procedure is and follow it to the letter.
Prepare Your Home
Once you’ve decided to rent your home, look around to decide what furniture and other items you’re comfortable leaving for the renters. If you have expensive, antique, or family heirloom pieces, consider putting them in storage while the renters are in your home. Then, give your home a thorough cleaning.
Before the renters arrive, have your home inspected. Ensure all appliances are in good working order, no leaks are present, the air conditioner is working perfectly, and no pests or infestations are present. You would never want to find out that a renter tried to take care of any of these problems himself while you were away.
Let Everyone Know the Situation
Make sure friends, family, and neighbors know that your home will be occupied by renters. You don’t want any unexpected visitors calling the authorities about a break-in with good intentions and scaring away your renters. If you have a security patrol in your neighborhood, let them know to expect the renters to be at your home, too.
By following these tips, your rental experience should be a good one. You may even decide you want to continue to list your home as a rental whenever you decide to take a trip of your own. It could turn into your favorite way to finance those little getaways you’ve always wanted to take, but couldn’t afford.
Image Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Jessy is the travel geek and stay-at-home mom blogging full-time for Dobovo, the free source of Kiev apartments available for rent. Check out our blog as well!
Image Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.