Tips for using your home for short term rental during the upcoming Miami Bowl games

Tips for renting your home for short term rental during Super & Pro Bowls in Miami
 
Owner’s prospective:
Think about whom you want in your house; are you really a “candidate” to do this? Making the money is great – but do you really want someone you do not know having ‘full access’ to your home. Will you take folk who travel with pets – what about smokers? Many people believe their home will be trashed but that’s not necessarily so. If you do decide it’s okay, then think through these following steps:
1. Decide what is fair market value for your home (search the internet to see what other comparable properties are asking) and establish what your fee, duration of time for rental and deposit requirements are. Typically deposits can run 50% of the price you charge up, to 100% of your rental fee.
2. Establish your rules – write out your own list of do’s and don’ts – will you leave them a computer to have access to the internet – this is certainly a selling feature.
3. Application – you need as much information as you can get on the prospective tenant. You should be able to locate application to fit your needs on line.
4. First/foremost: screen the applicant: do background search, pay the fee, it is pretty nominal – include it in your costs of doing business. You can search the internet for tenant screening and find several on-line vendors.
5. Be sure to check your home-owner’s policy to see what it covers – these are not guests, they are now tenants.

6. If you are a condo owner, don’t forget you have to know your rules and regulations. Is short term leaseing permitted? If so, how many times a year can you rent your unit. Some rules only permit once a year, others 3 times a year and I know one building in Miami permits renting for 1-day.
7. Be sure to have an agreement with damage property clause
8. Consider having a cleaning service come-in a few times during your tenant visit. This way you have eyes to “see” and it serves as an “added value” in the sales process. Add this charge to rental fee, making it “all inclusive”.
9. Remember, you will need to make space in your frig and your closet for your tenant.

If you are set on doing this, I trust you have all your personal files/bank statements/bills/medical records, etc. in a box you can pick up and take with you, or somewhere in the house you can put under lock and key. Not that folk will look with purpose, but if you leave things out, creatures of habit read.

After you have assessed everything above, review your “fair market price”, think about if it is really worth it. Remember, no one treats your home like you do; this is not like leaving your place for your cousins to stay while you are off on “playcation”, so think long and hard about having strangers access your home.

Of course, if you have a place that is not your primary residence (your getaway spot), then renting out, providing your condo rules/regs permit, could be the no-brainer. Just remember, you need to leave linens for your guests to use.

Marketing your place:

Unless large dollars are involved, most realtors* do not really want to get involved in short-term leases. You are your best marketing tool; create a flyer and send to all your friends and ask them to forward; word-of-mouth is the best tool and hopefully you will garner a tenant that is a RESPONSIBLE “friend of a friend”.