How to Make Money with Vacation Rental Homes

Vacation rental property can be a huge money maker as well as provide a paid for vacation site for your family for years to come. Follow these steps to ensure you make money instead of losing money in vacation rental properties.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. 
   It's Just Fun Anyway

   VACATION IN THE AREA YOU WANT TO OWN.
   
   If you don't want to vacation in that area, then don't buy a rental. Once you vacation in an area, you get the feel for the place, the most desirable locations, and the amenities travelers are looking for.

2. 
   Water Creates Demand

   RESEARCH AN AREA FOR HIGH VACATION RENTAL DEMAND.
   
   Even if you like vacationing out in the sticks, most people don't. You need to find a place where a lot of people will want to look for a rental. Supply and demand should tell you that demand needs to be very high if you want to make money.

3. 
   Do You Research

   GET TO KNOW PROPERTY VALUES IN THE AREA VERY WELL.
   
   Any business takes time to research before launching. This is a business. Use the county assessor's website to discover sales prices, tax prices, etc. Get a good feel for what rental properties sell for in the area. You want to buy a home and fifteen to twenty percent off or more.

4. 

   BUILD A GOOD VACATION RENTAL TEAM.
   
   Before you buy a vacation rental get a good real estate agent, consult with a lawyer (first time is free), and meet with a CPA (first time is free). These will form the core of your personal team that you will need to be able to trust. Then research local management companies that specialize in managing vacation rental properties unless you want to manage it yourself.

5. 

   BUY A GOOD VACATION RENTAL MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE.
   
   This can save you hours and hours of time, and loads of hassle later on. Not to mention bad record keeping drives more businesses out of business than anything else. Get the vacation rental software!

6. 

   BUY A VACATION RENTAL YOU WILL BE GLAD TO STAY IN.
   
   After all, you will stay in it. AND you want to be proud of the place you are renting. You can always sell something better that you believe in.

7. 
   Market to Make Cash

   MARKET YOUR VACATION RENTAL IN MULTIPLE PLACES.
   
   You don't want to spend a lot on marketing, but it is worth a little time and effort. A site like vrbo.com can give you an excellent beginning. However, you will want to consider other marketing options. Targeted facebook ads can be cost effective. Google adsense can also help you control costs while getting to many viewers. Just be sure you have a good landing page for people to come to when they click on the ad. VRBO can help you do this.
   
   ** See the tips below and related resources around the page for more.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to you CPA and Attorney about whether or not to start a LLC, a S-Corp, or a C-Corp.
• Invest well in this business in the front end and it will pay off in the end. You can become a millionaire in vacation rentals.
• Don't get into vacation rental owning without the support of the key team mentioned above and the vacation rental management software to keep it all straight.

Resources

• More Practical Articles Like This One

[zoltan76]

on 9/26/2009 Sign up and add your property to WWW.OMG.TRAVEL
They will bring you a steady stream of confirmed reservations. You'll never need to worry about advertising or replying to guest inquiries. Since they work off commission only, it's in their best interest to market your property well. In some cities they even manage the property, like check-in/out and cleaning.

[AmyRose]

on 5/26/2009 We have been wanting to do this, thanks for the step-by-step instructions on income vacation homes, I'll keep this as a favorite. 5*

[dorigillman]

on 5/21/2009 thanks for the tips. we now own my mothers house in the south shore of boston on the beach.

[westernmom]

on 5/20/2009 Very good advice on buying a vacation home. We have considered doing this. Thanks for the tips. 5*

[babygetgreen]

on 5/20/2009 Good thoughts on renting out a vacation home - and nice to have for your own vacations :).