How to Get Snowbirds to Rent a Home in Arizona

Residents from colder states often escape to Arizona for a sunny winter.

If you own a house in Arizona and don’t use it year-round, renting it to snowbirds -- or winter visitors -- is one way to recoup some of the expenses on the property, while still being able to use the house for a portion of the year. Many winter visitors begin arriving in late autumn. Others wait until after the winter holidays to escape to their winter home. They typically stay anywhere from two to four months, and normally head back to their home state by tax time, in April.

Things You'll Need

• Furnishings Camera

Instructions

1. Furnish the property with necessary amenities before trying to entice renters. A snowbird rental comes fully furnished and needs to include dishware and linens, as well as television service and a barbeque.

2. Attend fairs and festivals that visiting potential snowbirds attend. It is common for a future snowbird to first visit the Arizona community for a weekend or holiday before making the transition to part-time resident. Hand out flyers featuring the available property or pass out business cards. While you probably will not land a renter for the current year, it is possible to find a renter for the next season. If the winter visitor likes the property, he often returns each year.

3. Target the home states of potential snowbirds, typically a snowy region, such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington and Minnesota. Canadians are also potential snowbirds. Advertise the Arizona property in those regions, such as in local newspapers, online or contacting local senior citizen groups. Before you begin your advertising campaign, take photographs of the house and set up a website featuring the property. In all your advertising, direct the reader to the website for a better view of the property.

4. List the property on a marketing website that features winter-rental properties. Similar to the “for sale by owner” websites, these sites target renters rather than buyers. Another option is posting the property on an online classified website that targets cold-weather states.

5. Contact a property manager who specializes in winter rentals. This is an ideal option if you would rather not deal directly with renters, and would like to turn over the responsibility of finding winter renters to a professional.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not live in Arizona, Arizona law requires the property owner have someone physically residing in Arizona to act as a property manager. This does not necessarily need to be a professional property manager; it might just be a friend or family member, who will be there for the tenant in case of an emergency, such as a broken water line.

References

• Arizona Department of State: Landlord Tenant Act