After we started cleaning out our basement, I was blown away with the amount of trash that we came across. There were loads and loads of extra items that we didn't need anymore, and it was really frustrating. I started focusing on making more space in our trashcan, and I was really impressed with how much extra room a few smart moves made. We started nesting garbage items inside of paint buckets, and breaking down boxes carefully. This blog is dedicated to helping homeowners to make better use of the space they have inside of their trashcans. You never know, you might be able to enjoy more free space inside of your home.
If you have a summer home at the beach or a cabin in the woods, then you might want to rent it out for extra income this summer. However, before you post an ad, you might want to get a few things in order. This will help you protect your home, and will ensure that you get good tenants and that any problems that the renters encounter won't be a headache that has you driving up from the city in the middle of the night to deal with it.
Purchase Renter's Insurance
The first thing you should do before you even consider renting out your property is to speak with your insurance agency and determine how much it will cost to get renter's insurance. This will protect both your home, the belongings in it, and also protect you personally from any potential fiscal liability should the renters injure themselves while on the property. There are different levels of insurance, and they run for different durations, so you will need to speak with your insurance rep.
Arrange For An On-Call Troubleshooter
You don't want to get a call in the middle of the night that the toilets stopped working, a pipe burst and is flooding the house, or that the air conditioner has stopped working. For this reason you need to have someone nearby that you can use as a troubleshooter. A handyman or caretaker who lives in the area would be a good contact. They don't even have to be capable of personally fixing the issues, all they need to be able to do is head over to the property and address the situation and then contact the proper tradesman (electrician, plumber, etc.)
The person you choose can also be the person who hands the renters the keys when they arrive and does the walkthrough, and takes the keys back when they leave.
Use A Vacation Property Listing Site
While you could post an ad on a site like Craigslist, it is easier to use a property listing site. This will allow you to screen the potential renters. Choose a site that has clients create a profile. You can see if they have a positive rating from people they previously rented from. The other benefit to these sites is that they will process the payment for you. It's much easier than having to deal with payments yourself. There is no risk of a check bouncing, plus the renters will feel more comfortable escrowing the money with a site than sending a personal check to you.
Arrange For Trash Collection
Finally, it's very important to arrange for garbage and trash pickup. Many summer residences are in locations that don't have full time municipal trash collection. Because you don't live at your second home year round you might not normally pay for trash pickup. However, you can't ask your renters to carry their trash away with them in their cars. So, contact a private trash collection company and contract with them to make pickups for the period during which you are renting out your home. You can have your tenants place their trash in bins you purchase and set outside near the front of the driveway.
Share14 June 2016
