I live in on the Maine/ New Hampshire coast and would like to start investigating how I can make a living by owning/renting/managing vacation properties. Where do I start?
Is it as simple as researching how much such properties cost compared to how much can be made? How do people typically finiance a second home? Any advise would be great.
Can i make a career out of this?
Welcome to the forum!
Feel free to browse around this forum; this subject is discussed in a few topics, I believe.
Alas, it is generally not as simple as just calculating weekly price x weeks booked and comparing it to a mortgage payment. You do need to put yourself in the mind of the vacationer and find other properties similar to yours, find out how much they charge and how many weeks they have booked, etc. And of course if the average weeks booked per year times the weekly booking price isn't enough to pay for a mortgage on a home like the one they're offering, that's not a good sign.
But, even if you do that calculation and there's money left over, there are plenty of other costs to consider. There's insurance, of course. There's furnishing a home from scratch (no cutting corners because it's a rental). Yearly repairs and maintenance. Housekeeping and Gardening and such if you plan to hire out to do that. Website charges. Advertising charges. There are lots and lots of things that can really add up quickly, especially in your first few years.
Do you have a job? Will you keep that job while managing vacation rentals, and hire someone to see to the day-to-day? Or will you be the hands-on person at your properties? There are people on this forum who do both; we do the former (my parents own the house and I manage the rentals), but it's much more expensive to do it this way. The latter saves money but is much, much more time-consuming. Others here can talk about the lifestyle change involved in running a vacation rental business in a hands-on manner.
I can say that even though my parents only financed half of their rental house and are quite far in the black when they only compare our gross rental income to the mortgage payments, the picture is very different after factoring in all of our expenses. The rental is still profitable and it does pay for itself, but the actual profit is nowhere near enough that my parents could live on it.
Of course, we only have one rental house (in France, not in the U.S.) and run it remotely, so we pay extra to hire people to clean, do the laundry, tend the flowers, etc. Your situation might be different, and other people on the forum will have different stories as well!
Cheers!
Feel free to browse around this forum; this subject is discussed in a few topics, I believe.
Alas, it is generally not as simple as just calculating weekly price x weeks booked and comparing it to a mortgage payment. You do need to put yourself in the mind of the vacationer and find other properties similar to yours, find out how much they charge and how many weeks they have booked, etc. And of course if the average weeks booked per year times the weekly booking price isn't enough to pay for a mortgage on a home like the one they're offering, that's not a good sign.
But, even if you do that calculation and there's money left over, there are plenty of other costs to consider. There's insurance, of course. There's furnishing a home from scratch (no cutting corners because it's a rental). Yearly repairs and maintenance. Housekeeping and Gardening and such if you plan to hire out to do that. Website charges. Advertising charges. There are lots and lots of things that can really add up quickly, especially in your first few years.
Do you have a job? Will you keep that job while managing vacation rentals, and hire someone to see to the day-to-day? Or will you be the hands-on person at your properties? There are people on this forum who do both; we do the former (my parents own the house and I manage the rentals), but it's much more expensive to do it this way. The latter saves money but is much, much more time-consuming. Others here can talk about the lifestyle change involved in running a vacation rental business in a hands-on manner.
I can say that even though my parents only financed half of their rental house and are quite far in the black when they only compare our gross rental income to the mortgage payments, the picture is very different after factoring in all of our expenses. The rental is still profitable and it does pay for itself, but the actual profit is nowhere near enough that my parents could live on it.
Of course, we only have one rental house (in France, not in the U.S.) and run it remotely, so we pay extra to hire people to clean, do the laundry, tend the flowers, etc. Your situation might be different, and other people on the forum will have different stories as well!
Cheers!
Brooke
-
bigwavewilson
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed May 11, 2005 12:33 am
Hi,
This is my first year of advertising and I am offering a gite for two people with a huge summer kitchen and exclusive pool. I have only one booking so far. I have been told that this is because gites for a couple without children are difficult to let as they can spend less on a package holiday to go further afield.
I am advertising on 7 sites, mostly freebies - do you offer advice on the most successful advertising sites please? Or is it just luck?
Regards
Ann
This is my first year of advertising and I am offering a gite for two people with a huge summer kitchen and exclusive pool. I have only one booking so far. I have been told that this is because gites for a couple without children are difficult to let as they can spend less on a package holiday to go further afield.
I am advertising on 7 sites, mostly freebies - do you offer advice on the most successful advertising sites please? Or is it just luck?
Regards
Ann
we live here in France...2 rental houses and our house we live in...we have worked almost 5 years non stop building...we are both exhausted and at times question what we are doing!
But we now do have a business...the amount of hours, effort and physical labour we put into the building and running of the properties is quite huge...we did it the hard way - bought wrecks - sold one when completed to finance another.
So in short as Brooke says it isn't easy - a lot of folk go into this business underfunded - some folk go into it thinking there is nothing to it...but I'm afraid it is very hard work and does involve quite a bit of sacrifice to really make a go of it...weekends do not exist here...they are a round of cleaning, laundry and dropping off keys!
So unless you are incredibly wealthy, can afford to buy outright your properties and have them fully staffed with complete darlings that don't need any supervising, be prepared for hard graft, disappointments and a few sleepless nights!
But whatever you decide - good luck!
But we now do have a business...the amount of hours, effort and physical labour we put into the building and running of the properties is quite huge...we did it the hard way - bought wrecks - sold one when completed to finance another.
So in short as Brooke says it isn't easy - a lot of folk go into this business underfunded - some folk go into it thinking there is nothing to it...but I'm afraid it is very hard work and does involve quite a bit of sacrifice to really make a go of it...weekends do not exist here...they are a round of cleaning, laundry and dropping off keys!
So unless you are incredibly wealthy, can afford to buy outright your properties and have them fully staffed with complete darlings that don't need any supervising, be prepared for hard graft, disappointments and a few sleepless nights!
But whatever you decide - good luck!
Ann,
Welcome to the forum!
Check out the Rental Listing Sites section of the forum. There is a thread there called How to find the best listing sites to advertise on, and many other threads concerned with individual listing sites.
I think the majority of us have come to the conclusion that the freebies will never fill your booking calendar by themselves -- you have to be willing to pay for advertising to make a profit.
Good luck!
Welcome to the forum!
Check out the Rental Listing Sites section of the forum. There is a thread there called How to find the best listing sites to advertise on, and many other threads concerned with individual listing sites.
I think the majority of us have come to the conclusion that the freebies will never fill your booking calendar by themselves -- you have to be willing to pay for advertising to make a profit.
Good luck!
Brooke
Ann,
We also have a studio for 2 with its own pool, and this is the property which books first: there are very few studios with unshared pools. Your site dosn't make it clear that the pool is for the exclusive use of the Studio. I would change the site in 2 steps: i) announce on the first page that the pool is for the exclusive use of the Studio &
ii) change the main photo to one of the pool.
I wouldn't state that you are on-site until later on in your text: this is not an advantage & while it has to be mentioned it could dissuade people from reading the rest of the text & deciding that they really want to stay, even if the owners are there.
We also have a studio for 2 with its own pool, and this is the property which books first: there are very few studios with unshared pools. Your site dosn't make it clear that the pool is for the exclusive use of the Studio. I would change the site in 2 steps: i) announce on the first page that the pool is for the exclusive use of the Studio &
ii) change the main photo to one of the pool.
I wouldn't state that you are on-site until later on in your text: this is not an advantage & while it has to be mentioned it could dissuade people from reading the rest of the text & deciding that they really want to stay, even if the owners are there.
Best,
Alexia.
Alexia.
Starting out
Thanks for everyone's comments.
Alexia - on all my sites, I mention in the first sentence that the pool is exclusive to the Gite. Also, I don't understand why the pool should be the first photo as I would always go by the look of the accommodation - most people have pools.
I have mainly booked gites which are adjacent to the owners's properties and this has never put me off.
I am not desperate to rent out - it's just a hobby but I think the response I have had is disappointing. I have great experience of searching for gites before I moved here. Just to find one for a couple with an exclusive pool is a great find. I think exposure is the key.
Vrooje - I've spent some time looking at the Rental Listing Sites (thanks) and will persevere with putting on my details - at least I have lots of time. I wouldn't mind paying as long as I knew I would get results - but I suppose this is like "how long is a piece of string"...........
Regards
Ann
Alexia - on all my sites, I mention in the first sentence that the pool is exclusive to the Gite. Also, I don't understand why the pool should be the first photo as I would always go by the look of the accommodation - most people have pools.
I have mainly booked gites which are adjacent to the owners's properties and this has never put me off.
I am not desperate to rent out - it's just a hobby but I think the response I have had is disappointing. I have great experience of searching for gites before I moved here. Just to find one for a couple with an exclusive pool is a great find. I think exposure is the key.
Vrooje - I've spent some time looking at the Rental Listing Sites (thanks) and will persevere with putting on my details - at least I have lots of time. I wouldn't mind paying as long as I knew I would get results - but I suppose this is like "how long is a piece of string"...........
Regards
Ann
Ann - we are a couple no children...but little dogs - would we be welcome? you don't mention pets.
we had one couple drive from Holland - in 2 cars - first car had wife, her 82 year old mother & 2 dogs - 2nd car husband with the parrot..the parrot was placed in the front window so he could see the sea - he loved his holiday!
your place looks lovely - I love the big outdoor kitchen...my problem is that we can't come in the summer
we had one couple drive from Holland - in 2 cars - first car had wife, her 82 year old mother & 2 dogs - 2nd car husband with the parrot..the parrot was placed in the front window so he could see the sea - he loved his holiday!
your place looks lovely - I love the big outdoor kitchen...my problem is that we can't come in the summer
Ann,
This is an exaggeration, but free sites are free because they don't get you any enquiries. If you do a few searches on Google, like someone looking for a property in your location, you will see which sites are on the first page of results. It's possible that a free advertising site will be among them, but not likely.
As you say, a one-bedroom property with private pool is rare and should be a great asset. I would certainly lead with the pool as your first picture on a listing site. People will be searching for one-bedroom properties, probably not even expecting a pool could be an option, so your place will stick out if your pool is prominently displayed.
This is an exaggeration, but free sites are free because they don't get you any enquiries. If you do a few searches on Google, like someone looking for a property in your location, you will see which sites are on the first page of results. It's possible that a free advertising site will be among them, but not likely.
As you say, a one-bedroom property with private pool is rare and should be a great asset. I would certainly lead with the pool as your first picture on a listing site. People will be searching for one-bedroom properties, probably not even expecting a pool could be an option, so your place will stick out if your pool is prominently displayed.
One thing you can say about internet marketing is there needn't be any luck involved. You can put yourself in the shoes of a potential renter of your house, and see exactly the same results as they will see on a search engine. Then all you have to do is put yourself where they will see you.do you offer advice on the most successful advertising sites please? Or is it just luck?
Paolo
Lay My Hat
Lay My Hat
Letting
Hi Tansy,
Of course you would be welcome but like most people, I am not open during the winter months. I wouldn't normally mind with an enclosed gite but mine is so open so there would be nowhere warm to sit except in the bedroom with the heater going full blast!
I wouldn't mind little dogs either. I used to have 2 Westies and fully intend to have another two. I recently had an enquiry from a couple who wanted to bring 2 big dogs and I had to refuse because I have 2 cats. As one came down in a 4-seater Cessna at great expense, I don't want to lose her. (The other is a stray from hereabouts.) She is used to small dogs so I don't want to refuse another enquiry because of pets.
Love your story about the parrot etc.
Paolo - thanks to you too
Regards
Ann
Of course you would be welcome but like most people, I am not open during the winter months. I wouldn't normally mind with an enclosed gite but mine is so open so there would be nowhere warm to sit except in the bedroom with the heater going full blast!
I wouldn't mind little dogs either. I used to have 2 Westies and fully intend to have another two. I recently had an enquiry from a couple who wanted to bring 2 big dogs and I had to refuse because I have 2 cats. As one came down in a 4-seater Cessna at great expense, I don't want to lose her. (The other is a stray from hereabouts.) She is used to small dogs so I don't want to refuse another enquiry because of pets.
Love your story about the parrot etc.
Paolo - thanks to you too
Regards
Ann
"on all my sites, I mention in the first sentence that the pool is exclusive to the Gite"
Ann, I can't find this on your site. You do say that there is a "private" pool. On one of the web sites I pay for there are boxes to tick: I can't put "exclusive" for the pool, only a tick for "private". Nearly everyone asks how many people share the "private pool".
Ann, I can't find this on your site. You do say that there is a "private" pool. On one of the web sites I pay for there are boxes to tick: I can't put "exclusive" for the pool, only a tick for "private". Nearly everyone asks how many people share the "private pool".
Best,
Alexia.
Alexia.
Equipment
This may be a new thread but.................
What equipment is acceptable in a gite? I have a fully fitted and well equipped kitchen; the bedroom has 2 large wardrobes...............
I don't want to encourage people to sit around and watch TV but my gite is very open and if it rains, there is only the bedroom for complete shelter. I have read elsewhere on this site that people, when returning from a long day sightseeing, just want to put their feet up and watch a film.
I am therefore considering a TV/DVD/VHS unit and (also suggested on this site) providing a library of videos.
Am I trying to make my guests too comfy?
Ann
What equipment is acceptable in a gite? I have a fully fitted and well equipped kitchen; the bedroom has 2 large wardrobes...............
I don't want to encourage people to sit around and watch TV but my gite is very open and if it rains, there is only the bedroom for complete shelter. I have read elsewhere on this site that people, when returning from a long day sightseeing, just want to put their feet up and watch a film.
I am therefore considering a TV/DVD/VHS unit and (also suggested on this site) providing a library of videos.
Am I trying to make my guests too comfy?
Ann