Short Term Rental
When contemplating entering any new market or work force, the first thought that enters everyone’s mind (hopefully) is “How can I successfully enter this market?”. Doing market research, and figuring out what the most cost effective strategies to implement are all a part of the process. When it comes to entering the Short Term Rental market, there’s no difference in the initial stages. For those of you who don’t have enough capital to purchase a separate rental property, but currently own your own property, you’re already in the game — you just don’t know it. A common deterrent from entering the rental market is having to purchase the rental property itself. Today, we are going to figure out how to turn your primary residence into a Short Term Rental. Many property management companies actually started out by either renting out their primary residence or a friend’s, so don’t be discouraged.
If you are really passionate about entering the rental market, but currently don’t have the funds to purchase a second property, you can still participate in owning a rental property. By transforming your current residence into a rental of some sort, you circumvent the main issue of buying a rental property, thus allowing you to start your rental business sooner. The first step in this journey is to figure out what laws and regulations you must abide by. Start by figuring out fire regulations, maximum number of guests, length of stay, and other rules you may not have thought about before. After this point, you’ll have a better idea of how many people you can legally have in your house, as well as what you need to renovate or modify for it to be considered safe.
From this, you’ll have to determine whether you want most of your house rented, or just a portion. Obviously, as you get more comfortable with the rental process, and work out the kinks, you can start increasing the percentage of your home being rented out. One major benefit of renting out your primary residence is that you live there! Any issue your guests have, you’ll be there to solve it, because at the end of the day it’s your house and you live there too. Having this hands on approach can really help your status as a STR owner, and even prepare you for any future properties, as you’ll have more experience dealing with an array of problems you may encounter.
When you start renting your residence out, it may start out slow, or quite fast, but one thing you should do no matter how many people rent your property, is asking for ways you can improve future stays. This part is crucial. Whether you give a monetary discount for them to review you or to take a questionnaire, or just flat out asking, this information is invaluable. Figuring out your STR weaknesses can ensure that future guests are always happy and will pass on that message. As well, if you are planning on purchasing another property to rent in the future, you now have a much wider insight into what your guests are looking for.
At the end of the day, owning a rental property can be a really interesting and lucrative business opportunity if operated correctly. If you follow the natural progression of getting your property up and running, as well as listening to your guests, you’ll only be that much more successful. If you are curious about the smaller intricacies of renting out your property, don’t hesitate to email us at contact@ensoconncect.com for more info.
