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Hints and Tips…
Kiwis have all been brought up with holidays at our favorite places in the country. This could be the mountains, lakes or beaches. Most of us have our best memories at these places.
Many holiday home owners successfully rent their properties on the short-term holiday home accommodation market.
If you are prepared to give it a go and work at it, you could well be rewarded by great success and will likely to enjoy long-term capital appreciation with the property in your special place.
Location
With respect to selecting a location, it is important that the property is within striking distance of a major centre. This means the property will be easily accessible for people wanting to have a weekend away. If it is not feasible for people to use the property for a weekend then it could be difficult to rent on a regular basis.
Administration
Be prepared to work at it!
Quite a bit of administration time is needed to coordinate people's bookings, answer enquiries and arrange cleaning etc. This is obviously a major benefit of listing with www.kiwigetaway.com, the site takes care of the booking and payment tasks for you!
Here are some ideas...
Only forward a set of keys only when you have been paid in full. This means there is no chasing money after the holiday has been taken. No money – no keys!
It can also be difficult to get people to return keys. Supply a stamped addressed envelope that people can drop in the mail to send the keys back to me after their holiday. Keep a few spare keys and don't get too worried if they don't turn up.
Kiwigetaway recommend that you charge a bond to ensure that the property is (i) left clean and tidy and (ii) that the keys are returned. The bond is only returned after both of these things have been verified.
Consider having a "Vacating Check List" for the tenants, so they know exactly how to leave the property, this should instruct them to clean the property before they leave.
Most people are excellent and treat a holiday home as if it is their own, and leave it clean and tidy. Some owners organise a local cleaner after each tenancy to ensure that the property is ready for the next person, this can be factored this in to the tariffs, or there is an option on Kiwigetaway to add a Cleaning Fee.
Differentiate Your Property from the Others!
It is very important to differentiate your property from others.
Supply an array of equipment with the house, kayaks, dinghy and some fishing equipment perhaps. There is not a huge investment involved in acquiring these bits and pieces, but they add huge value to people coming to the lake for their holiday.
Another very important point of differentiation is to allow people to bring their pets. Many people who like to hire holiday homes do so because they can't go on holidays with their pets in most other circumstances. If you allow people to bring their pets, it opens up a huge market.
Supply information about the local activities people can participate in, especially point out activities that are free. Encourage renters to leave information about activities they have discovered in the area. Pamphlets can be left is plastic leaved folder perhaps.
Pass on any handy information that you know about the area that will add value to people's holiday and ensure that keep coming back time and again.
Your Ad on Kiwigetaway
When setting your ad on Kiwigetaway, remember you need to attract people to your ad. You have to persuade them with your photos and description, great photos inside and out work a treat. Also add a good description of your property and what it has to offer. A description of "3 Bedroom House" is not going encourage people to rent your place.
Tariffs and Seasons
With respect to pricing, it is a good idea to adjust the tariffs depending on the seasons. This can help ensure bookings all year round.
Some people may prefer to split the year into two seasons:
PEAK - October to March (For example; tariff at $200)
OFF-PEAK - April to September (For example; tariff at $100)
Another idea is to make the most of the Peak Summer demand:
PEAK – December to February (For example; tariff at $250)
SHOULDER - March to April (For example; tariff at $200)
OFF-PEAK – May to September (For example; tariff at $100)
SHOULDER – October to Nov (For example; tariff at $100)
Tax Implications
What are the tax implications of renting a property on the holiday market?
In essence, there is very little difference between renting a standard rental property and a holiday home. The holiday home, however, will typically have some private use component by the owner.
It is important to apportion the expenses (e.g. rates, electricity, telephone, mortgage interest, repairs & maintenance, depreciation) based on the number of days in the year that the property is unavailable for rental. This will typically be the days that the owner is using the property and any days where you choose not to make the property available for rental.
It is very important however, to be able to prove that your property is available for rental. This is one of the benefits of listing your home with www.kiwigetaway.com – it is very easy to direct people to it to prove the availability of the property.
It is also important to note that with the holiday home you will typically have the property furnished and, as in my case, provide additional equipment to enhance the holiday experience.
All these items are depreciable property, provided they have been purchased by you for that purpose.
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