If you are planning to rent
your property for the first time you might like to read the following
article which broadly covers most topics of renting, including preparing the
property, insurance, booking forms and much more.
Renting your property can offset running
costs, help pay the mortgage and even make a profit.
Before you decide to go ahead and rent
your property spend some time and cast a critical eye on it.
1) Preparing the property:
You know that feeling you get when you walk into someone’s home for the first
time?
”This is lovely”
You should be aiming to give your clients that feeling.
Ask the following questions in every room: Does it
need painting? Is the furniture in good condition?
Does everything work? Are all
electrical items working and are safe?
Remember once your bookings are coming in you may not have the time to
re-decorate or get the new washing machine. Invest the time and money before you
start renting that way your property is right for your first clients.
2) A safe place:
Most owner/renters do spend some time at
their own property and obviously have things that they would hate to have
damaged or stolen. If you don’t have a storage room one suggestion is to fit
locks to a wardrobe or cupboard and keep your prized possessions in there. Your
three bedroom property could be rented as a two bedroom, with the third bedroom
with your private possessions safely locked inside.
3) Linen:
You need at least 2 complete sets of bed
linen so one set can be at the laundry while one is being used. Pillow- cases
seem to get the most wear so try and get spares that match at the same time if
you are buying new.
Towels look really nice in plain light or dark colours but can show stains too
easily, so go for patterned ones.
Bath towels particularly, do not skimp on the size. In summer a smaller towel is
OK but in the cooler months a big bath towel is brilliant.
Again at least 2 full sets are needed. There is nothing worse than running out
of dry towels.
Keep linen not to be used by clients locked away. Some people will use all the
towels.
4) The Kitchen & outside:
Most people these days will expect a microwave, as well as oven & hob,
kettle & toaster and a fridge with ice maker or freezer section. There
should be sufficient crockery and pots and pans to cook and serve a meal
for the number of guests your property sleeps
Make sure if you say that your property says sleeps x then make sure there is
sufficient of everything for that number of guests.
If you are considering longer lets a washing machine is a must as well as a
clothes airer/dryer and an iron & board.
Patio/Terrace
Obviously there should be seating and a table and if space allows, sun-loungers.
Plastic patio furniture is fine, but sitting on a bare plastic chair gets
uncomfortable after a while. Cushions will transform them.
Optional extras that cost very little
but add a lot
Barbecue
Reading material: paperbacks, magazines
Board games & playing cards
Radio
If you have a video recorder or DVD and TV then a selection of videos/DVD's makes sense. (Sunday
flea market is a good source for all these things)
If your property gets uncomfortably hot in the summer, floor-standing fans are a
much easier alternative to ceiling fans, as you don’t have to fit them!
Cots can be hired locally but remember in July and August demand will outstrip
supply
5) The risks:
At some time you will probably get
things broken or worse still stolen, so if there are things that have
sentimental value or are of great value, move them to your safe place.
Consider asking for a deposit to be held against breakages or damage.
Your 2-bedroom apartment that sleeps 4 might find itself with 8 teenagers
annoying the neighbours.
Use your booking form to ask for the names and age groups of all guests.
You also must get your insurers to amend your house insurance so you are
covered for holiday rentals.
Keys will also get lost, so make sure
you have spares.
Cancellations and no shows
That booking taken in October for July
next year may cancel, so have a clear policy on cancellations.
6) Handling enquiries
Most people will contact you by e-mail
rather than by telephone or writing (it is perceived as being without risk or
obligation and also at no cost) Remember you must respond very quickly to all
enquiries as it is pretty much guaranteed that the enquirer has more than one
property enquiry pending. A quick response from you shows you care.
Checking your e-mails once a week is not
good enough.
Some enquiries may seem to be strange/stupid/blunt/rude but it may be that the
person enquiring is not familiar with using e-mail. Be polite in your replies.
7) Accepting bookings
Think through the booking process you
are going to use and stick to it.
Use a booking form that you can e-mail
to the client, they print it and fill it in and then post it to you with the
deposit. This becomes the contract with the client.
Be prepared to take cheques in foreign currencies (most banks do make charge for
this service, so find out what it is)
Longer lets
Winter prices need to be lower to
attract clients, we can all rent our properties in July and August but what
about low season, be prepared to offer a discount for long term rentals. With
long term renting there is no cleaning until the end of the rental period.
Hire Dates:
High season most rent Sat to Sat, but
one or two agents have started offering Fri to Fri to take advantage of clients
looking for cheaper flights.
How do you want your money?
Some ask for percentage of the amount at
the time of booking and the balance say 6 to 8 weeks before the arrival date.
This way the client does not have to pay the full amount all at once.
Some ask for the balance on arrival either cash or a cheque.
Be clear in what your terms are.
Late bookings can be a bonus but as you cannot get the money before the client
arrives you need to minimise the risk of ‘no shows’
Get a full name and address, telephone number, flight number and arrival time.
How do clients find your property?
Some people meet their clients
personally or simply send the keys, with directions in the post.
Make sure your directions are very
clear, a map showing your properties location as well as the full address will
help if you choose this option.
8) Advertising your property
In the long term, word of mouth
advertising is extremely powerful, but you need to have had your first satisfied
clients before you can benefit from them. The same goes for repeat business. You
need your first year under your belt!
Tell all your friends that you have a property for rent, maybe even offer a
small discount or commission for any bookings you get from them.
Newspapers and magazines are an option
to consider, and for years were the only place other than Travel Agents where
you could find holiday accommodation, but can be very expensive.
The Internet is the one media that has lent itself perfectly for holidays.
Millions of people regularly use the Internet to book their accommodation and
holiday flights. There are dozens of web sites that will happily take your money
for an advert. Before you decide which one to use do a little homework, ask
friends and compare prices.
Your advert:
The description you use should be honest and informative. Two paragraphs are
usually sufficient, the first about the location of the property and the second
about the property itself.
Make sure you have covered any questions that might be asked, such as how far is
the beach/town/shop/pool/bars/restaurants.
Get your wording right and you should be handling booking enquiries
rather than questions, but try not to be boring.
This is going to take some time to get right, but you only have to do it once.
Photographs are extremely important, so they need to be as good as you can get
them. Unless your bathroom is unbelievable the photo will show a bath/shower and
maybe the toilet. The same goes for bedrooms.
Most web sites will allow you to have four photographs in their basic package;
more photographs will cost you more money. Use the photographs that show your
property at it’s best, if there is not a good view but you have great communal
gardens then show them.
Some properties obviously will vary, but here is a general guideline of
photographs in order of importance.
- View
or Swimming pool
- Terrace/Patio/Garden
- Lounge/Dining
room
- Kitchen
- Bedroom
The cost of having someone take the
photographs for you is money well spent. Few of us have a camera with a
wide-angle lens, but the difference especially for indoor photographs taken
using one is huge.
(For 30 euros we can arrange to take the photographs for you.)
9) Prices
Over the last few of years rental
prices across the board have risen, but right now I see a trend that has summer
prices increasing slightly over last year, but low season prices have fallen
significantly.
This is because there are now more rental properties available and the low
season demand has not risen.
Compare what prices are being charged for similar properties in your area and be
realistic.
If your prices are too high you get less bookings.
High season prices are the easiest to work out because your profit margins are
widest, but for lowest season prices you need to work out what your running
costs are, cleaning laundry etc. Don’t forget that if you have electric
radiators then in the colder months they will be switched on and probably left
on, so your electricity bills can be significantly higher.
Build this into your low season prices.
Contact information
The vast majority of people looking at
your advert on the Internet will contact you by e-mail, but a telephone number
is very useful particularly for last minute bookings.
Include the name of the contact person in your advert, people like the personal
touch.
Check your e-mails once a week
and you are simply missing the boat, when people make enquiries it is
usually to more than one property, so a fast response is needed.
Remember to check your Spam folder regularly too for "real" e-mails.
Good Luck
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