Checklist for Turning Your Second Home into a Vacation Rental

Now that you own your dream vacation home, you want to start renting it out. After perusing the hundreds of articles on the Owner Community, you might still be a little unsure of where to begin.

Our Checklist for Turning Your Second Home into a Vacation Rental is a comprehensive look at everything you need to take care of before your first renters even set foot in your home.

□ Check the short-term rental laws for your state, county, city and HOA.
□ Read CC&R's and HOA regulations. Sign and mail if required.
□ Review requirements for business licenses and paperwork.
□ Review safety requirements and health code regulations for your area.
□ Research and purchase an insurance policy for vacation rentals.
□ Create a rental agreement. Include clauses for the following:

Security Deposit Refunds Total Payment Due Instructions for Submitting Payment CC Authorization Cancellation Policy Inclement Weather Policy Pet Policy Smoking Policy and Penalties Rental Restrictions Maximum Occupancy Minimum Stays

Tax Prep
□ Review information on applicable tax deductions, capital gains, and LLC tax requirements.
□ Research occupancy tax rate or sales tax for short term rentals in your county.

Payments Prep
□ Determine your vacation rental goals and break-even point.
□ Set your pricing structure (nightly, weekly, monthly) and rates.
□ Devise a method for tracking and recording payments and expenses.
□ Determine your methods for accepting payment - credit card merchant account, PayPal,
   checks, etc.
□ Develop a payment schedule.
□ Create a deposit refund letter.

Maintenance Prep
□ Find a reliable housekeeper or cleaning service.
□ Create a cleaning/housekeeping checklist.
□ Review cleaning checklist and process for check-in, checkout and keys with hired
   housekeeper.
□ Find a reliable handyman or maintenance person.
□ Create a maintenance checklist.
□ Complete maintenance projects and renovations.

Household Prep
□ Furnish your home based on target renters.
□ Create a list of items to purchase.
□ Purchase necessary items and save receipts! Also, try to keep all instruction booklets or
   manuals together in a place where renters can easily find them.
□ Create a property inventory list of items in your home.
□ Purchase a physical guestbook.
□ Purchase a local attractions book.
□ Gather coupons, local attraction/activity brochures and menus from local restaurants and
   put them in a binder to create a local attractions book.

Advertising Prep
□ Review vacation rental listing websites (like HomAway.com, VRBO.com and
   VacationRentals.com) and specialty websites to determine options for advertising your
   property.
□ Set up accounts with 3 to 5 listing sites.
□ Create a headline, property description and location description.
□ Stage your home for photos.
□ Take multiple pictures with a digital camera at different times of day or hire a
   photographer.
□ Create captions for each photo.
□ Set up a calendar with HomeAway Connect.
□ Research virtual tour and video services.
□ Purchase domain/email address for personal site and professional email correspondence.
□ Link to listing site(s) from personal website.
□ Have 3 people proofread your personal site and listing sites.
□ Send an email to everyone in your address book linking to your personal site and new
   listing(s).

Renter Prep
□ Set up an auto-responder for inquiries.
□ Create standard responses and a sample confirmation email.
□ Build a thorough set of directions.
□ Build a list of instructions for using appliances, electronics and equipment at your property.
□ Determine method for getting keys to renters.
□ Create a check-in procedure.
□ Create a checkout procedure.
□ Set up an emergency contact sheet.
□ Put together local vacation tips for your guests.

That wasn't so bad, was it? Now that you've checked off all the items for turning your second home into a vacation rental, go ahead and start renting!

Special thanks to Michelle L. of Flagstaff, AZ for suggesting this article and creating the first draft!

Download a free, printable version of the Checklist for Turning Your Second Home into a Vacation Rental that you can save and edit yourself. 

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What other steps did you take before you started renting your vacation home?