Renting out my summer home

amother

DarkPurple

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 7:14 pm

Wow. Once, for a Simcha, my family rented a huge house in Monsey. (Not one that was typically advertised. It was someone’s house and they moved out while we were there).

I have a fairly small family with very well behaved, calm kids. Right away, one of my kids fell and skinned his/her knee and dripped blood all over the bedroom carpet. I felt really bad because that is very hard to remove. Of course I tried to scrub it. And then the mishaps continued. I was sick (that’s another concern, spreading germs all over these people’s house) and I didn’t have strength to keep cleaning up or to write a long note with details of any damage I thought we might have done, nor did I think it was my responsibility to do so.

(My opinion was that the family/empty nesters probably really needed the money and liked the idea of sharing the house for simchas for some reason and would be able to deal with the normal wear and tear).

↑ notshanarishona

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 7:14 pm

amother OP wrote:

Why, is 1k a lot? I feel like that should be grateful that I let them use my house! For 1k a day it sounds like it’s barely worth it!
What if a child has an accident or something?
Can I charge the family?

You can charge extra if they leave a mess like poop stains, you can’t charge extra if they clean it up. Part and parcel of renting anything out is you have to be ok with significant damages and wear and tear.

amother

Sage ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 7:15 pm

amother OP wrote:

My mortgage is a lot.
The house isn’t fancy and it isn’t a fancy neighborhood I just thought to give up a house and expect wear and tear I should charge minimum 1k per night.
What, am I a shmatta? Do I have to clean their mess?
I would totally get a cleaning lady but I don’t think it’s a lot to ask 1k….

Why should so,done stay in your house and pay 1k if they can stay in the house down the block for $500?

amother

↑ Sage

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 7:18 pm

amother Blush wrote:

And you would have to check after each guest if there is damage because you cant just randomly go and than it will be too late and you won't know who is responsible for it

People get a cleaning lady they trust and she checks for damage when she cleans. That would not work for op though.

amother

DarkCyan

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 7:18 pm

notshanarishona wrote:

I do not think you can charge extra for any wear and tear unless you explicitly say so when they decide to rent it because the expectations don’t seem reasonable

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 7:20 pm

amother Crocus wrote:

I did it once and there were flies in my house for a week, they did not properly dispose of garbage, left the doors open all Shabbos. I got significantly more than 1k and I worked like a dog with a cleaning lady all day before and after. It’s a huge job.

In terms of liability- check your local ordinances because it might not be legal and then if something happens- you can get get both a huge ticket and your homeowners insurance may not pay etc

How would anyone find out?

amother

Geranium

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 7:54 pm

amother OP wrote:

I’d like to start renting out my home as extra income. It’s a large home in a nice location and I’d like to ask for 3-4K per weekend and 1k per night.
I’m curious as far as the wear and tear to expect on the house. What’s normal and expected after a weekend?
Do you generally have to spend on some maintenance/cleaning after each guest?
What type of damage would be considered the responsibility of the person renting?
Thing is it’s a very large house so I’m assuming people with a lot of children or guest would use it…
What can I expect?

To give some perspective, I rented a large summer home in a nice location for the entire pesach for $4k. That included a spotless home, fully kashered with various amenities, including a hot tub, fireplace and large backyard. The only cleanup I was asked to do was to strip the beds and take out the garbage.

amother

↑ Cinnamon

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 8:12 pm

Okay, I'll chime in as someone who rents out an investment home as a short term rental in an out of town area. You need to have a cleaning crew clean the house between every set of guests. That means cleaning the house from top to bottom. You also need to include basic supplies. You also need someone to check after every single guest for damages. Some damages you can go to the guest on but most of them you cannot. Some guests are amazing, normal people and sometimes I get people who are very needy and complainers.

The most you can do is ask the guests to put the garbage in a specific spot and strip the linen.

I don't know the area you are in but I am renting a house for succos for $1,000 a night.
The house is 7,200 square feet, has 14 bedrooms, a movie room, a game room, plus living room, dining room, kitchen, garage. It has a pool, it has a swing set.

It sleeps 35-40 ppl.

What are you offering for $1,000 a night?

Amarante

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 8:16 pm

If this is an actual post, I would suggest you go to the Air BNB website and look up rentals in your area to see what comparable places are renting for.

You would be expected to do what is called a deep clean after each guest leaves. That is more than what a normal cleaning lady might do as the expectation is that the place is immaculate. You would also supply all linens as well as amenities like shampoo and soap. Many well reviewed places also supply pantry items as people who rent a home generally do so because they plan to cook at least some meals and so would want some pots, pans as well as small appliances like toasters and coffee pots.

The only reasonable cleaning expectation is that people take out the trash but other than that people are not renting to clean your place before they leave. 🤷‍♀️

Normal wear and tear is expected and so you would need to be vigilant that everything is in first class condition. Towels and sheets can’t have mysterious stains and should be nice quality as yiur competition is a hotel.

Most rentals are furnished very nicely as well so that is an expense. Nobody is going to pay to stay in a place with mismatched furniture.

As to whether the price is reasonable or not, that really depends on what you are renting and where it is located. Again, check the short term rental sites to see if your price is in line with competition or completely unrealistic.

Last edited by Amarante on Thu, Aug 22 2024, 8:54 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Lotus

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 8:29 pm

My son has a property in Florida. It’s over 3,000 square feet, has an infinity pool, etc. He charges $2000 a day. A company manages it for him and takes 15 percent off the top. He makes sure it’s immaculate. He gets a very significant deposit that will be used to pay for damages when renters leave. One family trashed the home and he needed to use the deposit to fix everything. The home has made him a significant amount of money, but he has had several big hassles along the way.

amother

↑ Blush

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 8:34 pm

amother Lotus wrote:

yes there are pros (making money) but cons too
But OP doesn't seem to have reasonable expectations so this isn't going to work for her

amother

Ecru

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 8:45 pm

OP you need a reality check. I rented a new house 6000 Sq feet, 10 bedrooms, during high season (sukkos) for 1000 a night. People paying those prices are not expecting to be cleaning when they leave. All that was asked of us was to put the trash in bin outside.

imaima

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 9:24 pm

amother OP wrote:

The pay you 1k a night so they don’t have to worry about it

coloredleaves

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 9:45 pm

People
Who do this feel the wear and tear is worth it bc the amount of money they make covers spraying up and still makes money. Like if you make 30,000 a year from times you wouldn't be suing it anyway, then even if you spend 5,000-10000 every few years on painting or repairs or refinishing floors or whatever instead of only once every 5 or 10 years it's still worth it bc you made so much money on it. But you have to view cleaning and paint touch ups and a new coach mor often etc as worth it and sort of doing business. You can't resent the renters. The maintenance cost should be worth the trade off of income. If you resent the renters it isn't a good business for you. It's like if soemone runs a babysitting service they know they ahev to sanitize more or paint more etc... bc kids make messes. But you chose that business. You don't resent them. If I have a baking business I replace my overnight more often. If I have a car service I put more mileage on my car. This is part of doing business.