We found a deal on our retirement home. I admit it was an emotional based purchase. In order to pay for 70-80% of ownership costs plus the tax benefits we plan on using a local service that is similar to VRBO. We plan to do this for 4 to 5 years. We anticipate that the total picture; appreciation, tax benefits, mortgage pay down, will place us ahead of the game. Mainly, though, we wanted the certainty of knowing where, exactly we were going to. We tend to plan five years in advance.
As some of you may know VRBO now charges renters a service fee on top of the rental to maximize their profits. This has impacted some VRBO listings, we will not be using them. In some markets there is a strong local web host for VRBO style rentals that use the conventional paid advertising which is a cost borne by the owner.
In this retirement community a lazy owner can expect to rent a furnished home 4 months a year but an active owner can expect 6-8 months of bookings, with rentals by the month.
What advice and experience have you had that you care to share?, all pointers are appreciated.
