If you love traveling, but often worry about the expenses involved in exploring the world, you might have considered renting out your home while you’re away. After all, if you’re not going to be using your property yourself, it seems a shame for it to sit there doing nothing when it could be bringing new revenue into your bank account. However, while many people around the world have already benefited from letting their space to other users for short-term vacations, it’s worth remembering this strategy doesn’t appeal to everyone. There’s often more involved with short-term renting than most people realize. Today, we’re going to look at the pros and cons of renting your home while you travel.
Should You Rent Out Your Home When Traveling?
It’s no secret that websites like Airbnb have become increasingly popular in recent years. As consumers look for more ways to reduce the costs of travel, many have turned to home rentals as an effective and reliable way to make exploring the way easier.
When you rent out your home when on vacation, you can benefit from the knowledge that someone’s going to be around and look after your property wherever you are. Who needs house sitters when you have people actually paying to use your property? At the same time, you can make sure you’re actively making an income when you’re not around, so it’s easier to pay for not just the cost of travel internationally, but your regular bills too. The benefits of renting out a home while you travel can include:
- Make the most out of your available space
- Receive a consistent income
- Get people to look after your home when you’re gone
- Can experiment with the benefits of rental properties
- May open the door to a new business opportunity
The Issues
Unfortunately, there are some downsides to exploring this strategy too. You don’t get a guarantee that those who are going to be borrowing your home will give your property the same degree of care it gets when you’re around.
Although insurance is available to protect your property, you could end up with significant damage you need to deal with. Another point to consider is that you’ll be running your own business to a certain degree, which means you’ll have taxable earnings to report, and local ordinances you need to navigate. This can be very complicated for beginners who don’t know much about the real estate landscape. Here are some of the downsides which might prevent you from letting your home while you travel:
- Don’t always know if the people renting your home are trustworthy
- Need to take extra care to ensure your home is attractive to renters
- Have to work on marketing and advertising your property
- Could have a variety of new taxation rules to learn
- Have to share your private space with potential strangers
Should You?
Like a most business or money-making opportunities, renting your home out to travelers on a short-term basis when you’re not around can have both pros and cons to think about. On the one hand, you’ll have an excellent way to make some extra money to pay for your lifestyle. On the other hand, you’ll be sharing your private and personal space with strangers who may not be trustworthy.
If people are traveling with kids or animals, that presents another element to consider as well in terms of potential damage to your space. Ultimately, effectively figuring out which strategy you should consider will mean thinking about your personal preferences and building a strategy.
If you’re comfortable letting people into your home when you’re not around, you’ll need to learn how to use the right strategies to keep your property safe and boost your chances of making a consistent profit. If you feel nervous about getting started with this new venture, you might decide to start with something simple and small, rather than diving straight in. You could rent out a spare room while you’re still around to get a feel for how the process works. Or you consider renting out a part of your property you don’t commonly use, such as your parking space. There’s no one-size-fits-all to this earning opportunity, so don’t be afraid to take the time and figure out what works best for you.
