Vacation Rental By Owner

Planning to travel this summer? Going to a business conference in another state? Going to spend several months in another state on business? Sold your house but cannot move into the new place right away?

That last one was me a year ago. My family moved to the new house in North Carolina. But I remained in Atlanta to sell the house and finish out my time in Corporate America. Someone told me about the vacation rentals by owner concept and, boy, did I have fun! I stayed a time in a warehouse loft conversion. Then, because someone else had reserved the conversion (a person who spent a month there each summer) I moved easily into a brand new high rise condo.

Just think of it. All the comforts of an apartment but no utility bills. Really nice, comfortable furnishings. All the comforts of home. Many more comforts than a hotel room, but around the cost of a hotel room. AND in each case, the owners were nice people totally motivated to ensure I had a wonderful experience.

If you are traveling for any reason, I suggest you do an internet search on "vacation rental by owner" and have some fun exploring this option.

There are potential issues. One place I almost rented was high rise with one, central thermostat: the upper floors were way too hot and the lower floors was very cold. In another place, I would have had to step over sleeping homeless people to get to the parking at 04:00 AM when I left for the office. They might have been very nice people, but I chose to look elsewhere. Some places did not have adequate laundry facilities, some had a washer/dryer right in the unit - great for evening clean up.

So, when I say you should explore this option, I mean ask a LOT of questions. Find an owner you are comfortable working with. Ask for, then contact references. Choose carefully. Then have a really good time!

Tomorrow, we are going to talk about Staging to Rent - a new phenomena that is sweeping the staging world.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and a great vacation!