We are Brits - so can only stay in the US for 6 months each year. We started out along the lines of trying to cover our costs through renting year round when we were not staying.
Eventually we realised that we were getting around 80% of our costs covered from about 3 rentals per year. The first was the Jan thru March period (high season). It’s seems just now you can charge just about what you want and get someone to pay. But a word of caution, our home is situated mid way between Lake Sumter and Spanish Springs. So our success rate may be through location.
The second rental is for April.
These two periods are now regular returners so no great concern over their looking after the house properly.
The third rental is over Xmas but ending no later than 30th Dec.
We did get enough rental income during the summer, but they were all short term (normally a week). They were the least tidy, caused most damage and gave us the most headaches.
We have come to realise that over the 8 years we have owned our home, the value of the house has increased, each year, by far more than the annual costs.
We are fortunate that our income and savings/investments, allow us to take the hit on lower rentals. We also realised that our costs were lower as a result, and over the last couple of years we have only had to cover around 10-12% of the yearly costs. For us that’s about $3000 per year.
So, best advice we can give is to think about location, starting with where you want to be. Then see what rentals might be possible, by looking at the nearest developed area and what other renters are charging. You can do that by going on the various sites and looking at rates in those areas.
Once you have a fix on the possible rates at various times of the year, for the nearest locations, you can work on your costs. Don’t just take what The Villages say in their blurb. We found lots of other costs were necessary.
Then plan your strategy.
If you want to know more - DM me. Happy to help.
Ray
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