I've been thinking about whether renting out my home for the months I'm not using it is a good idea or not.If there are those of you who do this please let me know some of the pros & cons.We won't be here during the months of June,july august & september.So this is our primary residence and it's new.There is so much to consider insurance,golf cart ,TV service,phone service ..Any help would be appreciated..Thanks

[SteveFromNY]

Two things - we did rent our home full time for 3 years.

First, what will you do with your stuff? Our house was set up more like a hotel, with nothing really personal out and about. We now have our curio cabinet with all kinds of Disney stuff, my "good" television and home theater system, our closets are full of our "stuff", etc, etc. To rent now that we reallly occupy the house would be a huge hassle.

Second, those months are the hardest to rent, and you'll get the least revenue.

Personally, I wouldn't do it.

[walkr]

I agree with StevefromNY. It's not worth the small amount you would get for those months. But I would add the suggestion that you hire a caretaker to watch over your home while you are gone. Even if your neighbors watch the outside for you, there are too many things that could go wrong on the inside that you would never know until you return.

We had water in our guest room in August 2008 from the torrential rain that lasted for days. There would have been a lot more damage and we wouldn't have been able to salvage our carpet if it had not been discovered immediately.

We use someone who lives right in TV - Dee of Let Dee Do It. Her fees are reasonable and she is great.

Walkr

[Ohiogirl]

I agree with Steve. Wouldn't pay or be worth the hassle just to rent out in the summer months, when you get about 1/3 as much rent as high season, with shoulder seasons being in between.

I bought about 3-1/2 years ago with the full intention to rent it out as much as we can until we retire. Original plan was to work until we were 62, which would have been about 7 years of renting it out, using it spring and fall for vacation. Now we're planning to move to The Villages this fall, when we will be 60, making it 4 full winter seasons we've rented it out.

But I digress (must be Boomer's influence . Renting it has worked well for us, but it is still quite a bit of work. We combined 2 households when we bought, so we furnished it VERY completely. We do keep some stuff in the 3rd bedroom closet (box of family photos we mistakenly put in the moving truck, a couple of plastic bins of stuff we don't want to have to bring every time - sunscreen, toiletries, swim goggles, golf shoes, bag of golf balls, tees, etc). We don't lock it, and no one has bothered it in all this time. I put a note on it saying Owner's Bin or something. This probably works because we do have a 3rd bedroom.

In general you get a different kind of tenant in The Villages than you might in a resort area on the coast, at least that's MO. Summer, however, brings relatives with children who wish to rent to visit Grandma and Grandpa during school vacation. Or, even if it's adults renting, they likely have grandchildren visiting. Something to consider. Even if you say adults only, who knows who's visiting while you're up north - tenants with resident guest passes apply for their own visitor guest passes.

You do have to change your Homeowner's Insurance - can't get replacement cost policy with a rental. I think policy costs about the same. We've been mostly lucky with our tenants, but it's still a hassle, and definitely wouldn't be worth it without the high season rentals. You have to file and pay with the State of Florida for the sales tax. You have to file every month you don't rent it as well.

You have to send in the application and check for resident guest passes, or request regular guest passes. You have to file a schedule C every year with your income tax return, have to be sure to check your email every day, answer inquiries, email leases, etc etc. There has been some minimal wear and tear on our villa, but probably not any more (maybe even less) than would be when living in it ourselves. It's irritating though, to see marks on your walls that you didn't put there yourself.

You could get a management co. to handle much of this, but they take a pretty big cut and I am not even sure they would take your listing if you don't have the seasonal months, or at least most of them, available to rent.

I have chatted with other landlords like myself when I'm down in TV - met one lady who rents hers out in the high season and uses it the other 9 months. Of course, she lives in England and doesn't normally have nasty winters that many of us are trying to get away from.

Long story short, I wouldn't bother either, just like Steve said.

[784caroline]

What made our decision ..and we were considering renting out for approx 2 years after we bought......was it was a considerable expense to set up a rental house but that aside, botom line was we wanted to move into a "NEW" house! Done deal!

[another Linda]

We are renting our place, but as others have said, summers are iffy. As soon as we can spend more time there during the winter months, we'll stop. Meanwhile the winter renters are helping me pay for some of the upgrades that make my husband groan. ("Granite? You've got to be kidding!" or "There is nothing wrong with ____________!" fill in the blank)

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by another Linda

We are renting our place, but as others have said, summers are iffy. As soon as we can spend more time there during the winter months, we'll stop. Meanwhile the winter renters are helping me pay for some of the upgrades that make my husband groan. ("Granite? You've got to be kidding!" or "There is nothing wrong with ____________!" fill in the blank)

Another Linda, You didn't run off with my husband, did you?

[l2ridehd]

We have two homes in TV. One is strictly for rental and the other for us. I do rent both homes for the same reason anotherlinda does. To help pay for the upgrades we want. We have been very successful with the rental home. It now pays for itself and provides a small positive cash flow. But I have been very lucky and been able to get long term renters.

As for the personal home, we only allow people who have proved they take good care of the property and close friends. But you have to be willing to give up the winter months to make it work. And we do that until we plan to be living there full time. Hopefully within the next year. Renting only in the summer months would not work at all. To much cost for to little return.

[another Linda]

Originally Posted by Pturner

Another Linda, You didn't run off with my husband, did you?

It's on the Y chromosome.

[Ohiogirl]

Do they also have problems finding anything in the refrigerator or pantry? (maybe this belongs in the girltalk thread).

But back to the rental thread - we have also done some of the upgrades while we can still deduct at least part of it.