I call ourselves Hybrids. Grandchildren at Maryland, NYC, Poconos, Hawaii and Augusta Georgia soon. Just went for a week to watch my Grandson’s Fall Baseball practice.

Unless you have one heck of a special umbrella policy, it definitely does not cover renting out your home or covering the rental of your golf cart. You are opening yourself to a devastating liability. Check your insurance and verify it covers the rental of your house and golf cart (hint: it doesn't) and ask yourself if the taxed income you are receiving is worth the risk.

If you are a renter, these are the kind of folks you want to rent from. No idea of what their insurance covers and if injured they have a lot of personal exposure.

I agree. There have been other threads on this topic. Lawyers have said that there is no effective way for a property owner to cover their liability for an accident caused by a renter using a golf cart. The personal liability coverage in your auto or homeowner's policy may extend to a non-paying friend or relative, but not to a renter with a lease, regardless of how the lease is worded.

Even if you put your house into an LLC, you limit your losses, but can you afford to lose your house?

If you don't need the money, I would just close up the home for that time period. We went north each summer for 20 + years, for about four months and had no problems. We turned off all water, emptied the fridge and freezer inside but let the garage refrig/freezer on, turned off the electrical to all appliances and the water heater, disconnected the garage door operator, turned on the fans, set the thermostat to 78 F, took in all outside items that could become missiles during a hurricane, made sure the sprinklers were operating correctly, set a lamp on a timer, stopped the paper, forwarded the mail, and had a neighbor look in occasionally. We disconnected the battery on the golf cart, but did nothing else. Never had a battery or startup problem when we returned.

Peak periods such as Jan. Feb, Mar, April that demand a peak season price always brings respectable customers. However don’t trust the summer season customers who come to take advantage of lower rates. They have less respect for personal property

Do you have any data to support that assumption? I would highly doubt that the renters during the peak season are always respectable customers. I think that the peak season would attract more multiple families who will put more wear on the house. But, I definitely don't agree that there is any noticeable difference in respectability between summer and winter renters. Some renters will respect your property and some won't.

Actually, rent price often seems to make a difference - not always. But I noticed too not only in TV but in my very large city up north. When I asked my city neighbor who always manages to get excellent renters for his condos, what was his secret? How did he select his tenants? He said to me,”I charge high rent.” (He also keeps his place immaculate.)

I would point out that the rent in The Villages is seasonal, higher in the winter and lower in the summer. It is also very competitive. If a landlord charges a high rent, they probably will have trouble getting tenants. Are you saying that winter renters are better renters than summer renters? If so, I don't agree.

Don’t know in TV - my TV neighbors rent to the same old couples in the winter for years at a time. They themselves stay in their houses in the summer.

“ Do you want strangers doing strange things in your bed??”
 

Guess you’d never sleep overnight in a hotel room if that’s your fear. Let’s get real.

Reality is a difference between staying overnight in a hotel room, & allowing strangers into the place you live.

You have no problem sleeping on a hotel bed where literally thousands of strangers have slept. However, you do have a problem sleeping on a bed where a few well vetted renters have slept. Maybe this is more about you wanting to discourage renters in your neighbourhood.

I feel renting your home depends quite a bit on your financial needs. If you need the money and are renting prime season with a pool, you can make quite a bit. You can look into Business Liability Insurance, as you are running a business, if you are concerned with the issues mentioned in these responses and an umbrella policy.