The following will be on-going series concerning insights if and when you desire to rent your vacation home. Some vacation homeowners rent just during high-season, others consider their vacation residence an investment which should yield capital when possible. No matter your motivation, the following tips will be most beneficial:

The written agreement or rental agreement is literally a contract between you and the renter. The document can be as short as one paragraph (usually address of home, dates of occupancy and rate) or as long as multiple pages of legalese. We usually suggest a “happy-medium”.

The written agreement is truly a symbiotic document benefiting and protecting both parties. Once you have an acceptable version, you may wish to use it as “boiler-plate” for future renters (leaving room for additions/revisions on a case-by-case basis). Consider the document a confirmation which should include the following information, compliments of VRBO:

1. Work out the terms of the rental verbally with the renter until you come to an agreement that is acceptable to both parties.
2. Fax the renter the written agreement, including everything you discussed.
3. Tell the renter that they have seven days to send you the signed agreement and the deposit for the rental.
4. Hold the renter’s dates for a seven-day period (or period of your choosing) after you have faxed the agreement to the renter. The rental is not yet confirmed, but you will not make any other lease agreement for that time frame during the seven-day “HOLD” period. If another renter is interested in those dates during the seven-day period, let the renter know that you have a hold for a potential renter for those dates, but you will contact them on [a specific date] if your property is available.
5. If you receive a signed agreement and funds, the reservation is confirmed and subject to the cancellation policy spelled out in the agreement. If you do not receive the agreement in the seven-day period, you can take other rentals.

If you accept credit card payments, you can do everything electronically and virtually eliminate the “HOLD” period. (Credit card payments will be reviewed in the future)

1. Fax or email the agreement to the renter.
2. Take the renter’s credit card information for the deposit
3. Have the renter fax the signed agreement back to you AND mail you the hard copy.