Customer Reviews

How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner Second Edition

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

We have various family members who now own vacation homes or second properties in Hawaii, France, Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, here in California and along Hoods Canal in western Washington, and one thing they all worried about was what would happen if the wrong people rented their properties. And since I got the book in June I have had to fight to read it, since so many of my family and friends would see it on my table and would grab it and rave about it.

This is the first (literally) book I (and my family and friends) have found that tackles all the hard questions, worries and various 'what ifs' on the subject.

Beginning with the 'before' you buy questions, which is something I know a lot of people never really give much thought to, since many assume renting it out during off season etc will be a breeze. I especially liked the chapter dealing with 'why self management makes sense' since this is an issue I know something about. How many prospective rental owners know that a management company who handles rentals for clients can take 30% or more as a commission? Or that using a rental manager doesn't assure your property will be safe, or repaired in a timely way without gouging your bank account?

The author deals extensively with the how to of finding clients to rent your property, including which websites are the best and what to have on your website as well. This includes good and accurate digital photos of all the rooms, yard, as well as Mapquest.com links so people can see how close they are to stores, beaches, rivers etc, that would be a draw as well as a drawback. A place may look nice on the website but how many owners show photos of the neighborhood so that clients can see that its safe and clean?

The author covers how to screen clients, pet clauses, smoking, and party issues and issues of liability in general. Will you use PayPal, credit cards, checks etc? What about the phone in the property and the agreement on use and charges? This is why I like the call anywhere in the country one fee programs phone providers now offer. If you have DishNetwork will there be an extra fee for use or will that be included in the rental fee?

Will you provide bed linens and basic kitchen items? What about those few people whom you can never please? How will you handle them and how should you, legally? These are also covered in-depth.

Does the state where the rental property is require you to pay state or local taxes like some hotel, motels charge a fee or tax for? These are all things you need to think about before you even buy a vacation rental.

The back two 'chapters' or index's offer a lot of Internet sites for valuable information that makes the price of the book worth every penny.

Ms. Hrib Karpinski deserves a lot of thanks for finally writing a book that is easy to read and understand as well as recommendations of those she trusts who might provide the reader with even more information.

And I am buying a copy for my local library as well! Also check out her website by the same name www.HowToRentByOwner.com

Author Karpinski wrote me that one reader wrote to her saying "My first renter wrote me a nice note about how much fun they had and how they want to rent it again next year. Then she says, "Friday as I sat down to eat lunch, I heard a crack before the chair broke and I fell to the ground."

Just though you would like to know how true your words are. Thanks! Now I'm re-reading your book to see what else I snubbed my nose at the first time around."

That's the point of "How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner." There is detail, detail, detail, and you'd better read this with,well, to mix metaphors, a fine-toothed comb. Not only is the advice to furnish with STURDY chairs in there, but other wisdom that can save you, the vacation landlord, time and money and heartache. Have you considered a condo versus a free-standing property? What about maintenance, what about distance from the property? Are you going to be able to handle that or will you need someone to help you? Don't forget, a condo has maintenance included in a fee, usually. That fee may look large at closing, but later on...

What about the 20% downpayment usually required by lenders? Turns out that, too, can be borrowed. PMI, mortgages, lending, this is also covered.

How do you advertise to get the best results? What needs to be in that ad? Where do you advertise?

I can't go into all the detail here, but chapters include finance, self-management, advertising including photos and description writing, pricing, organization techniques, tax collection and payment, key management, problems such as major damage, minor depredations, theft, cancellation and complaints.

If you plan to rent a property, this is an absolutely essential book, written by someone with first-hand experience and an eye for detail. Get it.

After reading the reviews I thought this would be a useful book. It certainly has lots of information in it, that you can find for free on the internet. I certainly did not learn anything I already did not know.

Although that was annoying it was not as infuriating as finding out that the author works for a company called HomeAway Inc. She fully disclosed the fact that she worked for them, which is fine, but she must have forgotten that almost all of the portal sites she mentioned are owned by HomeAway Inc, a small little fact that must have slipped her mind when her company was lining her pocketbook. In one passage on page 142 she recommends that you sign up for all 4 of the portal sites she `recommends' and only puts and asterisk by HomeAway, failing to state that HomeAway owns the other 3 that she 'recommends' you sign up for. Nice Christine, thanks for the full disclosure. After she recommends you don't go with a rental management company (in Chapter 9 she has a personal crusade against property management companies) because they take too much money, she turns around and `recommends' sending $1500 to her parent company. Wow, the hypocrisy!!! She certainly has chutzpah.

She peppers the books with 'recommendations' of websites that are either owned or affiliated with the company that employs her. I would recommend buying a book on how to rent vacation homes from someone who is not in the pocket of a company whose job it is to take a percentage of your vacation rental income. Maybe someone with at least some degree of ethics and objectivity.

For full disclosure's sake, I am not affiliated with any rental management company or any company that directly or indirectly competes with Home Away Inc. In fact, I am not even in the real estate industry in any capacity. It is just very aggravating to find out that I spent $20 to get a 300 page advertisement for HomeAway Inc.

It turns out that Mrs. Karpinski is just an arm of the HomeAway Inc marketing machine. I do not think that the author is the `expert' that she claims to be, just a huckster trying to sell the wares of HomeAway Inc. I hope in her next edition she does the ethical thing and decides to fully disclose her relationship with what she is trying to sell you on.

If you think I am just some crazy loon who likes to rant, just do a little internet research and you will quickly find out that HomeAway Inc owns most, if not all of the `recommendations' by the author.

The topic of the book is dead-on for what I am looking for... how to rent by owner a beach condo I just bought. Unfortunately, it reads like a How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich book from an introductory writing class. I would think that anyone who can afford to buy a beach property doesn't need to be explained about what a fixed rate vs adjustable rate loan is.

The folksy nature and the rhetorical questions being asked and self-answered is not complementary to the topic and the intent of the book. I'm sure the author is excited about the topic, but I've never seen so many explanation points in a business/real estate book....

The author is very against management companies and goes to extremes to tell why one shouldn't be hired. She says a management company will keep 50 - 60% of gross profit. The mgmt companies I spoke to in my beach town charge 15 - 20% and by reputation are very different the the typical management company described here.

So, overall some good, useful information but you have to weed through alot of... Why??? Yes!!! The author could have benefited from an editor.

If you haven't ever owned and rented out a vacation or second home, you probably have the same concerns that I have: How will I find renters? Will people destroy the property? Will people sue me? How will I get the toilet unclogged at 4 a.m. from a distance? How will I avoid having a terrible negative cash flow? How much time will this really take? Am I turning myself into a minimum wage slave?

Relax! Ms. Christine Hrib Karpinski answers all those and many other questions you didn't know enough to ask. She also provides details of how she does everything efficiently and relatively painlessly.

Further, she gives you good advice on how to decide what property to buy, how much to charge, who to rent to, where to advertise, how to write the copy and even how to create great photographs for a Web site. In fact, both the marketing and the administrative details she provides are outstanding. My only suggestion is that you have an attorney in the state where your property is check out the forms she suggests (or obtain the standard forms used by landlords in that state).

The only area where the book doesn't cover a related subject in detail is in the tax advantages. If she does another edition of this book, I suggest that she have a c.p.a. write up a section on that point. As a result, the book makes it seem like you will make less than you actually will.

Her focus is on long-term ownership and rental, but she also points out how you can make substantial short-term gains. The section on the current mortgage options is excellent.

Even if you decide not to buy a vacation home and rent it, I suggest that you read the book for advice that will be valuable to you as a potential tenant of such properties. You can more than save the price of the book in that context.

I recommend that you do the work she describes for setting rental prices and marketing a property BEFORE you purchase a home.

Good luck!

Obviously, the value of this book will be determined entirely by its relevance to a specific reader who is now thinking about buying (or who now owns) a vacation rental property and needs expert advice on HOW to manage, furnish, maintain, and promote that investment. I have never owned such a property but have rented several over the years. Some were rented directly from their owner; others were rented through an agency engaged by their owner. The comments which follow are based on the premise that I have decided to purchase a second home. Let's say it is located where there are two peak seasons, summer (swimming, boating, golf, tennis, etc.) and winter (skiing, skating, snow boarding, etc.) My objective is to maximize rental income from it during both seasons. These are some of the questions I need to answer:

1. Where and how to begin?

2. How should I finance it?

3. Which numbers need to be crunched?

4. How to determine which property is the right place for me?.

5. Should I have a management company handle everything, use a management partnership program, or self-manage the property? Why?

6. Which are the most effective strategies, tactics, and resources for marketing my rental property?

7. What about financial terms and conditions (e.g. pricing)?

8. Which criteria to use when selecting renters?

9. What is the best system for processing reservations?

10. Which are the most common problems? How to solve each?

Karpinski addresses these and other critically important questions throughout 18 carefully-organized and well-written chapters, followed by seven appendices in which she provides forms (e.g. rental rules and regulations), identifies most helpful Web sites, explains special discounts, identifies vacation exchange Web sites, lists state sales tax offices, refers her reader to learning centers throughout the U.S. (e.g. to improve computer skills), and concludes with an annotated list of individuals and companies she highly recommends.

If you are thinking about purchasing a vacation rental property or if you now own one and are dissatisfied with its ROI, this book will be invaluable. However, with all due respect to Karpinski, I think it would be foolish to rely on only one source of information and counsel. Once again I am reminded of Derek Bok's response when outraged parents of Harvard students complained about a tuition increase: "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." Deciding whether or not to purchase a vacation property obviously requires rigorous and extensive due diligence. In my opinion, a careful reading and then (yes) re-reading of Karpinski's book is essential to that process. That said, check out other sources on the same subject, including books offered by Amazon which have received the highest ratings by readers. This book will also be helpful to current owners who have hired a management company or participate in a management partnership program. In Chapter 5, Karpinski explains why self-management "is the only way to maximize your income on your vacation property." For many current owners, that may well be true but only IF they are willing to invest the time and energy self-management requires.

Christine Karpinski provides a wealth of practical knowledge for anyone interested in acquiring vacation rental property or renting their existing property. As a new owner of vacation rental property, I could not imagine embarking on a vacation property rental program without the tips and recommendations provided in this book. What we learned from reading this book improves our confidence in every part of the rental business.

I liked that this book was not written for get-rich-quick real estate investors. Rather, it was written for average people who just want to enjoy second home ownership yet enjoy the potential rental benefits offered by their investment.

I was impressed with this book because most rental managers don't even discuss insurance or know anything about it. Yet, this book devotes several pages on this topic. So, If you got a vacation rental, or thinking about it like me, your common garden variety homeowners policy won't do. You got to pay twice or more on the premium for a vacation home.

Owning a vacation home is a dream, but having renters pay your mortgage is the ideal way to finance your vacation. Christine Hrib Karpinski explores the possibilities by giving ideas for the best property to own, explaining the ways to advertise for quick results and showing how you can avoid "bad apple" renters. She truly covers all the main bases and then gives guidance on how to manage the property.

She has great ideas for staying in contact with your cleaning staff and finding people you can trust. This allows you to keep an eye on your property from a distance. Should you hire individuals or a cleaning company? How do you handle lost keys? Christine has thought of everything!

The chapter on Choosing Renters shows you how to screen guests and she has even created a Vacation Rental Organizer. Her advice on taking pictures is very helpful and practical. There are lists of words to use in property descriptions and "key words" that sell. The Financing section also has some unique ways you can finance a property. If you are thinking about renting a vacation property, this book will explore the possibilities and also helps to prevent future problems.

I love the friendly writing style and the sample forms at the end of the book are especially helpful.

~The Rebecca Review

this is the first book I have read on this topic and I felt that it was fairly informative. I read all of the reviews on it before I purchased it and some of the negative ones were a little off base. The only problem I had with the book was the constant reference to different websites, most of which are affiliated with the company she works for. Other than that, I thought it was a good book with lots of information.