Selling your short-term vacation rental home lets you reinvest in a new property or maximize the return on your investment. It doesn’t have to be a problem when it comes to selling your vacation rental home when it’s occupied by short-term rental guests. You don’t want to miss out on buyers willing to pay top dollar for your vacation home., the following steps help you maintain rental income while selling your short-term rental home.
Keep Your Home Booked While You Sell
It doesn’t make financial sense to stop booking short-term rental guests when trying to sell your home. Keeping your home occupied ensures that you don’t lose revenue whilst your property is for sale.
There are a three popular options that have proven to work very well for vacation home sellers and this is what we highly recommend as a plan of action when putting your property for sale:-
OPTION ONE: Maintaining your bookings right the way up to closing day – BUT leaving at least 3-4 days of availability between your bookings so that we can show your property to prospective buyers. We always recommend: the 1st day of listing your home that your property is vacant for at least 2-3 days at the very beginning. This time period is when the first buyers get to walk through your property and so it’s key to a successful sale to start off with some vacancy space even if it’s only 2 – 3 days.
If you have bookings to convey over – it will make your vacation home a more attractive option for buyers and you can gain a premium too! This option is a popular plan of action for most sellers and it’s a WIN WIN really! NOTE: This option works well in a hot market! not too well in a strong buyers market. You can still sell your property in a buyers market but it would typically take longer than the other options (for example : right now it’s a hot sellers market, you can choose this option and can still sell very quickly).
OPTION 2: Notifying your guests that your home is on the market can allow you to show the property to buyers even when the home is occupied. You can offer guests a discount, a gift card from a local restaurant, or other consolation for keeping the property neat and clean while allowing buyers to visit the home during their stay. This allow MAXIMUM viewings – faster offers and closing! You can offer to convey over your bookings and gain a premium for your property!
OPTION 3: Pre-planning option. This option is great for any vacation home owners who know EXACTLY when they want to sell their vacation home. You can plan to take no further bookings after a certain date and so your home would be planned to be completely vacant at the time of listing your property. This will allow for maximum viewings and timely contract offers and a quicker closing.
We have been working with vacation home sales in the Disney area’s for many years now so we can guide you in the best way possible to suit your needs when it comes to selling your vacation home.
Show Your Home at it’s Best!
Performing all the necessary maintenance on your home will mean that you will have a much smoother home inspection and timely closing. Definitely worth checking out all the maintenance issues you have and getting those completed prior to putting your home on the market.
Dressing your Home to Look it’s Best
Does your bedding look a little tired? Do your cushions on your sofa seem a little limp? Do your plastic plants look a little dated and dusty? Have you not replaced some items for quite a long time that looks a little dated? Walk through your property as if you was a buyer walking through the home for the very first time. Complete a really detailed look at every room and make notes of items you could replace that would really allow your vacation home to POP!
If you are pre-planning your sale – i.e. you already have a future date in mind that you would like to start the sales process? Perhaps in this scenario you can replace some larger items, e.g. if you have an old sofa. You may well have another year to go and so you can recoup that money from future bookings income before you sell. Also, if your home is presented looking fresh and modern with newer pictures / plants / ornaments / furniture, your buyers will probably more drawn to your home over any other that haven’t bothered to do these changes and will be more likely to offer you a premium price because they love your home! It always pays to present your home in the best way possible with a modern and fresh look.
Know the Numbers with the Help of a Fully Licensed Real Estate Broker or Realtor
Working with a real estate professional can give you the resources you need to get the most out of your home investment. Market factors, interest rates, closing costs, and your financial goals can influence the decisions you make and the results you achieve. A Specialized Vacation Home Real Estate Broker / Realtor can address issues that are unique to short-term rental investment properties, which often involve management companies and managers.
As you can see, it is possible to maintain your short-term rental income while selling your home. Let your guests know that your home is for sale, and let buyers see that your home is occupied by paying guests. Buyers who see vacation homes that have current and future bookings are more likely to pay a higher price.
VACAY & CO REAL ESTATE helps today’s home investors buy and sell vacation rental homes throughout DISNEY WORLD AREAS – we serve 25 miles around Disney World, Orlando. We can help you maintain your short-term rental income while you sell your home and still get the highest return on your investment.
Looking to sell your vacation home in the Disney areas? Give us a call at (321) 284 3600 or email us for more information. We are excited to be able to help you further.
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