Renting out your Home for Travel: Top Tips

People often ask me how I can afford to travel so much, they assume I earn a lot a work, I have high credit card debt, or some distance inheritance money stashed away somewhere. The truth is that I have none of the above. I earn a regular salary just like most people, I too am suffering the consequences of high inflation in the UK and don’t even get me started on the cost of childcare! But the question remains- how can I afford to travel?

Since I almost went bankrupt a few years ago (yes, travel did play a significant part in this), I have developed many strategies for money management. From hosting dinner parties instead of going out to a restaurant to taking a cup of coffee with you in the morning from home instead of doing the usual Starbucks run, saving the pennies very quickly adds up to Pounds. But one avenue that I haven’t fully explored yet is renting out your home for travel.

Renting out our house is something that I have considered, and I have done a lot of research into it. It can be especially lucrative given the rental yields in greater London and the home counties, which is where I live (can you tell I watch a lot of property shows?!). Whilst I am yet to take the rental plunge, this is something that we may seriously consider doing in the future. So, after many hours of deliberation and research I’d like to share my top tips with anybody who is considering doing the same!

Investigate the legal requirements

The legalities of renting out a property can be somewhat of a mind field. I found this out when I realised that we cannot rent out current property at the moment because we are part of the government help to buy scheme. Another key player is mortgages. Whilst some lenders will offer you a ‘consent to let’ agreement, others will require you to switch your mortgage to a buy to let deal, which tend to have significantly higher interest rates and different eligibility requirements. You will also need to have adequate insurance such as HomeLet insurance for landlords. Thinking of being a bit sneaky and continuing with your current mortgage on the assumption that nobody will find out? Think again. This will invalidate any insurance and put your bricks and mortar at risk.

Choose a rental platform

Nowadays there are several options for renting out your property. You can let it out privately, doing all of the marketing and property management yourself or you can use an agency. Traditional estate agents will be keen to take on your business, particularly given the slump in the property market in recent months. There are typically two options to choose from with an estate agent- the first is for the agent to find tenants and organise contracts, inventories etc. The second is full property management which includes sourcing tenants and managing any ongoing problems that may arise such as leaks or faulty appliances. The third option is to use a third party company such as Air b’n’b who will essentially advertise your vacancies in a ‘holiday let’ style.

Prepare your home

When renting out your home you will need to do some preparation. This means removing any items of value and personal effects. It is likely that you will need to find storage for some of your things so this is something else for you to consider. If you are offering a long-term rental then you probably won’t have to do much more. However, for short rentals, particularly if you are going to be using the Air b’n’b approach, you will need to provide entertainment items such as a TV, kitchen facilities, and adequate Internet access. You will also need to organise cleaning between rentals. A service in your area, like this move out cleaning Atlanta service, will ensure that the property is in pristine condition for all new occupants. All of this can add up so make sure you calculate which option is best for you.

Communication

There might be times when you are on a remote Cambodian island with no electricity or when the Wifi in the Australian outback just won’t work sufficiently, but this is the 21^stcentury and we live in a truly globalised world- so there is no reason not to keep in touch with what’s going on back home. Check in with your agent on a regular basis if you are using one. If you are using the Air b’n’b approach then you will need to be very active with your communications. We travelled through Canada this summer and every host was sending regular e-mails to ensure that we were ok and didn’t have any issues with the property. This is really important and happy tenants= positive reviews, which can break or break an Air b’n’b business.

So, they are my tops tips for things that you need to consider when renting out your home for travel. Do you have any further tips? Please leave them in the comments below!

This post was written in collaboration with HomeLet. This post may contain affiliate links.