When To Put Your Property on a Vacation Rental Program
Timing is everything in the vacation rental business. One question that I am asked quite often is “when is the best time to put my property on a vacation rental program?” The answer is that there isn’t a bad time, but some are definitely better than others, especially if you are looking to purchase and depending on the income to defer some of your expenses.
The WORST Time
So if I was going to pick, the worst possible time, I would have to say that it would at the beginning of October. You’ve just missed the entire summer and quite possibly will not have a rental until May of the following year. That is eight months without any income. If you are depending on your property to help pay some of your costs it will be a long wait.
The BEST Time
The best time would probably be the middle of December for a home and no later than the end of February for a condo. As families gather for the holidays they (at least the smart ones) begin planning their summer vacations. Since there are fewer homes than condos, and not very many large homes, they tend to book sooner than the condos and smaller properties. Currently our homes (on average) have booked 30% more nights than our condos for the 2016 rental season. Condos, due to supply and demand, tend to book closer to the guests arrival date.
Condominium Timing Statistics
Last year we had seven new condos join our program. The four that joined prior to January 1st averaged 56.75 nights per unit. Compare that to two units that joined at the beginning of May and one that joined at the beginning of June. Those three units averaged 20.67 nights per unit. The earlier units enjoyed 174% more rental nights than those that joined after May 1st.
Perfect Timing
Sometimes you cannot help when your property becomes available for rent. You may be waiting on the closing, you’ve ordered furniture but it hasn’t arrived, you have repairs that need to be completed or you inherited a property and it just took a while to get it ready. There are many factors that come into play, but as you can see timing can make a huge difference in how successful you are your first year. However, after that you will always be ahead of the curve.
Put Your Property on Our Rental Program
If you are planning on purchasing a vacation rental property at the Lake of the Ozarks, you may want to consider looking in the fall or winter. However, if the perfect property comes along, it may be better to throw caution to the wind and purchase the home or condo before someone else does.
Russell Burdette is the owner/broker of Your Lake Vacation, a professional vacation rental management company at the Lake of the Ozarks since 1986. Russell has served as the vice-chairman of the Tri-County Lodging Association and is the past president of the Lake of the Ozarks Vacation Rental Association. If you would like more info on renting your Lake of the Ozarks condo or home as a vacation rental, give us a call 573-365-3367.
For more information please call us toll free at 1-877-284-0267!!
4571 Osage Beach Pkwy, Suite A
Osage Beach, MO 65065
Local - 573-365-3367
Fax - 573-365-5076
Osage Beach, MO 65065
Local - 573-365-3367
Fax - 573-365-5076
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