Lake of the Ozarks Vacation Rentals: Who Do You Want Managing Your Property?

Professional vs. Amateur

In life there are times when amateurs are equal to or greater than their professional counterparts. For years, the U.S.A. only allowed amateurs to compete in the Olympics - until we finally got beat in basketball. Then we created the "Dream Team" to take back our Olympic pride demolishing every other team in our path.

A young Tiger Woods, as an amateur, was obviously better than most, if not all, of the professional golfers and proved it before and after turning pro. In most sports, you will find that there are those amateurs who are better than their professional counterparts. The same goes for other areas of life.

In many professions, there are good reasons why the government does not allow amateurs to practice in their field without a license or degree. Would you rather visit a licensed doctor or an amateur? Would you rather have a licensed airline pilot or an amateur fly you across the ocean? How about a licensed real estate agent who knows the real estate laws and the market or your neighbor who once sold his own home?

In most cases, people want a professional who knows what they are doing to help them in an area of expertise. The same is true when it comes to vacation rentals. I have come into contact over the years with amateurs who are able to lure away clients by offering them a lower commission rate for managing their home or condo. Part of the reason that they can offer lower rates is that they don't have a city or county business license, don't have liability insurance or pay workers compensation, they don't have a real estate license or continuing education and usually it is a one or two person team with very low overhead.

While I am all for competition, which I believe makes for a healthy economy and a wider variety of choice, please remember the old saying "buyer beware." What happens when there is damage to your property that is the result of the property manager who doesn't have insurance? Who is collecting and paying your state and lodging taxes? What if there is an injury to an employee of the property manager at your property and they don't carry workers compensation or liability insurance? For these and many other reasons, it is usually wise to seek out a professional vacation rental manager who really knows the market, the laws and has the expertise to properly manage your asset.

A friend of mine once got a job working in the cafeteria at the hospital and when I told my young son that Dave got a job at the hospital, he replied, "What did he get, Doctor?" Soon after we stated calling my friend "Doctor Dave." Think about it - who do you want managing your property?

Russell Burdette is the owner/broker of Your Lake Vacation, a professional vacation rental management company at the Lake of the Ozarks since 1986. If you would like more info on renting your Lake of the Ozarks waterfront home or condo as a vacation rental, please call 573-365-3367.

For more information please call us toll free at 1-877-284-0267!!