The notion of letting a perfect stranger live in one’s beautiful Chicago condo for a few weeks at a time—especially a condo into which they have poured much time and energy—may seem outrageous to some. After all, once you hand over the keys to a renter, the wellbeing of your perfect sanctuary is entirely in their hands. Increasingly, however, it is becoming a more commonplace practice to rent out one’s condo to people looking for a place to stay during a vacation or family visit. Though there are always risks associated with allowing someone you don’t know occupy your condo, the financial incentives are growing ever more attractive to Chicago condo owners—and condo owners across the country.
Say you are going on vacation for a few weeks—leaving the Windy City for the country or the coast or maybe somewhere overseas. Sure, you can close the blinds, shut off the lights and lock the door behind you to let your place sit vacant while you are out of town. But wouldn’t you rather earn a substantial sum of money while you’re away for doing basically nothing?
Rental websites like HomeAway, VRBO, Wimdu and airbnb will help you do that. These websites specialize in pairing up condo owners and homeowners who will temporarily not be using their dwellings with potential renters who are looking for a place to stay in the area. If you are still under the notion that home rental is a rare occurrence, simply look at the numbers: HomeAway’s global listing count has nearly doubled, from around 338,400 in 2008 to more than 625,000 this November.
Especially in the midst of the recent recession, renting out one’s home or condo has become an increasingly more reasonable proposition. The financial profitability of condo rental is growing hard to ignore—a yearly poll conducted by HomeAway revealed that on average, those who make their property available for rental earn between $30,000 and $35,000 a year. That extra cash can go toward your mortgage, pay your bills, or get added to your vacation fund.
Whatever you decide, make sure to research the options thoroughly before committing to anything. Check rental websites to see what other Chicago condos are entertaining temporary tenants, bearing in mind the prices and appearances of similar properties. Speak with your insurance agent and make sure your condo is fully covered with damage insurance, in case something happens while the renters are there.
Finally, if you do choose to rent out your property, make sure to clear your condo completely of clutter and personal objects—you don’t want your guests to feel like they are intruding on anything. Likewise you don’t want to leave anything too valuable in the condo. Collect your most priceless belongings and put them in a locked safe, safety deposit box or entrust them to a friend for safe keeping while you are away. Make sure your house is clean and neat, just as if you were planning to show it to potential buyers at an open house.
Very good good tips for the condo owner who may be on uneasy renting our their place.
Renting their condo out is something I believe more owners need to take advantage of.
Nice post.