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Making the Most of Your Real Estate Agent's Expertise


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Making the Most of Your Real Estate Agent's Expertise

Buying a new home is an exciting experience, but there is a lot that has to be considered if you want to make sure that your investment is a solid one. For example, while it isn’t required, it is a good idea to have your real estate agent hire an independent inspector to have prospective homes personally inspected for safety and condition before making an offer. Learning how your real estate agent can best help you before actually hiring an agent will ensure that the person you work with has the experience and ideas needed to get the results that you want. On this website, you can expect to find out how to find a great real estate agent and how you can best tap into the talents.

Preparing To Rent Your Beach House Out This Coming Summer

Do you have a beach house that sits empty for much of the year? You could make some additional income by renting it out as a vacation home. Usually, the best time to start doing this is in the summer, since there will be more vacationers looking for places to stay. This gives you a chance to have a few renters and build a reputation before the slower fall season rolls in. Before summer comes, though, there are a few things you will need to do in order to prepare to rent your beach home.

Interview local real estate agents.

It's really beneficial to work with a real estate agent when renting out a beach house. They can help you decide on the right rate to charge, ensure you include the right details in your listing, and market the home more widely to the right audience. Before summer arrives, take the time to interview at least three real estate agents in your area. Look for someone who you feel comfortable around, who communicates clearly, and who has experience renting out vacation homes in the past.

Get photos taken of the home.

You may want to wait until late spring to take photos of the outside of the home, but you can at least get the inside photographed ahead of time. Ask your real estate agent which shots they most recommend taking. They may tell you, for example, to include lots of photos of the kitchen if it's big and inviting. You may be told to show photos of each of the beds, too. It's always best to take more photos than to take fewer. You and your agent can then sit down, go through them, and decide on a top 10 or 12 to include when you actually write your listing description.

Talk to the neighbors about challenges of renting in the area.

If you have any neighbors who rent their nearby beach homes, offer to take them out for coffee and a chat. Ask them about any issues that are common in the area. For example, do they get a lot of vacationers who arrive really late due to the local flight schedules? Do they have trouble with people tracking sand into the home, and how have they handled that? Your real estate agent can give you insight on these matters too, but it's still nice to also get the opinions of fellow landlords.

Renting out your beach house is a good way to negate some of the costs related to its ownership. If you prepare ahead of time by taking the steps above, you'll be ready to run your beach house vacation rentals the weather warms up.