If you own a property that’s empty for a lot of the year, one great way to get some use from the house and earn some money whilst doing this, would be to rent it out as a holiday home.
This can not only provide holiday-goers with great accommodation, adding to the overall experience of their trip, but also increases the security of your property, working as an excellent (and free!) deterrent from thieves and burglars.
With numerous benefits for renting your property out as a holiday home, there is however a rather important to-do list when setting this up. We at Octagon Capital understand how confusing and tedious it can be trying to hunt down everything on this list, and have therefore created this informative guide to help you get to grips with the key things to consider when turning your property into a holiday house, including:
- The makeover
- Remember the taxman
- Pricing it up
- Putting your property out there
The Makeover
As with many wanting to turn their property into a holiday home, odds are it isn’t used a lot, and therefore can often do with a new lick of paint. Refurbishing your property is a great investment for any new holiday home, increasing the appeal of the property, the number of guests who use it and subsequently the amount of money earnt from this. Refurbishing doesn’t have to break the bank either, its best to look around online and get a few quotes to find great deals for home renovations at the best prices.
It’s also important with the revamping of your holiday house to find its target market and to cater its new look around this. Assessing the location of your house, (is it near a city or in the countryside, is it near clubs/bars or historical landmarks etc.) in addition to its size are important steps to help figure out what type of clientele you’ll be mostly attracting, and therefore how to cater for this through the property’s appearance.
Remember The Taxman
When turning your property into a holiday home, one vital job to tick off the list as early as possible is to inform HMRC of these plans. This is required as you may have to pay tax on your earnings from the property, dependent on the amount of these earnings. To find out more information on this, please click here.
Pricing it Up
Another key thing to consider when turning your property into a holiday home and weekend getaway is to ensure that the price for renting it out is appropriate and in keeping with the rest of the competition in your area. As your customer base will typically be trying to find the best deals for their holiday, if your property is not at a competitive price, there is less chance it will be picked above those that are cheaper.
However, it is also important that you do not undersell your house, and if there are qualities making it stand out from the rest (e.g. a swimming pool, beautiful gardens etc.) these typically can add value to your property, and mean people will be willing to spend more money to stay there.
Putting it Out There
Once you’ve revamped your property, taken care of all the legalities that comes with making it a holiday house, (such as informing HMRC), and made sure your prices are at a decent, competitive rate, the next step is advertisement.
When putting your property out there, it can often be a challenge to get the consumer’s attention amidst a sea of other potentials. Therefore, getting your house added to such sites as Landed Houses can significantly increase its visibility and attraction, with owner of the company Edmund Cohen offering first-timers “consultancy over and above the ad-hoc support that comes with adding your house to Landed Houses; including web development and marketing advice.”
