What to keep in mind when renting out your home privately
When renting out your home privately, it’s important to make sure you are protecting your assets, whether that is your home or your possessions. With sites like Airbnb becoming increasingly popular, it’s essential that we are clued up about renting out safely and securely. Trusting a stranger in your home is a big commitment and making sure you have every possible outcome covered, can save you a great deal of stress and worry. Whether you plan to rent your home long term, or if you’re just looking for short term leasing, such as holiday rentals, these tips can help you prepare your home for new tenants.
Renting/leasing out the whole house or just a room?
Holiday rentals can be a great way to earn a little bit of extra cash and there is now a myriad of sites that can help you find short term tenants looking for cheap accommodation. The first decision to make is to decide whether you plan to rent out a single room, or the whole property. How you proceed will be determined by which of these suits you best. For example, if you plan to rent your home, you will need to apply the below tips to every room in the house. However, if you plan to rent out a room, then these suggestions will apply to that room and any other areas that will be open to your guests.
Storing priceless or sentimental items
When allowing strangers into your home, it’s best to be mindful of your personal belongings, that may be on display or easy to access. Scan your home and make a list of everything that has value or sentimental meaning, that you would rather keep locked safely away. This is where Storebox can swoop in and save the day. Self-storage solutions can provide a safe and secure home for your possessions whilst your tenants are inhabiting your home. Simply pack up your items and store them away until you are ready to move back.
Deep cleaning and appliance testing
Before your guests move in, it’s common courtesy to give the room or property a thorough, deep clean. This means cleaning down all skirting boards, window sills and surfaces with hot soapy water. If you plan to rent long term, it may be a good idea to hire self-storage, in order to store all your furnishings during the deep clean process. This helps to get everything out the way and make sure you get all the hard to reach corners. You should also make sure that all of your electrical appliances have been tested and there are no faulty wires or plug sockets. It’s best to keep a note of this along with photographs, to keep track of the condition of appliances before the tenants move in. This can help cover you in case of an accident or fault and can also help if you should need to make an insurance claim.
Insurance
Depending on whether you plan to rent short term or long term, will decide which type of insurance you will need. For long term rental, you will need to invest in landlord insurance, which will protect your property and furnishings from damage and theft. For short term rental, including Airbnb, things can be a little trickier. If you’re only planning to rent out your home or room on occasion, then you can be covered by your homeowner’s insurance. This depends on your insurance provider however, and you should always check with your provider before deciding to rent short term. You may be able to simply increase your premium or pay a one off payment to increase cover temporarily. When renting out your home, the most important thing is to protect your belongings. Making sure you are correctly covered by your insurance and that any valuable belongings are safe and secure, will help to ease any concerns you have about allowing strangers to stay in your property.
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