Buying your second home was perhaps the easiest part compared to what it is afterwards. With every property comes a list of expenses which cannot be avoided and your second home will be no exception.
A typical house will have the following expenses:
(i) Monthly mortgage payments
(ii) Insurance premium
(iii) Maintenance cost
(iv) Renovation or decorating costs.
These expenses come as an extra burden on the homeowner. Considering the fact that most second homeowners stay in their second homes for not more than a couple of weeks in a year, it makes no sense to keep the home vacant for the rest of the year. So smart second home buyers are now enjoying the benefits of a dream lifestyle of having a primary home and a second home by renting the second home to travelers as a holiday home.
By doing so homeowners are not only being able to meet the expenses of the second home, they are also reaping the benefits of a secondary income.
CONVERTING YOUR SECOND HOME INTO A HOLIDAY HOME:
The cost of converting one’s second home into a holiday home is very minimal. Apart from the costs mentioned above you will have the following costs of running a holiday rental business:
(v) Housekeeping, or caretaker’s fees
(vi) Advertising and marketing costs.
Whether you turn your second home into a holiday rental, you will need to pay the monthly cost of your mortgage, insurance, and maintenance. So only the final two costs are expenses generated when you turn your second home into a holiday rental. Also the cost of advertising is almost non-existent so only the fee of the caretaker is an additional expense. Having said that, this expense can also be taken care of when setting your rental rates for travelers.
Read our article on Setting the rental rates for your holiday home to know more on how to cover the expenses of your holiday home.
Second homeowners must understand that even if they are unable to cover all of the expenses of the house, it is still worth renting out your holiday home to offset some of the costs. Majority of owners who don’t break even offset a significant amount of expenses. The price of turning your second home into a holiday home rental is a relatively small fraction of the costs of having a second home in the first place. So converting your second home into a holiday home is still worth it.
