Who doesn’t love a little side project? If you have a vacation home that’s empty most of the year, you’re sitting on an opportunity to pay it off faster and make some smart financial moves.

Imagine this: It’s an average Tuesday, and you peek at your phone to find that someone has just reserved your vacation home for next week. It’s February—and as a Texan familiar with the moderate winter temps, you know snowbirds are itching to get away from the freezing weather up north. Their reservation goes into maintaining and paying off your vacation home while your regular paycheck goes into things you need and want.

As a homeowner in Galveston, you not only get to enjoy vacationing on one of the dreamiest beaches in America, but you also get the benefits that come when everyone and their dog visits and needs a place to stay. It’s truly a win-win.

Pros of Renting Out Your Vacation Home

Renting out your vacation home has several benefits to consider.

Tax Benefits:

Owning a vacation home can offer some nice tax benefits. If you rent out your vacation home for a certain number of days, you can get tax benefits that will help reduce the cost of owning a vacation home.

Cover Your Expenses:

Renting out your vacation house can also be a great way to cover your expenses. You can rent your property for short-term and long-term rentals at different times throughout the year while you’re not using it. This way, your vacation rental mortgage and other expenses will be covered by other renters. It’s a win-win!

Maintain Value:

Maintaining the value of your vacation home is essential. Renting out your property can help you stay on top of maintenance and repairs that are needed to keep it in good condition. By renting it out, you can ensure that your property is kept up-to-date and in good condition so that its value will not decrease.

Overall, renting out a vacation home allows you to turn a profit while diversifying your portfolio and maintaining the value of an asset.

Potential Cons to Consider

But, there are some cons to consider when it comes to renting out your vacation home.

Wear and Tear:

Just as living in a home leads to more wear and tear than simply owning a vacation home, renting out your vacation home can lead to more wear and tear than if it were just for personal use.

Maintenance Costs:

The costs of maintenance and repairs can add up quickly when renting out a vacation home. Homeowners should be prepared to take on this cost as part of the rental process. However, maintenance can be more costly if there is a longstanding vacancy than it is to fine-tune things following short-term renting.

Time Commitment:

While renting out a vacation home is not as time-consuming as a typical day job, it does come with regulating your vacation home’s availability, responding to inquiries, scheduling bookings, and more.

You’ll need to stay up-to-date on local laws, regulations, and taxes; handle potential guest issues or complaints; and keep your vacation home in the best condition possible.

Luckily, partnering with a local company with expert owner management services—like Soar Vacation Rental Services—means you can offload a lot of the nitty-gritty details while enjoying the overwhelming benefits.

Why Own and Rent a Vacation Home in Galveston?

Galveston is a hidden gem on the Gulf Coast of Texas. With its rich cultural history, beautiful landscape, inviting atmosphere, memorable activities, and 5-star restaurants—more and more people travel to Galveston each year to escape the business of life and enjoy the serenity Galveston has to offer.

Owning a vacation home in a place like Galveston means owning a treasure. Whether you decide to keep it for yourself or turn a profit with your vacation home, you’ll be lucky to be stationed in one of America’s finest beach towns.

Soar Vacation Rental Services: Owner Management Services

Soar Vacation Rental Services makes owning and renting out a vacation home in Galveston a blissful walk in the park.

You can count on us to maximize your booking potential. With a full marketing service, we provide the most possible exposure for your rental and promote it on major channels such as AirBnB and VRBO. We specialize in southern hospitality that leaves your guests requesting extended stays and booking return visits, generating incredible word-of-mouth.

Or, should you decide to manage your own bookings, we can be your sandals-on-the-ground service. We will work for the solutions you are seeking.

We promise to always be in your corner—from the second you have your first guest to your last guest, we will help support you in your endeavor to rent out your vacation home. Whether you own a home in Galveston, Kemah, or Livingston, we are here to help you succeed. Contact us and make your home the best-rented vacation home on the block!