Renting out the S&B, how much do you unpack when 'home'?

Snowbirding means coming back to a home base that remains set up. think you can now consider your self a full timer that still owns income property. You have an unusual situation, hope someone has a good answer for you.

I don't think anyone else can answer that question for you. You have to decide for yourself what is right for YOU. To unpack EVERYTHING is pointless if you intend to leave again in a few months and rent out the house again.

It may appear to be a daunting task, but it is manageable if you set priorities. Or ask yourself if the extra effort is worth renting out the house while you are away. There are sacrifices to be made either way.

Sounds like you are 3/4 of the way to full timing, with a snowbird travel pattern. I would probably be "camping" in a RV park near my rental property, leaving that on the rental market full time.

Except as I get older I find managing and maintaining my rental property to be more work than the value I get out of it, so if I really went full time I'd likely sell off all the real estate, and not worry about an "out."

We have two S&B homes and the TT. Both houses rent while we are traveling. We have pared our personal belongings down to the bare minimum for all three places. Both houses have a locked room for storage for things we care about. When we arrive at either house, I take everything out of the TT sort, clean, and return it. When we leave a house I do the same thing, leaving it rental ready. Every time I go through this process, it is easier and I find that I get rid of more stuff. lizzie

I think you need to give up the house that you're rarely at and take off full-timing.

I like hearing people's different experiences.

I come back to my S&B mainly because my parents and other relatives are nearby. I want to see them.

I have been thinking about arranging to stay somewhere other than my actual house, so tatest's idea of a nearby rv park is useful. But, like lizzie, I use the opportunity to empty and clean out the rig once a year!

Naio

Interesting. I am in the process of planning my great escape. Which would be to travel for X months and then return home for x months. It will be years before I execute that plan though, so all planning is cerebral at this point.

Hadn't thought about renting my S&B while Im gone. Do you rent it by the month? Im trying to figure out how it would work, if you are gone 10 months and return for two. It's either got to be month by month or you boot the tenant out. If M to M, then Im guessing you must be in a touristy area. Do you use a rental agency?

Just trying to learn how you've made it work, as it may help me in my decision processes.

Mike

It certainly is a lot easier and cheaper to stay in a RV park near family for a short time rather than keeping a house - upkeep, insurance, rental issues.

Mike: I did a lease for a set time period. It was a month or two longer than I would have preferred, but I found great tenants and worked with them.

We wrote the lease through June, but agreed orally that we would check in once spring came, and see if we wanted to change it. We ended up sticking with the original plan.

One thing that helps is that I have other rental properties. I am not new to being a landlady. I don't think I would recommend renting if you have not done it before. There is a steep learning curve, and it is extra work if you are not staying in town. You could get a management agency, but that comes with its own problems.

Thanks Naio. I have one rental property already, and have rented it for about 13 years, so yeah, familiar with that.

I was just interested in how hard it was to find someone that would lease/rent for less than a year, with a definitive (or semi-definitive) timeline they would have to leave. I figured that would significantly reduce the number of prospective tenants.

Mike