Pros and cons of renting out your secondary home

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Home is where the heart is.” Owning a secondary home or investment property can be a huge asset if it’s managed well – regardless of the challenges you may face. There are a fair number of factors to consider when renting out your secondary home.

​






We’re here to help you make the most of renting with insights from our HQM Properties experts:
 
On the plus side

• Ultimately, you want your asset to be a cash-generating asset rather than a constant money-hungry headache. If managed correctly, the rental from your secondary home can go a long way towards paying your bond or retaining the value of your asset. How? By ensuring a maintenance fund is established and maintained because of this constant source of passive income.
• In addition to having a maintenance fund constantly supported, some of the income can even be used to offset costs of owning a secondary home. Some of these costs could include insurance, rates, levies and property management. That way you’re never running into the red.
• Secondary homes aren’t always a priority in terms of maintenance and can often be neglected or even forgotten about. However, this can be avoided if the property is occupied. In the long run you can avoid potentially big bills by ensuring that it’s lived in because ongoing maintenance can be done this way. By maintaining the state of the property you maintain its value.
• Another great reason to have people staying there on a long-term basis, is for security reasons. Whether a home is lived in or not, there is still wear and tear but the level of safety and security is definitely something to keep in mind. By having a presence on your property you are less likely to be faced with issues like break-ins or vandalism.

---

​On the down side

• Here’s hoping that you have really nice tenants who move in and take care of your property and treat it as their own. However, this won’t always be the case. With any rental agreement comes the risk of getting the wrong tenant. This can be easily avoided with the right quality of home management by our team at HQM Properties. With any lease agreement, we’ll ensure that a secure lease is drawn up and that all necessary background checks are carried out.
• An increase in your income naturally means that you’ll be in a higher tax bracket. That said, it’s not all bad news as a number of the costs of home maintenance can be offset against this income. This will make sure you aren’t paying more tax than you should be.
• Lastly, but likely the greatest disadvantage of  renting your secondary home, is the timing and use of the property. For many people, a secondary home is somewhere they can use and visit over their own holiday periods. However, there has to be some give and take. You might have to trade in the convenience of going there anytime you want for a little more planning. Scheduling your holidays around your tenants is perhaps a small price to pay though when it’s weighed against the joy of receiving a rental income.

 
Take some serious time to consider the pros and cons of renting out a secondary home. The outcome is ultimately up to you. That said, it also helps if you have a great home management team looking after you and your property. If you need advice or help on managing your property, get in touch with us today by sending an email to info@hqmproperties.com or by calling us on 021 801 3946.