Common Problems Vacation Rental Owners Run Into in Florida's First Coast

If you're an investment property owner, you're probably wondering: What are the problems that I can avoid making with my First Coast vacation rental?

Our experience has allowed us to list the following errors that we most commonly help property owners avoid.

No matter the kind of experience you already have managing your own properties; most vacation rental owners will endure these similar challenges.

Keep on reading to discover common problems that we see many owners in the First Coast run into. After reading this post, we promise that you'll be better prepared to avoid them and experience smoother sailing running your property.

1. Their Marketing Strategy Is Not Sufficient

Listing websites such as Airbnb used to rent out your vacation rental shouldn’t be your only advertising method. Although it’ll help publicize your property, increasing the total number of people seeing it, the competition is too large. This makes the likelihood of renting to someone directly from these websites lower than if you were to use other methods.

To avoid vacancies, you're required you to have a solid marketing strategy. This starts with building a website for you vacation rentals. It will drive traffic to your listings, thus increasing your chances of landing more potential renters.

There are many free platforms to help you get started. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a listing website to find renters for your property.

2. Not Providing Enough Supplies

Vacation rentals in Florida's First Coast rely on their positive reviews to be successful. By ensuring they have a good experience at your property will lead to more positive reviews. One common mistake many vacation rental owners make is not providing basic necessities.

If your renters are staying in your vacation rental for one week, supply enough toilet paper for the week. Think about what you’d would want in a vacation rental if you were traveling to the First Coast. Things such as coffee makers, extra towels, Wi-Fi, and a TV go a long way for guests.

By providing them, you can help create a positive rental experience between you and your guests. If you fail to provide enough supplies, you are running the risk of receiving bad reviews, which can directly impact the success of your rental business.

3. Not Sure How to Manage A Vacation Rental

A significantly large problem vacation rental owners run into is their inability to properly run a rental.

Many people avoid buying a vacation rental because they don’t know how to manage it. Others might not have the time it takes to run it successfully. To avoid trying to manage it on your own, seek an experienced property management company.

Property managers know the market and have the expertise to get you started. This will help avoid you from attempting to do it yourself, costing you more money and time than it would with a professional property management company.

4. Not Doing Your Due Diligence

One major problem that many vacation rental owners in the First Coast have is the lack of due diligence before making decisions.

As an owner, it’s very important to make sure that you’re following the right steps to avoid legal problems.

If you’re unsure of the steps to take, ask a professional for advice. It's always better to ask than to assume it's in agreement with the law.

5. Renting to the Wrong People

Renting to the wrong people can end up costing you a lot of money and time. When listing your property, have patience, don’t accept the first guest inquiring about it, and have a good screening process.

A screening process increases the likelihood of selecting good renters for your property. It helps you avoid renting to a problematic guest, saving you the hassle of more evictions which are costly and time consuming.

If, for example, a guest is trying to lower the rent before even visiting the property, avoid them as it could be a red flag. Always be conscientious when it comes to signs from renters that indicate that they’ll be difficult to manage.

Every vacation rental owner in Florida's First Coast will run into problems along the way. If you make a mistake, treat it as a learning experience. The better you get at doing this, the better the vacation rental owner you'll become and therefore increase your likelihood of running a successful business.

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