Rent out your home to a biker heading to Sturgis.
Want to get out of town before the motorcyclists descend upon your home near Sturgis, clogging up the streets and crowding the bars and restaurants? Let Sturgis travelers fund your week-long vacation by renting out your house to bikers passing through. If you don't own your home, you'll have to check your lease to make sure you're allowed to rent it out. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Check out the rental competition, using sites like Rally-Rentals.com. You'll be able to browse listings near Sturgis to see what houses similar to yours fetch. Pricing your home too high will mean you may not rent it. Write down the asking rental price of houses that seem comparable to yours. Then choose a price in the mid to high range of listings like yours.
2. Review your house from someone else's eyes. According to The New York Times, rental properties command top dollar if they're stocked with amenities that travelers want, such as air conditioning, laundry, a swimming pool, high-speed Internet and premium cable. Adjust your starting price up or down based upon the amenities you can offer.
3. Clean your house and get it ready to be photographed. Since travelers are coming from far away, you'll be relying on Internet sites and pictures to display your house in its best light. If you've been putting off minor repairs, you might want to have them done.
4. Photograph every room in your house. Show the house from the outside and include any amenities, like garage space or a backyard fire pit.
5. Sign up for Sturgis rental sites like Rally-Rentals.com or Sturgis-rally-lodging.com. Rally-Rentals.com does not list sales packages online, but you can contact the office to discuss fees for using the service. Sturgis-rally-lodging.com charges $29.95 for a full-year listing (in 2010). You can also sign up for general rental websites like Vacaction Rentals by Owner.
6. Create a listing for your home that showcases its amenities, size, number of bedrooms and other selling points. Upload your photographs so visitors can see your house.
7. Discuss the rental terms with interested renters. You may choose to accept a deposit up front to hold the reservation, to ask for a non-refundable cleaning fee and to prohibit large parties or groups from renting your home. When you are satisfied that a rental party is going to respect your home, finalize the rental by asking for a deposit by check or Paypal.
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