Renting a lake house with use of boat/jet ski?

[Mike Roberts]

I bought a house this summer on a lake. I plan to live here another year or so, but then it will become a rental property. It's in a unique location where I could either rent it like a normal house, or use it for vacation rentals. (Like airbnb type of thing) I haven't decided which option would be best yet.

What I'm thinking, is if I rent it as a vacation rental is to include the use of either a boat or jet ski. They rent them in several other places around the lake, in the neighborhood of $300/day. I could buy a brand new jet ski with a warranty for less than $300/month. I also have a dock where it can be kept. If I only rented it 12 days/year it would be paid for.

Anyone have any thoughts on this idea? What kind of extra insurance would I need for such a thing? Would my homeowner's policy cover anything like that? Or would I need some sort of commercial insurance? The biggest issue would be liability, one can cause a lot of damage with a jet ski. Maybe something like a pontoon boat would be safer, they are also common rentals around here.

[Nathan Gesner]

What's the cost of insurance if you're allowing renters/guests to use the machine? Are you in a litigious state where guests are more likely to sue and judges are more likely to side with them?

I know professional property managers that won't even allow tenants to put their own trampoline on the property for fear of being sued. You've got to measure all these factors and see if the cost outweighs the benefits.

Personally, it's one more thing to maintain and cause problems. Tenants are unlikely to care for a jet ski like it's their own and are fare more likely to abuse it. Then there's the increased risk of injury and a lawsuit.

Not worth the money for me.