All Forum Posts by: Lisa Graesser

Your parents can gift you $17,000 each tax free. You can essentially borrow that money from them and pay them back with interest, that will give them a little more interest than they can get in savings and you don't have to worry about a partnership.

No drops on my properties, I have definitely seen an uptick in the last couple of weeks,  with shorter notification.

Have you tried Kin.com

 Charge them a refundable damage deposit 

When our places are not rented, we stay as often as possible. This is a great opportunity to occupy and assess the available amenities and replace or add items that are needed for daily use. We will attend to any maintenance issues and do an inventory and update linens, pillows or kitchen pans or dishes. I love staying at each house and  getting a guests perspective of how they are lived in and know that whatever you are looking for is easily found or make sure items needed are provided. Plus it is so nice to  get away to place you feel at home and know it is also appreciated by others 

I have many direct bookings , whether through Zillow, Google, Facebook groups or Houfy. I have a rental agreement and a damage deposit. I think your damage deposit would be determined by the size of your home, the party potential and your past experiences.

My rentals are in an area that is populated with retirees and my party or unrespectful guests are limited.  I have had great experiences with direct bookings.

We just spent the last week in Cottonwood Heights which is very close to Sandy. Great location for getting to several ski resorts. The owner of the condo we rented, stated in her description "We have a Tourist home/Short term rental license with Cottlonwood Heights(a requirement for short term rentals is our city")  Maybe if you have a license, the limitations are different. 

Remitting the taxes is easy once you have set up your account with the state. In Florida it is all online, tax form needs to be submitted monthly whether you have income or not. I have found the employees at the tax dept very informative and happy to answer any questions and walk you through the process if needed. 

 The amount paid out to you into your bank account would have already deducted the host fees charged to you from vrbo or airbnb, this is probably  what John was referring to.

@John Underwood all depends on how you do your bookkeeping. I claim rent amount charged as income and expense the host fee. I guess it all comes out the same, but not sure what the proper way to do it should be. This way I know in a quicken report, what I have paid in Host fees.