Renting Out Your Home This Winter

If you’re going to be traveling this fall and winter for an extended period of time, then you may have considered renting your home in order to make a little extra money. At EZ Storage® in St. Louis, we understand how great it can be to know that your house isn’t sitting unoccupied while you’re gone, and that there’s some money flowing into your bank account. Should you need to put anything in self-storage while you’re gone, we can help you find the perfect unit!

How to Rent Out Your Home

There are many different ways to rent out your home for short periods of time. If you’re going to be gone for a month or so, then you can put your house on Airbnb, VRBO™, or HomeAway.com. One thing to make sure you do is to check your local regulations and guidelines on short-term rentals for private property. Government rules have changed regarding home sharing and online rentals, and you’ll want to make sure that you’re not overlooking any taxes or fees that you need to pay when it comes to renting out your home.

As far as listing your home, the companies and sites listed above have fairly easy-to-follow guidelines for putting your home up for rent. You can decide how long you want to allow people to rent your property, and you can block out dates when you plan on being home or when you’ll be letting friends or relatives stay there for free.

Keeping Your Home Clean

If you’re going to be renting out your home this winter on a short-term stay basis, then you’re going to need to arrange to have the property cleaned between guests. While you may be home for a weekend here and there, you might not have the time to clean the house from top to bottom. A deep clean likely won’t be necessary too often, but it’s still a good idea to arrange for cleaning services to come to your home before the next guests arrive. Looking into local cleaning companies can be a good way to go, or you can hire a friend or neighbor to take care of changing the sheets, vacuuming, and other standard tasks.

There may be some areas of the house that you can clean and then close off for the winter. For example, you may be locking your master bedroom and only granting access to the guest room and the rest of the house. If this is the case, then you can clean up the master bedroom and not have to worry about it until you return home!

Putting Things in Storage

Renting your home to complete strangers can seem a bit odd at first, but by taking the proper precautions and going through the proper channels, you can make sure that everything is on the up-and-up and that your home will be in good hands.

You’ll be leaving most of the furnishings in the house, but if you have personal items or valuables that you want to keep safe, then putting them into self-storage can be the best way to protect them. You’re planning to be gone for more than a month, and the last thing you want is to worry about your belongings while you’re away. You can store boxes and tubs in your space and then pick them up when you’re back home.

Visit Us Today

If you’re thinking about renting out your home this winter, then visit one of our locations in the greater St. Louis area to learn more about our self-storage options. With monthly leases on all of our units, you can rent for the time you need, plus, you can access your space on any day of the year.

We look forward to seeing you soon!