Pullen Realty Group Rental Program 

Pullen Realty Group Rental Program

Renting is an excellent way to make the most out of your second home investment and like any real estate decision, comes with risks and rewards. Renting can transform your second home into an investment property allowing you to enjoy tax depreciation benefits, rental income, and the potential to defer future capital gains when you go to sell through a 1031 tax deferred exchange. Another benefit is that renting can also make your property more desirable when you go to sell as there are many buyers who look for properties with vacation rental history and booked future income. Finally, renting can maintain your property through regular use and maintenance as opposed to having your property sit empty for extended periods of time.

Pullen Realty Group offers 4 different types of Rentals which are appropriate for different properties:

1. Vacation Rentals: Ideal for newer 3 to 4 bedroom homes in resorts or areas with amenities or lake access.
2. Ski Leases: Ideal for older properties where owners prefer summer time use.
3. Summer Leases: Ideal for older properties which can house summer workers and where owners prefer winter time use.
4. Long Term Leases: Ideal for smaller properties where owners are looking for predictable income and do not wish to use the property.

The four types of Rentals are summarized below:

Some properties and areas will be ideal for vacation rentals year round, while others may only do well in the winter or summer. You may want to consider switching your rental type during the year in which you vacation rent your property in the winter and then move into a Summer Lease or vice versa. Please call us to discuss your property and your area and what kind of rental type is appropriate for you.

Vacation Rentals

Vacation Renting is a great way to obtain rental income and still enjoy the property yourself. A Vacation Rental is a short term rental under a 45 day period. Most bookings are only 2 to 3 nights with the exception of New Year's week and President's Week. With this program, the owner pays for utilities, snow removal and maintenance of the property while guests pay for rent, transient occupancy tax and cleaning fees. We market your property exclusively online, manage the booking calendar, collect rent via credit cards, sign a rental agreement with guests and manage the preparation and cleaning of your property. We charge guests a $50 non refundable damage insurance premium which covers owners up to $1,500 in accidental damage. For luxury properties we also collect a security deposit. Owners must agree to keep their property available for Christmas / New Year's and the Presidents Week holiday.

The Vacation Rental Market is very competitive and not every property will qualify for this program. Properties need to be updated, have well maintained systems, quality beds, linens and duvet covers. The ideal Vacation Rental property can sleep at least 10 people comfortably in real beds and offers some kind of amenity access. Two families with children renting together for a weekend is a common guest profile. Properties at the ski resorts will attract week long bookings from guests who fly into Tahoe while properties outside of the resorts will typically rent for 2 to 3 nights per week on the weekends by guest who drive up from Sacramento and the Bay Area. To make your property stand out from the crowd, we recommend that you offer a hot tub, the ability to accept dogs, and provide high speed wireless internet access. Please call us to discuss whether or not your property may be appropriate for a vacation rental.

Our Vacation Rental Program offers the following benefits and services to property owners:

• State of the art online management system including the ability for guests to book online 24/7
• Credit Card Processing
• Extensive Web based marketing
• Email Campaigns to 2,500 previous Tahoe visitors
• Mandatory renter's insurance covering you up to $1,500 in accidental damage
• Fast responses to rental inquiries
• Professional check in and cleaning service
• Maintenance / Snow Removal
• Transient Tax Collection and forwarding
• Monthly Statements showing income and consolidated charges
• Owner log in, so that you can easily book time for yourself or your personal guests and view future bookings.
• Full property management where we process all of your property bills is also available. All you have to do is cut one check per month.

Pullen Realty Group is a licensed California Real Estate Brokerage and as such we are committed to following the accounting guidelines set by the California Department of Real Estate. We operate a separate, non-interest bearing Trust Account which we use to hold your rent and security deposits and we maintain this Trust account in accordance with standards set by the California Department of Real Estate.

Ski Leases and Summer Leases

If your property is older or somewhat dated, it can still do well as a Ski Lease or Summer Lease. Ski Leases are very popular with avid skiing groups. Summer Leases are in demand for seasonal construction workers who come to the area to work at various developments. If you property was built prior to 1997 or if your property is not in an area with lake access or amenities, you might want to consider this form of rental. Utilities and services are paid by the renters which also helps to defray costs. We require all renters to engage your preferred cleaning service to do a basic clean of your property every two weeks. Properties that can sleep 10 or more people do well as a ski lease. Rents are collected up front for ski leases and delivered to you upon commencement of the lease. We hold a one and a half month's rent security deposit.

Long Term Rentals

If your property is smaller or you do not wish to furnish it or use it, your final option is to long term rent your property. Long term rentals are terms of one year or more. $600 per room is a starting point for how much rent you can expect to garner and we then adjust that number based upon the quality of your property. We screen tenants and do a combination of credit, eviction and criminal background checks. We also check employment and previous rental references prior to structuring the lease and collect a one and a half month's rent security deposit.

We have two types of programs for long term rentals. One is for owners who wish to be more involved with the management of their property. After we sign the lease, the owner holds the security deposit, collects rent, and handles any maintenance calls. At the lease signing we charge 10% of the sum of the payments for the lease which is generally covered by the first lease payment.

The other program is for owners who do not wish to be as involved. We are the point of contact with the tenant: We collect rents and forward them to the owner at the beginning of the month. We hold the security deposit in our trust account and handle any maintenance calls which arise. We deduct 15% of the rent each month and charge a 15% service fee for arranging maintenance.

Summary

If you are thinking of purchasing a second home in Tahoe, give us a call. Our knowledgeable Realtors can help you find an appropriate property for your lifestyle and budget. We can then help you create a successful rental strategy that will improve your property's value over time.