Last Updated on March 12, 2025
What should you do to maintain the value of your vacation home? There are quite a few things that you can do here, and it’s just a case of working out what they are, how often you need to do them, if they’re things that you can do by yourself, or if you’re going to need help.
It’s hard to know sometimes what needs doing, especially if you’re not there all of the time. But, having said that, you’ve got to try and work it out to keep your vacation home a worthwhile investment. The good news for you is that we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you can do in this article. Down below, we’re going to be taking a look at what these are, so keep reading if you would like to find out more.
Rent It Out Short-Term
Have you thought about renting out your vacation home in the times that you’re not there? Some people do this as a way to get some extra income, so that’s a massive bonus for you. As well as this, you also get the benefit of having the property checked regularly when each set of guests leave. You’re going to need to hire a company or someone who lives in that country to manage it for you as you’re not going to be able to do it yourself. It’s important that they are someone who can be trusted so that if there is something wrong, you know that they will tell you immediately.
Short-term renting is one of the best ways to ensure that you are getting the most out of your space. Depending on where it’s located and how busy tourist time is there, that means you should be making some decent money from your property which is a huge bonus.
Have Someone Pop In To Check It Regularly
If you’re not interested in renting it out regularly, that’s absolutely fine of course, but you do need to ensure that you have someone popping in regularly to check that everything is as it should be. For example, they will need to turn the heating on in the colder months to ensure that the pipes aren’t freezing and that everything is still working. The same can be said for the summer months with the air conditioning, as the last thing you want is to get there only to find that something isn’t working since the last time you visited.
This person that you have checking in should go through and check everything, make sure all is as it should be, and then report back to you. This way, if anything is broken or not in working order, you know for when you next get there, or you can hire someone to fix it asap.
Get The Right Tools To Sort Any Issue
Seeing as it’s still a property and properties need to be maintained, you should have the right tools at your home to fix the problems that arise. This includes gardening equipment if there is a garden with the property because garden maintenance is massively important, whether you realize this right now or not. You’re going to need things like a lawn mower, a leaf blower, rakes, trowels, gloves and so much more so that when this needs doing, you or someone you trust is able to do this.
You should also have tools somewhere that you can use when problems arise. You don’t want to have to call out a professional every single time something goes slightly wrong, so it’s important that you don’t have to. While you might not think much of your DIY skills, we bet that they are good enough to fix the basics, and even if they aren’t, there’s YouTube which can show you how to fix most basic things.
Ensure You Have Insurance
Insurance. This is not something that you should skip out on, even if you don’t actually want to make the purchase. Nobody wants to spend money on insurance, but this doesn’t mean that you don’t need it. If something goes wrong with the property, and we’re talking about something major going wrong here, you need to know that you are covered. This includes things like fires, break ins that have caused damage and so much more.
Insurance is there to ensure that you don’t bear the cost of something that wasn’t your fault. There will be an excess on your premium that you have to pay, but that’s usually a very small amount in comparison to the rest of the money. So, you just have to be sure that you’ve got the right policies and that you’re covered in as many scenarios as you can.
Visit It As Often As You Can
Last but by no means least, you need to visit it as often as you can to make having the place worth it in the first place. Most people purchase a vacation home because they want to go on vacation, they want to be comfortable where they are, and they certainly don’t want to have to pay for accommodation where they are constantly around other people. It’s a big investment, and visiting as often as you can makes sense so that you’re getting the most out of it.
We know that you’re not going to be able to head out there all the time, once a month or even once every few months. But, if you can visit at least once or twice a year, that makes it worth it!
So, there you go then! These are some of the things that you’re going to need to do in order to keep your vacation home worth the money that you’ve spent on it and continue to spend on it. It’s worth the time that you’re going to need to spend on it, and the money that you’re going to have to spend, as long as you keep on top of things.
