By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 August 24th, 2010 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Vacation Rentals

Vacation rental homeowners in the Deep Creek Lake area often inquire about the tradeoffs between professional property management and self-management like those found on VRBO, HomeAway, and other ‘Vacation Rental By Owner’ websites. Professional property managers cost money but the benefits usually outweigh the costs. Prop­erty owners who rent on their own and self manage often times don’t “save” money - they “earn” it spending much of their own time, energy, and additional money dealing with their property. Not only is the self man­aged “for-rent-by-owner” challenged to find paying guests, they must also take care of all repairs, cleaning, and dealing with guest complaints.

A professional property manage­ment company like Railey Mountain Lake Vacations will eliminate the stress and reduce the liability of your vacation rental by taking care of such things as:

• Promptly responding to emails and inquiries from impatient visitors who are shopping around
• Answering 10 inquiries for every booking
• Negotiating rent with guests who bargain shop
• Dealing with all guest requests including complaints
• Being able to access an alternative cleaner when the regular cleaner isn’t available
• Dealing with lost keys during after hours
• Coordinating plowing, mowing, and landscaping vendors
• Getting prompt responses by an a/c repairman in the middle of summer
• Accepting credit cards on your behalf which is necessary to get reservations in today’s consumer credit society
• Collecting all accommodation taxes
• Utilizing an in-house professional laundry to eliminate health related pathogens in linens and towels
• Using bonded workers covered by worker’s comp for repairs

Simply put, professional prop­erty managers are experts who know what problems arise in putting a non- resident guest into a home owned by another non-resident.

When it comes to reservations and bookings the ‘for rent by owner’ web sites often attract bargain shop­pers who often send dozens of email requests asking for discounts. Railey Mountain Lake Vacations has the area’s largest inventory of rental homes in the Deep Creek Lake area that over the years has created the area’s largest database of guests and visitors who are less interested in bargains and more interested in the quality of the home and rental experience.

Self management can work for an owner who is both motivated and willing to do A LOT of work - how­ever, a professional property manager like Railey Mountain Lake Vacations does ALL the work and more importantly is equipped to do the job right to reduce the homeowner’s liability. If you are interested in property management for your vacation rental please contact Leigh Miller at Railey Mountain Lake Vacations at (800)846-7368 or leigha@deep­creek.com.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 November 21st, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate

The first question a prospective investor or buyer who wants to purchase a Deep Creek Lake vacation rental home is usually -”How much rental income can these types of homes generate?”

Annual Gross Income

So as a guide, Railey Mountain Lake Vacations has compiled a small chart of the annual gross rental income from their top lakefront vacation rental homes. The chart below depicts the approximate annual owner gross income from their top 3 producers based on number of bedrooms. Please note these are all lakefront homes - not homes with just lake access or no lake access at all.

Features & Amenities

As you can see from the chart above, having an indoor pool as an amenity can dramatically increase rental income. However, there are some other common features and amenities that these top performing homes all share. They include;

• Level lakefront settings
• Beautiful views
• Bathrooms equal to the number of bedrooms
• Quality furnishings and décor

Railey Mountain Lake Vacations also now offers the services of full time interior decorator for your vacation rental home free of charge if you utilize their property management services. Railey Mountain Lake manages the largest number of vacation rental homes in the Deep Creek Lake area - currently standing at 375 houses.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when considering purchasing a vacation rental home - other very important considerations include expenses and Garrett County zoning issues. I’ll try to touch on these items in future posts.

Please give us a call or drop us an e-mail - we’ve provided much guidance over the years to purchasers and buyers for these types of homes. The buying process can be a bit tricky but can certainly yield positive results in the long run if done right.