Renting a SFR with a HOT TUB, Pros and Cons

[Josue Vargas]

I have a property with a hot tub and will be up for rent on late January.

Looking for pros and cons.  I’m planning to have someone else do the maintenance.  

The hot tub is just 6 months old, slab on grade and outdoors. Its a good one with a lot of options etc which can be attractive to tenants, given the maintenance is included with the rent.   

What have you done in the lease to protect yourself from liabilities regarding hot tubs? I’m planning to call my insurance broker to see what else I can do to cover for liabilities.

I'm trying to sell the hot tub, but if the time comes and I can't find a buyer, I will have no other option but to rent the SFR with the hot tub in it. What other things could be done if the hot tub will remain in the property? I have thought to empty it and lock it, but that is lost space for the tenants in the backyard and not very desirable from an advertisement standpoint.

Any tips are really appreciated. My property is located in San Antonio, Texas.

[Bill B.]

You should be able to get someone on Craigslist to pick it up and take it within a day. If your current tenants have been good offer it to them. I have two rentals with pools and include all maintenance at a cost of $100/mo to myself. I’m not sure if it adds any value, even if Vegas, but one was a previous primary and the other was a seller who leased back for 7 years.