Longer short term rental....

[Michael Baum]

Hey all. So as many of you know our home in north Idaho is very much a seasonal rental. May through Sept. Sometimes part of Oct for cyclists and Thanksgiving once.

I have an inquiry from someone who is traveling for work. It would be from Oct through Dec. Could be shorter or longer depending on his length of work. We have pretty much settled on a monthly rate. Roughly Zillow rent estimate highest number.

Now, the rub is the 3 fixed male cats they are bringing along. 3 cats can do a tremendous amount of damage in a short period of time. They would be in a new environment so I am anticipating some issues. Best case a deep top to bottom cleaning to take care of any dander.

That will be about $600 from a cleaner we had interviewed. Plus the cost of upholstery cleaning if there are any spray issues.

They would be willing to pay a pretty hefty security deposit.

I am not a long term rental person. I will have a lawyer draw up a rental agreement. Include the cats and everything else.

How much would you charge for the security deposit? Would you run the whole thing through VRBO and take the hit in fees? I am not a big fan of this idea as I am not sure how much security it adds.

I will also need to contact our insurance about the length of stay to see if there are any issues.

I have always wanted to fill up the downtime and this would fill the rest of the year. Let me know what you think. 

[Lauren Kormylo]

I would charge the amount of one month's rent as the security deposit, just like with any long term lease, especially because of the cats.