Vacation Calendar Software Helps Co-Owners Share Vacation Properties

In a recent article in "The Wall Street Journal," Peter Green wrote about the skyrocketing costs of second homes. In, "How to Own a Vacation Home - With Someone Else" he discusses the trend of purchasing vacation properties with multiple people.

Just like a marriage, sharing the expenses and use of a vacation home between multiple owners can stir up a complicated list of hassles. How do you share time? Who is responsible for what cost? Craig Gibson, a real-estate attorney in Bridgehampton, NY, says, "It's like a marriage." There is a lot of room for disaster.

So what is the best way to limit the potential for a real estate mess and losing friends and starting family feuds? It's best to have, in writing, a very detailed list of how expenses will be handled and how the property is going to be used.

According to the National Association of Realtors Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey in 2014, only 23% of people buying vacation homes have the intention of renting to others. But regardless of whether you are planning on renting your vacation home or sharing it amongst the partners, vacation calendar software can help manage the property.

John Amato, President and founder of Bookerville LLC, an online based vacation calendar software system suggests handling the scheduling of time in a vacation home the same, regardless of who is using it. "For a very minimal monthly investment, the software takes care of all the booking and scheduling of the property for owners. So even if it is just being shared among a select group of friends, the vacation calendar software handles who is going to be using the property when. This eliminates a lot of problems revolving around the use of the vacation home and doesn’t put the scheduling on any one person to manage."

When vacation properties are being purchased to rent out as an income generator, vacation calendar software is imperative. "Owners who are renting out their vacation home for the first time don't realize the time investment in keeping track of schedules, bookings, maintenance, communications with renters, etc," says Amato. "A piece of software like Bookerville, can easily handle all the time-consuming aspects of the process. Emails are automatically sent to renters before, during, and after their vacation, saving a property owner a great deal of time. Good vacation calendar software also provides online payment systems as part of the package. A complete booking can be done online, without the owners involvement."

Experts agree that it's crucial to spell everything out ahead of time when multiple people are purchasing a vacation property. Put together a checklist of everything you need to discuss and agree on before and after the purchase.

Vacation properties can be a great investment and a great stress reliever for today's busy families. With proper planning and a little foresight, properties can be shared, providing an opportunity for ownership that might otherwise not be possible.

---

About the Author

John Amato is the founder of Bookerville LLC, and has been heavily involved in the vacation rental industry for over five years.

About Bookerville

Bookerville Vacation Rental Software easily and inexpensively manages 1 to 1000’s of properties. Over $40 million dollars worth of rental bookings have been completed through Bookerville. The company offers a free 30-day trial of its vacation rental software. Have questions or want more information? Contact John Amato at Bookerville today.

 
Reply »