 It's about that time of year again! Right before the holidays, and right after a busy summer of vacationers experiencing your beautiful short term rental home. It comes with the territory that certain wear and tear and preventative maintenance may be needed to keep your home refreshed, of quality, and ready for the winter wonderland abyss as the year ends. Here is a checklist and tips on keeping your home top tier. Clean your gutters. Your roof's drainage system annually diverts thousands of gallons of water from your house's exterior and foundation walls, so it's vital to keep this system flowing smoothly. Clogged gutters can lead to damaged exterior surfaces and water in your basement. They are also more prone to rust and corrosion. Before the leaves fly this fall, clean your gutters, then cover them with mesh gutter guards to keep debris from returning. Seal up air leaks. A home with air leaks around windows and doors is like a coat left unbuttoned. Gaps in caulk and weatherstripping let cold/hot air into your warm home, and sealing up a drafty house can save up to 20% on your heating bills, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Weatherstripping is easily the most cost-effective way to rein in heating and cooling costs. This humble material also reduces drafts and keeps your home more comfortable year-round. Because weatherstripping can deteriorate over time, it is important to inspect it periodically. If you suspect a problem with your weatherstripping, try closing a door or window on a strip of paper. If the paper slides easily, your weatherstripping isn't properly sealing the opening. Alternatively, close the door or window and hold a lighted candle near the frame. (Don't let the flame get near anything flammable!) If the flame flickers at any spot along the frame, you have an air leak. In addition to inspecting weatherstripping, check for missing or damaged caulk around windows, doors, and entry points for electrical, cable, phone, and gas. Seal any gaps with a suitable caulk. If drafts around windows persist, consider getting your windows replaced. Glass with multiple panes, spacers, or filler gasses (such as argon or krypton) will likely solve these problems. A professional can swap out your problem windows with more efficient models that will increase your level of comfort while decreasing your heating bills. Inspect your roof. Few homeowner problems are more vexing than a leaky roof. Once the dripping starts, finding the source of the problem can be time-consuming. Stop problems this fall before hurricane winds turn them from annoyances into disasters. Start by inspecting your roof from top to bottom, using binoculars if necessary. Check ridge shingles for cracks and wind damage. Look for damage to metal flashing in valleys and around vents and chimneys. Scan the entire roof for missing, curled, or damaged shingles. Look in your gutters for large accumulations of granules, a sign that your roof is losing its coating, which can portend larger problems. Finally, make sure your gutters are flowing freely. Repair walkways. Damaged walkways, drives, and steps are a hazard year-round. Fixing issues in the fall is also critical to preventing little cracks from becoming expensive headaches. Look for cracks more than 1/8-inch wide, uneven sections, and loose railings on steps. Check for disintegration of asphalt or washed-out materials on loose-fill paths. Most small jobs are well within the ability of a DIYer, but save major repairs for experienced hands. Review safety features. At least once a year, do a top-to-bottom review of your home's safety features. This is also a good time to review your fire evacuation plan. Use these steps to complete a home safety check:
Prep your lawn for winter. To ensure your lawn's health and beauty come spring, there are several important yard work projects to complete in the fall. Raking leaves and aerating will prevent your lawn and garden beds from suffocating. Fertilizing and winterizing grass, trees, and shrubs will allow your greenery to enter its winter slumber comfortably and properly nourished. Professional lawn care services will make quick work of these projects. Touch up exterior paint. Fall offers plenty of days that are cool enough to work with exterior paint, and a touch-up can help prolong the life of your siding and trim. A fresh coat of paint or sealer on any surface, such as porch stairs or wood floors, also is a wise idea. Sooner is better to contact a local painter or attempt the project yourself, as many paints aren't recommended for application on days when the temperatures are too hot, and even too cold. Fall HVAC Maintenance. Chances are your cooling unit has worked hard through the summer, while your heating unit has been sitting dormant since last winter. Before you need your heat this winter, schedule professional HVAC maintenance to help protect your unit for the extra work this winter. Scheduling HVAC maintenance now can help improve heating and cooling outputs, which reduces your electric bill and saves on electricity. That’s good for the environment and for your pocket!  Some other tips include replacing your outside bulbs with LEDs to save on electricity, reversing your ceiling fans when it gets cold, checking your dryer vents, checking your hurricane windows and doors, and maintaining your disaster supply kit.
Stay tuned next month for more tips. SOURCES: CIANNI CONSTRUCTION | BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS COPYRIGHT 2022
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 Short-term rentals remain a popular choice in South Florida’s vacation areas. The popularity of vacation rentals continues to thrive, following the emergence of listing sites and apps like Airbnb and VRBO in the last few years. If you’re planning to invest in Fort Lauderdale homes, then renting out on Airbnb, VRBO & a Property Management site like Easy Air Rentals is definitely the optimal rental strategy in 2022. In this blog, we break down the reasons to invest in Fort Lauderdale rentals, the Fort Lauderdale short-term rental laws and regulations, and the best Fort Lauderdale neighborhoods for investing in a vacation rental according to data.
 Congratulations, you passed the inspection and closed on the house! You can't wait to list the home and start getting a return on your investment. So you may be asking yourself, "Where do I start?". If you are one of those creative designer types you may have already planned out where the sofa will be placed. But what if you are not and have no clue where to begin. Easy Air Rentals makes it super "easy" to get started in just a few short weeks.
 As a Host, especially listing your home as an Airbnb for the first time, you may have the concern about breakages and damages to your home. After all, this is your investment or perhaps it is a second or third residence of yours, so naturally you would be concerned should things go missing, break or get damaged. Listing through most booking sites such as Airbnb, VRBO or even directly through our website, we require guests to have some kind of damage protection/ insurance. We wanted to work you through that process with a example should a guest book through the Airbnb platform.
 Purchasing a new home for the purposes of a rental investment is a huge decision and one must do their homework to decide if it makes sense for them. A question that a Homeowner usually asks is, "Is it better to rent the home on my own or use a Property Management company for a fee/ percentage?". Of course when one is considering renting out their home the intention is to have a profitable return on investment and ongoing income stream. So they really have to weigh the pro's and cons of doing it all yourself or leaving all the hard work to the professionals. Here are some facts to help make that decision a little easier...
 If you are " on the fence" about whether or not to purchase a second home or even use your own home as a vacation rental, we are here to tell you that this is one of the best investments you can make! It is no wonder that the Airbnb industry has blown up, there must be something to this "renting my home" thing... right? We wanted to share with you the top five reasons why you should invest in a vacation rental property. You want to maximize your property income and enter the short term rental market, but simply don't have time to manage it - what do you do? Property management is a great solution. Below we explain some of the benefits of partnering with a property management company. An excellent management team lets owners get a good night’s sleep without the hassle of dealing with guests who will arrive at two in the morning or last minute maintenance emergencies. But, that might not be enough to convince you! Here are ten advantages of partnering with a property management company:   Buying a vacation home is an exciting reward for all of your hard work. If you are only able to enjoy it a few times a year, many property owners have found renting to be a great investment. There are many financial benefits to be gained from renting out your vacation home—that is, if you’re smart about it.
Here are five mistakes you won’t want to make when you rent out your vacation home.  One of the advantages of Airbnb hosting is meeting people from around the world. Sometimes it means there can be difficulty in communicating with them some of them were raised speaking in a different language, no English at all. This can be a very uncomfortable situation for both the host and the guest, but if you are prepared to overcome the language gap, both you and your guest will have an awesome experience.
Language gaps difficulties mostly happen to guests who doesn’t speak any common language at all. For example are guests who only speak Spanish. Other than being able to determine what a “yes” or “no” is, it will be hard to understand what each other was saying. Establishing a sufficient communication can be challenging but will be needed to get a great review! Using a translation app can help as well. Guests can ask you about what sights to see around town and you can easily explain to them where to go, how to get there, including a few nice tips on going around the city to make their visit exciting. Definitely worth a great review! We have listed here are some communication tips to help you overcome the language gap with you guests.  Guest experiences are important. Typically, guests expect a certain level and manner of service when staying at an Airbnb or another short-term rental accommodation. And they should. Often, guests choose to stay at vacation rentals rather than at local hotels in order to see travel through a more holistic and immersive lens. They want to feel welcomed, they want to feel local, and they want to feel at home.
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