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Top 5 Questions Home Owners ask when renting their home for 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
How much should I expect to make if I rent my place for the Olympics and for how long can I rent it out?
A lot will depend on the location of your property. For example, in Downtown Vancouver one bedroom apartment goes for $500/night, two bedroom goes for approximately $800/night.
There is still 7 months to go, but rental prices are already softening now as market is getting saturated. Visitors are waiting for either prices to go down or more hotel rooms to become available. So it is very important to price your property competitively.
The absolute majority of Olympic visitors are looking to get an accommodation for shorter periods of time - anywhere between 5 to 10 days. Obviously this creates a huge disconnect, because most homeowners want to rent out their properties for at least two weeks. The reality is that the majority of visitors are middle class people, not millionaires, and they watch their budget carefully especially in this economy.
One company took this issue seriously and found a great opportunity to help both sides. What Golden City Rentals does for their clients to satisfy their two-week minimum requirement, for example, they have a database of accommodation requests, and they find two or three groups with the similar requirements and put them back to back in one property. They call it “Unique matchmaking for 2010 home rentals and accommodations. “
Is there a demand for properties from all Greater Vancouver or only in certain areas?
The hottest area of course is Downtown Vancouver and Whistler Village. West end, West Vancouver and North Vancouver come next. Lots of visitors don’t mind the commute if the price is right, but they are looking for properties located close to Skytrain.
Currently there is not much demand for TriCities, Surrey, or anything further than that. However, this might change closer to the Olympics.
How do I protect myself from scams and fraud?
If you want to rent out your property for the Olympics yourself, make sure that you call your guests, and screen them. Never make a reservation only based on email conversation. Be very careful with money transactions. There are scam artists for example that ask for you bank wire information and then forge banking checks in your name, and use them to make purchases. Pretty much the only reliable method of accepting money if you do it yourself is PayPal.
If you decide to hire a company that helps you to rent out your property for the Olympics, make sure that this company is licensed in BC. By law, no one can collect money on your behalf unless they have a license.
Golden City Rentals, for example, collects 50% non-refundable deposit upfront at the time of the reservation, and puts it into the trust account. The rest is collected by December 1 and also goes into trust account. The homeowner gets paid after rental agreement is completed. This protects visitors that the homeowner is not going to sell their place and leave, and on the other hand, it protects the homeowner in case the visitor backs out of the deal.
Do I need to pay any additional taxes or fees when I rent my place out?
There are several things to consider when you are ready to rent out your property for the Olympics: Vancouver city license, GST, Hotel tax, and income tax.
If you would like to rent out your property between January 1 and March 31, 2010 as temporary accommodation for less than 30 days, you will need to apply for a special business license from the City of Vancouver. The City will begin accepting applications on June 1, 2009. You can get more information on city website.
If you are renting out more than 4 units, you might need to collect Hotel Tax. If you make more than $30,000, you might need to collect GST, and you will need to pay income on your rental income. Every situation is different - so always consult with your accountant.
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Do I need additional insurance?
The short answer is yes. Generally, regular home insurance doesn’t cover short-term rentals, so first of all you need to talk to your insurance provider. Sometimes they provide additional coverage for free, but often you will need to pay extra for short-term rentals insurance.
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