Tips for maintaining a vacation house all year round

A vacation house is an excellent investment that can provide many benefits, including a place to escape the daily grind and a potential source of rental income. However, owning a vacation house also comes with responsibilities, including maintaining the property to ensure it stays in good condition.

To help you maximize your vacation house investment, we’ve put together some tips for year-round maintenance:

Schedule Regular Inspections

Your vacation house may be sitting empty for long periods, making it more susceptible to issues like water damage, pests, and mold. Scheduling regular inspections, both before and after each rental season, can help identify any potential issues before they become costly problems.

Winterize Your House

Depending on the vacation house location, you may need to winterize it to protect against freezing temperatures. This may include draining water from pipes, sealing windows and doors, and covering outdoor furniture and equipment.

Maintain Your HVAC System

Your vacation house’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is critical to maintaining comfortable indoor temperatures and air quality. Make sure to change the air filters regularly and schedule annual maintenance with a professional.

Keep Gutters and Downspouts Clean

Leaves, branches, and other debris can accumulate in your vacation house’s gutters and downspouts, leading to clogs and water damage. Clean them regularly to prevent damage to your property’s exterior and foundation.

Maintain Your Landscaping

Caring for your vacation house’s landscaping can enhance its curb appeal and prevent damage to the property. This may include pruning trees and bushes, mowing the lawn, and removing any dead or diseased plants.

Secure Your Property

Your vacation house may be more susceptible to break-ins and theft when it’s unoccupied. Invest in a security system, change the locks regularly, and consider installing motion-sensor lights to deter potential intruders.

Consider Professional Property Management

If you’re unable to maintain your vacation house yourself or live too far away, consider hiring a professional property management company. They can help with everything from regular maintenance to marketing and renting your property. Property management agency Mayren Management can provide all services including winter maintenance, rental, cleaning during guest shifts, and guest care. For more information, contact miren@mayren.hr

By following these tips, you can ensure that your vacation house stays in top condition and provides many years of enjoyment and financial return on your investment.

Things To Think About Before You Buy A Vacation House in Croatia

You’ve decided to buy a holiday home in Croatia? Congratulations! Before you sign a sales contract, we give you tips on what to attend to when choosing a home.

The purpose of the holiday home

When buying a holiday home, be sure what purpose will have; for personal use, tourism, or both.

If you use the house only for yourself, you can customize it to your own needs and desires. Keep in mind if you want renovations and interventions on the property, that you may not be present. You will have to give the key to various contractors.

Most holiday homes in Istria and Primorje are suitable for the summer season, so they probably do not have an adequate heating system. Fireplaces are rarely or never used. Therefore is necessary to check their functionality and efficiency.

If you want to make money from renting a property in the period when you do not spend time in it, here are what you need to think about:

• be prepared to take time in the beginning to obtain documentation to meet the rental conditions
• be sure you have a place in the house to store the things you don’t want your guests to see and use
• do not forget the cost of equipping the accommodation for tourists. Bed linen, pillows, and others require an additional 160-180 € per bed. For instance, the equipment for a house with a capacity of 6 people costs about 1000 euros,
• of course, tourists do not come alone. You will need to advertise the accommodation, set the rental price based on the position and characteristics of the facility.

Maintenance of the house in the period when it is not used

In winter vacation house must be aerated and inspected once a month. Closed not heated vacation houses often develop mold on the walls, mattresses, and bathrooms, and their repair requires time and money.
Pipe ruptures, storms, and other disasters require urgent interventions.

Swimming pool and garden

Do you want a neat lawn and garden? Quality, thick grass requires regular mowing, depending on the rains. The more regularly the grass is mowed, the denser and more beautiful the grass is. If you have a swimming pool, starting it for the season requires expertise to bring it into a state with ideal Ph and chlorine parameters.

Sounds discouraging? Whether you are buying a vacation home exclusively for yourself or want to earn extra income from tourism, find a property management company in the area. The most ideal are those companies that do both maintenance and rental of accommodation because they have to receive good reviews for cleanliness and kindness. That directly reflects on the bookings. If you find a local cleaner paid by the hour, you will have a hard time motivating her to excel because her salary will not depend on good reviews.
If you are buying the property in eastern Istria or around Opatija, feel free to contact our company Mayren management and rentals through e-mail miren@mayren.hr to solve all issues related to renovations and other interventions on the property, monitoring and documenting the phases of work, holding keys, obtaining rental documents, purchasing tourist supplies, maintenance houses in the period when not in use, interventions, landscaping and swimming pools, rental services, tourist reception and cleaning in shifts.

You buy a vacation home to rest in it and not to work on it. Feel like VIP guests in your home away from your home!

10 ways to increase rental income from your vacation property

Both interior and exterior updates increase your property value and profit from renting your property. Whatever your budget is, always choose the upgrades that give you the best returns of investment. We’re sharing 10 clever tricks to upgrade your property without breaking the rental rules.

Repaint

A new coat of paint modernizes your property and makes the property appear well-maintained, clean, and luxurious.

As a vacation rental owner, you should choose neutral paint colors. A neutral interior palette draws in a variety of guests. We suggest painting one feature wall with luxury effects, or if you want to add colors in the room, use changeable accessories such as pillows, rugs, vases, and artwork.

If you paint your vacation rental property yourself you will save money, but you won’t save your valuable time and nerves, especially if you have no experience. The rates for a professional painter are between 3€ – 6€ per square meter excluded preparations and repairs of the walls.

One feature wall with luxury effects costs between 200€-300€ per wall depends on the size of the wall and effect. We highly recommend using effects. Your house will look in the photos more expensive and more luxurious and can increase your renting price or you will stand out among the many similar holiday homes offered on the market.

Renew The Bathroom & Kitchen

An outdated bathroom or kitchen can decrease the value of a vacation rental property. The benefits of updating your bathroom or kitchen are worth the investment, you can charge more per night if you have a beautiful property.

But, you might not have the money to do this type of renovation. Here are some simple updates that increase your properties value:

Kitchen:

• Replace light fixtures: Lighting influences mood. Lighting fixtures add character to your vacation rental property. Put the LED lighting under the cabinets, change the ceiling lights.
• New tiling or backsplash: A simplistic way to add color. Backsplash and tile can update a space.
• Change or repaint cabinet fronts, it is much cheaper and the kitchen will look like new!
• Add Kitchen Appliances: Renters book vacation rental properties over hotels since they have kitchens. Use this to your advantage. Draw in foodies by purchasing extra culinary tools, such as coffee makers, mixers, or an icemaker.

Bathrooms:

• Update the showerhead, sink, or towel racks for a sleek look.

Hire a Professional Cleaning Service

After you have updated your vacation rental, it is important to clean thoroughly. A dirty property detracts from the updates and changes you have made. Potential guests will focus on the cleanliness of your property first.

Thus, you should hire a third-party professional cleaning service. A professional cleaning service ensures that every part of your property is ready for guests.

Style Your Rental House

 Just because you’re renting doesn’t mean you need to settle for someone else’s design style. Here are our top decorating hacks for rental properties:

• The more plants the better – choose the plants that are hard to kill. Artificial flowers and plants don’t smell like the real thing, but they’ll give your home a real boost.
• Buy beautiful bedding – there’s nothing quite like slipping in between the satin sheets in bed. The bed makes up one of the largest surface areas in the bedroom so a new quilt and cushions will have a dramatic impact. For the photoshoot, decorate the bed with at least 4 pillows and 2 cushions for a luxurious look
• Curtains – if you want to add luxury to the interior, you can easily achieve it by choosing 2 sets of curtains on one rode – one transparent and one blackout curtain. Install them near the ceiling to get real luxury looks.
• Show off your art – it doesn’t have to be expensive, it should be beautiful and match the colors and style of the room.
• Invest in the perfect furniture – if you can’t change the rooms, buy furniture that is durable and will boost your space.

Extra Values

The easiest addition to your vacation rental property would be adding everyday items. For example, provide a collection of DVDs, books, or board games. Or have a stereo/gaming system in your vacation rental property. These are simplistic items that renters use throughout their vacation especially during bad weather.

To stand out among the competition, find the room to put table football, darts or billiard.

Provide a “Welcome” basket or tickets to local events. This will surprise guests. Your generosity will be the added value for your property.

Landscaping

Choose greenery that does not require a lot of attention. Purchase drought-tolerant, local plants. In Istria, it is lavender, fig, and an olive tree. Yet this doesn’t require large amounts of maintenance.

Sago palm is a good choice because adds luxury to your rental home, they are durable, only in the winter should be covered. If your budget allows, plant a pair of Mediterranean cypress to get the Tuscan look

Bushes, mature trees, and different sized rocks also add dimension to your property, without needing constant care.

Remember, your landscaping should complement your vacation rental property. Overgrown landscaping, particularly if it overshadows the building or home, detracts from your main selling feature.

Create an outdoor living oasis with a gorgeous pergola

Your guests come on vacation to spend most of their time outdoors. Pergolas are designed to increase the enjoyment and comfort of your outdoor living space, and offer respite from the sun for your guests. Investment in the well-built pergola increases your rental value but also the value of your property. Guests are willing to pay top euro for holiday homes that already have attractive, well-designed spaces for outdoor living. After all, you love the shade, style, and sophistication of a pergola — and a potential guest will, too. For more information about pergola designs, costs, or advice please visit: https://kontra-aluminium.com/proizvodi/rjesenja-za-terase-i-zimske-vrtove/

Walkways & Driveways

For curb appeal and safety, repair any cracks in your walkways, sidewalks, or driveways. If you seal or repave your driveway, you will have a smooth surface that lasts for a longer amount of time. Clean it with a high-pressure washer or hire a professional to do the job. This will also save you money long term, and add to your property’s visual appeal.

Exterior Lighting

Sidewalk lighting adds charm and style to your vacation rental property’s exterior. Above the outdoor dining table should be romantic lights. This provides added value for guests who like to entertain in the evening. Use solar lamps along the path leading to the house – besides the aesthetics, contributes to the security of guests.

Playground

Parents want to rest on their vacation, and the best way is to occupy their children. So, build the treehouse, put a swing, slide, or trampoline. Kids will be delighted!

As you can see, there are a variety of ways to add value to your vacation rental property. This ranges from additions like board games to kitchen renovations. The upgrades you make to your property depend on your budget, target audience, and property type.

If you’re not sure what is the best way to upgrade your rental property to increase your profit, visit our web site www.management.mayren.hr/en/ to see projects that we have done or contact us by emailing majda@mayren.hr, we are glad to help with our advice.