Find a renter and vent; all online

By Melissa Wirkus

The Internet has taken the real estate world by storm, from Blogs to chat rooms to virtual discussion boards. The way homeowners and real estate agents are conducting business is slowly changing.
Now, second and vacation homeowners who are having trouble finding a renter during the slow times of the year can create a Website devoted to their home or solicit renters on social networking sites. Or if they are having trouble with a tenant, homeowners can solicit advice on discussion boards and chat rooms.
The options are endless.
A January 17, 2007 article by Amy Gunderson of The New York Times, “Online, Marketing and Kvetching,” discusses how the Internet has made some interesting changes to almost every aspect of the real estate world.
“When promoting his three-bedroom home in Ormond Beach, Fla., Seth Young leaves few corners of the Internet untouched.”
“The house, situated across the street from the beach, has its own Web site, ormondvacationhome.com, and is listed on several other sites that list vacation rentals by owner.”
If this wasn’t enough online advertisement, Mr. Young also uses video-sharing sites and social networking pages to get the word about his home out there.
“He created a page on MySpace, the social networking site, for his beach house; under About Me he listed fishing off the Florida coast and attending NASCAR races in nearby Daytona Beach as some of his interests. He also put together a one-minute video of the property, which he posted on YouTube, the video-sharing Web site. ‘YouTube has become my default place to find video, and I already had a personal MySpace page to network,’ Mr. Young said, ‘so it seemed natural to create one for the beach house.’”
The video sharing sites are an especially good way to give viewers a virtual tour of the home and all of its amenities; without making them even leave their homes or offices.
People definitely want to know what they are renting before they show up on the doorstep, so video provides a wonderful opportunity to give potential renters the feeling that they are inside the house.
This is especially convenient for people who are looking to rent a home on the opposite end of the country.
“The Web frontier for vacation-home owners is vast and continuing to grow as they tap into new resources to market their properties. And networking Web sites can offer a support network for owners navigating the apparently bump-filled rental market.”
Anyone who has ever rented out a home knows that it can sometimes be a nightmare; and now they have the Internet to share their horror stories and let out their anger.
“Nevertheless, any vacation-home owner is likely to confess that marketing the house to renters is only half the battle. And, perhaps the easy half, once you read through the postings on Lay my Hat (www.laymyhat.com). The site allows vacation homeowners to hash out the apparently never-ending string of problems that arise when renting out their second home.”
“Owners vent about problem guests, like those who complain about the lack of ketchup and mayonnaise in the refrigerator or refuse to obey the no smoking policies. Some get advice on larger issues, like what to do when an hour before a renter arrives the electricity in the house fails.”
So next time your feeling grumpy about a tenant that left a mess, or desperately need a renter for your vacation-home in Coronado; log-on and watch your troubles melt away.