Big Bear Cabin Rentals - Planning Beforehand
I once knew a woman who bought her airline tickets a couple of weeks in advance of her trip to Big Bear, as you should. On the day she was to leave, she arrived at the airport, stood in line, tried to dig out her tickets, and found that she’d left them at home.
I didn’t understand how she could do it then, and I don’t understand it now - for all that it’s much easier these days to simply print out a new set of tickets from the electronic kiosks they have these days.
But it’s just the fact that airplane tickets are so important…how can you go to an airport without having them…or if you’re going to be on time to move into a rented cabin in Big Bear, how can you leave your passport behind? Yet, it’s been known to happen.
It may be a lack of common sense, but I’ll just call it a lack of planning. For your next trip to Big Bear, especially these days when time and money are at a premium, you need to plan ahead as far as possible to ensure that nothing goes wrong on your vacation… or, if it does go wrong because of circumstances beyond your control, it’s comforting to know you have a backup plan.
(For example, have a large family, and going to a large, crowded place like Disneyland? If you equip your entire family with cell phones or two-way radios, you can ensure that no one gets lost, or misses out on an event because they got separated from the rest of the group. Even if you’ve got your family well-trained….a sudden turn of the head to look at something interesting, and the rest of the family disappears around a bend in the path and it’ll take two hours before you meet up again.)
Procrastinators in particular have a bad time when packing for their trip in Big Bear…as they most likely leave it until two hours before they’re due to leave for the airport before they even start to pack. That’s where common sense kicks in, of course. It’s fine to be a procrastinator when the worst that will happen is you miss a deadline at work, or are unprepared for a test at school, but when you miss an airplane or arrive somewhere to find you have no place to stay, it’s a problem.
So…plan ahead. Spend a week thinking of all the contingencies of your trip and writing them down, and ensuring that you fulfill all the items on your “To Do” list before you leave. This will ensure that you come back rested and refreshed, having enjoyed your vacation to the fullest. Hope that helps prevent any problems when you want to go rent a cabin in Big Bear for a vacation next time round.
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Getting the Most Out of Your Island House Rental
People who live on the east and west coasts of the United States know that there are dozens of habitable islands just a few miles off shore, but people who live in between those two extremes have a tendency of hearing the word “island” and thinking of tropical island paradises such as Hawaii, Tahiti, Guam, or even the Bahamas.
But there are islands much closer to the US where it’s possible to kick back and relax and enjoy the atmosphere - for there is a certain atmosphere endemic to living on a small island, one which you can cross from side to side in a couple of hours, and see the ocean extending out as far as the eye can see in all directions…
The Florida Keys are perhaps the most famous islands known on the east coast of Florida, and the most popular with the vacation crowd and “snowbirds” who want to escape the winter cold of the midwest. These islands are too small to have the huge hotels that pop up like mushrooms in the large cities, instead, there are bed and breakfasts, motels, and homes for rent - which are much nicer and simply more “homier” than a hotel.
Hilton Head, South Carolina is a very famous resort island…even mid-westerners have heard of it. It’s the second largest island on the east coast of the US, and it needs to be, to fit all the golf courses that have been built on it.
Going north up the east coast, what other islands do we have? The Brunswick Islands of North Carolina are nine islands off the coast of the state that have something for everyone. The favorite for old lighthouse lovers is Old Baldhead Island, because they have the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina, called “Old Baldy.” Out of service now, but tourists can still visit the lighthouse, and walk on ground where Blackbeard and other pirates once trod.
Chincoteague is Virginia’s only resort island, famous for its wild horses, and its oyster festival. It is also on the Atlantic flyway for shorebirds, waterfowl, and others. So if you’re a birder, you’ll definitely find a week or two spent in Chincoteague worth your while.
That’s only a selection of islands on the east coast, there are many more, and I haven’t even gotten around to covering the west coast. Just do a google search on “Resort islands” east coast, or west coast, and a whole new world will unfold before your eyes.
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Looking To Rent Your Cabin?
If you’ve got a vacation cabin which you can no longer afford to own, hold off a while before putting it up for sale. Why not think about turning it into a rental property? Here are a few guidelines to help you get started.
• Have a rental agreement drawn up by a lawyer. This will protect both you and your renters - you will each know where you stand. But you need to do more than have a rental agreement - go over the agreement with your prospective renter provision by provision - so that you know that your renter knows what is expected of him/her, and they can’t plead ignorance should something untoward occur.
• Speak with an insurance lawyer to find out what kind of insurance you must have in case a visitor trips on a step, breaks a leg while trying to get into a boat, or, worst case scenario, is killed while doing something on your property. (To that end, make sure your cabin has no loose wires, unstable roof slats, and so on.).
• Speak with your accountant to find out what the sales tax requirements are. In addition to charging rent, you may have to charge sales tax, and send that in to the local government, Find out what the local, county, and state tax rules are.
• Make your cabin attractive to renters by offering various “amenities” - hot tubs, ping pong tables, or pool tables even! If you have a cabin on a lake, make sure you have a dock, perhaps a paddle boat, even a personal water craft. (But be verrrry careful about the insurance for all these things.)
• Travelers with pets - cats, dogs, even birds - need a place to stay. Many places exclude pets. If you allow them, you’ve increased your customer base.
• A cabin is not a luxury home. Don’t over-decorate it… but don’t under-decorate it, either. Best thing to do is to visit other cabins that are for rent, check out how they are decorated (and how successful they are on the rental market) and follow that lead.
Once you’ve got all the formalities out of the way, you still have to find people who will want to rent your cabin. You can either list it with a series, or create a website for it, and handle all the rental details yourself. To that end, make sure you have plenty of photos of the cabin, both interior and exterior, to show off what you have to offer.
Then, be patient, while you wait for your first client. The first client may be a long time coming, but once you’ve broken the ice, future clients will come faster.
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