Homeowners FAQ

GolfcourseVacationRentals.com will soon be the leading site in the Palm Springs – Palm Desert area for listing golfcourse vacation rentals by owner.

We are technology driven and with a great deal of internet marketing savvy. Our site appears in the major search engines, direct mail advertising, newspaper advertising and numerous country club websites in the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area). You can even think of your “vacation rental listing” being on 10 different websites. For example: www.RanchoLasPalmasCountryClub.com has a link directly to www.GolfcourseVacationRentals.com on their homepage. This link will go directly to the area on our site that has Rancho Las Palmas Vacation Rentals.

Each property owner will receive a one page listing which will include detailed information describing their vacation rental. Info will include a description, rates, amenities, local attractions, contact info and photos.

Rental Photos…”A picture is worth a thousand words”

It is important to have “great” photos of your vacation rental. When surfers compare your place to another they first compare the photos… it only natural. So please take some important advice… the better the photos the more bookings you will be able to make.

We can even take professional photos for you just like the photo above.  Just call us at 760-345-9191 for pricing.
The photo on the left is a typical vacation rental photo and the one on the right is one of our photos we took. Other services include keeping an emergency key for you, referring you to a house cleaner or installing a "combination keyless door lock".
Click here for a photo of a combination keyless entry lock, information and purchase instructions.
http://keylessentrylocks.com/keyless_home_locks.cfm
Click here for a photo of a door hanging lockbox, information and purchase instructions.
http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/products/ge-interlogix?id=cp_portable

Try to stage the home …just pick up a Good Housekeeping magazine to get some ideas. Some additional things to remember is good lighting, find a good focal point, try standing on a step ladder or a chair. Remember the internet is changing the way vacation rentals are marketed…by all means spend a little extra time taking your photos… it will pay off a 1000 times over.

Rates for advertising your vacation rental:

Owners only!

We can show you how to make "online vacation rentals" easier than you ever dreamed possible and at a fair price.

We will take your calls for you and send out the contracts. The charge for this service is 10% of the rental fee.  We also offer consulting to the vacation rental owner - go to www.VacationRentalConsulting.com .  Let us show you how to keep your place booked in the winter as well as the summer!

Photos

Option #1:
Upload up to 5 photos online at: www.golfcoursevacationrentals.com
Restrictions on photo uploads are as follows:
75-125 dots per square inch (dpi)
(3.5x5 or 4.6) or (370 pixels across) for each photo
No Files over 300KB per photo
File format: JPEG or GIF

Option #2:  (One time $35.00 charge)
Send us your photos by snail mail.
4x6 or 3.5x5 format. Horizontal photos please.

Option #3: (One time $35.00 charge)
We can also capture your photos online…please give us the precise web address where we can find them.

Please send the photos and the form to:(snail mail processing)
Our office is at Palm Valley Country Club
Golf Course Vacation Rentals
P.O. Box 13702
Palm Desert, CA 92255
760-200-4594
Fax: 760-345-1218
Photos will be returned…please include a self-addressed envelope.
Give us a call if you have any questions or email us at: info@golfcoursevacationrentals.com

Writing a good description of your property

It is important to take a little extra time and turn your webpage into a great sales brochure. Here are some ideas for you to consider:
What words best describe the vacation rental.
Tell the prospective renter about your location and view.
What are the most important features.
Tell them why your property is better.
Finish up with a conclusion
Above all check for spelling errors.

Pricing – Supply and Demand

In order to be “right on the money” in pricing your unit you will have to do some research on what your competition charges. It might even be a good idea to see what professional management companies are charging in your country club for the same size unit. Many owners make the big mistake of pricing their property much lower than their competition…don’t do it. If you price your unit much lower this can make the internet surfer think there is something wrong with it.

Taking Reservations

When I rented my places out I only rented to people from out of state… this way John, Dick and Harry will not tell all their friends in LA to come join them for the week. I never had a problem if the renter was from out of state or lived more than 6 hours away by car.

Damage/Security Deposits

The best way to get payment is to have the renter send a personal check provided that it is sent in advance. This will assure you that the check will be good. If I were you I would not be concerned about this … I never had a check bounce when I would rent my place out.

What to charge for a cleaning fee or a damage deposit? Cleaning fees will depend on the size of your unit but an average fee is $90 for the Palm Springs area. The damage deposit averages $250.

If you are going to allow pets it is a good idea to increase the deposit an additional $50.

In all the years of renting my places out I never had a problem concerning the damage deposit…everyone always got the full amount returned. I was not strict on normal wear and tear. I just raised the rent $10 per week to compensate for the lower damage deposit and giving the tenant the benefit of the doubt if something minor went wrong. The only thing which ever happened was a glass of red wine that spilled on the carpet.

Just one word of warning - please be a little flexible on damage deposits. We do not want to get any complaints from renters calling us to complain about their damage deposit not being returned for some minor infraction like a broken glass or a missing fork or towel. We do have the right to remove you from our rental directory should this become routine. The membership fee we end back to you will not effect our business! On a positive note . in 5 years of renting my places out in Palm Desert I NEVER had a problem from the retired golfers and 90% of your renters will be retired and golfers!

I don’t suggest this but after owning and renting out my places for a couple of years I lowered my damage deposit to $150 because I never had any problems…the tenants had a tendency to like and trust me a little more because I trusted them more than other homeowners or a vacation rental company. Another important thing to tell them is “If the unit smells like cigarette smoke they will lose their damage deposit”.

As far as house cleaners go there are hundreds of people cleaning houses in the desert. You can easily call your homeowners association to get a referral or talk to your neighbor. You can even call us for a referral if you like.

Keys

The best way to handle the “key” distribution problem is to not distribute the keys at all.
General Electric has a “key lockbox” that has a combination. It will hold two keys. Ever couple of months you can have your housecleaner change the combination or just have three lockboxes and change them now and then. You should also put your telephone number and the house cleaners telephone number in the lockbox in case the renter locks the keys in the house and your phone number is in the house.

Another option is a “push button code door handle” or “keyless entry door lock” for the front door of your condo. (you have probably seen them on some newer cars.). The cost is around $120 - $250 at Home Depot and are very easy to install and very easy to have your housecleaner change the code (as often as you like).

Remember there is always going to be a “lost key issue”. Just be prepared and think ahead. You might give an extra key to a neighbor or have a “special hidden lockbox” buried in the ground six feet under … just joking. Having an extra key will be definitely worth the added expense of buying an additional lockbox…. it is just too easy.

If you would like “Golfcourse Vacation Rentals” to keep a last minute emergency key we would not mind. We would charge an additional fee should we have to go unlock the door.

By all means don’t let this key thing scare you… thousands and thousands of homeowners are renting out their places themselves. If they can do it so can you!

Sample Rental Agreement

Sample Rental Agreement . "Click Here" to see it.