Need help managing your vacation property? We found the right solution.

Owning and managing a vacation property can be a ton of work. If you’re planning on doing it yourself, there are so many things to consider — advertising, responding to guests, managing your bookings, cleaning, and more. Plus, the vast choices for a property manager can be even more overwhelming.

Luckily, our editors have found the perfect management company to help with your vacation property— Vacasa.

Before signing with a manager to manage your vacation home, know the 5 red flags to look out for.

1. Difficult to get in touch with

Communication is vital. Some companies can take hours to respond to you and your guests. Meanwhile, Vacasa has 24/7 guest support and a local team right in town. That will save you the hassle of answering those late-night calls and texts from guests requesting the Wi-Fi password.2.

2. Bad pricing strategy

It can take time to book out the property so that you actually make an annual profit. Vacasa has exceptional marketing techniques and will make sure you’re priced at the best rate, even during off-season. They’ll customize your vacation home’s nightly rates to meet market demand, taking into account factors like local events, weather, and seasonality. Homeowners have earned an average of 20% more per year with Vacasa.*

3. Complicated sign-up process

Other companies make you go through long and drawn-out sign-up processes. Vacasa’s process is super simple. To start, they'll give your house a once-over to see if it's a good fit. Then they’ll share the management agreement — which you can cancel at any time with 90 days' notice. Once you're fully signed up, they send over a local professional vacation rental photographer to shoot your marketing photos and start building out your vacation rental listing.

4. Restrictions on your own vacations

It shouldn’t be a challenge to book a stay for yourself—or your family—in your own vacation home. Sadly, some management companies make you jump through hoops to book your own reservation. Or, worse, limit how many days you can stay. With Vacasa, you’ll have a personalized dashboard where you can see your home’s complete booking calendar, reserve personal vacation time, and review your earnings in real-time.

5. Too many additional vendors to hire

A vacation home requires many different services, like housekeepers, gardeners, plumbers, photographers, and more. With Vacasa, your local team will handle everything for you. Plus, work with vetted partners to care for your home. Goodbye collecting quotes. Forget about fielding calls from vendors and driving out to meet them.

Owning a vacation home and trying to manage it yourself is tricky. Vacasa is the ideal partner that can help take care of all your management needs.

Vacasa takes care of everything from listing properties to handling bookings to thoroughly cleaning your vacation home after every stay —all included in your management fee. They’ll also take care of targeted marketing through emails, social media, and Google.

Turn your vacation home into a dream property and flourishing investment. With Vacasa, there are no red flags, only green.

Easy. Customizable. Trustworthy. Learn how Vacasa can earn you more!

* Based on properties August 1, 2017 - January 1, 2019. Data includes 12 months before Vacasa and 12 months after onboarding.

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As you research the best tropical locations to invest in property, consider these areas. It's always best to find places becoming increasingly popular with travelers. It's also a good idea to take other aspects into account, such as weather, the cost of living, and susceptibility to disasters like hurricanes. When deciding on property to buy, you'll want to find places offering a lot of perks to incoming visitors. This way, you can obtain prime real estate, whether you indulge in the tropical life, rent to a growing tourist population, or sell to turn a profit. Central America and the Caribbean contain many affordable hidden gems.

Panama

Panama City Panama City

Panama is one country that many people overlook when it comes to purchasing property. Places like Boca del Toro offer sandy beaches, warm weather, and a great value for your money. With two national parks and the new addition of beachfront condos, an investment here can generate great returns in the rental market. This area of emerging real estate isn't particularly well-known, which makes it cheaper to invest in compared to other locations.

Dominican Republic

Doo Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic


If you like golf, you may want to turn your attention to the Dominican Republic. Places such as Punta Cana are among the most popular places to buy property. With one of the fastest-growing economies in the Caribbean, this area is famous among tourists for its pristine golf courses and beautiful scenic beaches. There are newly built condos and idyllic amenities accompanying the developing housing in the Dominican, making it very attractive to international investors.

Barbados

Barbados

Not only does Barbados offer the amazing weather of Panama and the dreamy luxuries of the Dominican Republic, such as shopping and fine dining, but it's also a hidden gem, and property investments will go a long way. Located just outside the hurricane belt, Barbados currently offers amazing deals for visitors, such as the 12-month Welcome Stamp. Many people from around the world are drawn to the area, and you may be able to rent your property to make a substantial profit.

There is a lot to consider when looking into the best tropical locations to invest in property. Pay attention to weather patterns, popularity, and islands offering the most to outside travelers. You want to take advantage of a prime location before anyone else gets the upper hand. Find the places making an effort to welcome visitors and keep them for a while. Long-term rentals are a great way to earn a profit quickly.

It's the dream: money you can count on to keep rolling in, even while you sleep.

Passive income isn't entirely passive, of course. You'll put in work up-front to get the profits rolling, so don't relax in your recliner just yet. But with so many potential sources of passive income available to you, picking one or several will mean that the day you can finally kick back will draw steadily closer.

Rental Properties

Real estate is a tried-and-true wealth builder for a simple reason: people will always need somewhere to live. Research the market in a growing community until you know a good deal when you see it. You can maximize rent by fixing up a deteriorating property or upgrading a mediocre one. The key is to hire a property manager to do all the day-to-day landlord duties for you—and you'll need a good one. Smart investors put their profits in another property and repeat the process until they have a diverse portfolio.

A YouTube Channel

You can start a blog if you're more comfortable hiding behind a computer, but consumers are more likely to prefer video content. Post a series of “how-to" videos to answer questions about whatever you're an expert in.

You can put up any content you want, but if you don't want to commit to regularly updating it, focus on “evergreen" topics that will draw clicks for eternity. Ads will create your income, especially if your channel grows in popularity. Better yet, sign up for affiliate marketing. If you recommend a product and provide a link to buy it, you'll get a small percentage of those transactions.

Auto Advertising

If you don't mind vinyl-wrapping your car with an ad for a company, you can get cash just driving around and running your errands. Make sure you contact a reputable company that doesn't ask for any money from you; if they're the real deal, they'll evaluate your car, your driving habits, your area, and more. Bonus: the brighter the ad, the easier it'll be to find your vehicle in the parking lot.

Digital Products

What's something that people will pay for but doesn't require shipping on your part? Finding that item is what can supplement your income indefinitely. Write an e-book, charge for your cross-stitching patterns, design prints that people can digitally download, invent an app, record a “masterclass," or whatever else you want. Every time someone new discovers it, the cash register rings. With a little more effort, this is a potential source of passive income for you that can continue to grow. Once you build up a customer base, they might want more products. The good part is that it's up to you whether you wish to give it to them.

Home garden and porch

As anyone who has ever sold a house will tell you, you must prioritize curb appeal. Before a potential buyer even considers looking inside your house, they notice the outside first. Does it attract the right kind of attention? Does it take away from the feel you're going for? If you plan to sell sometime soon, you must think about these things. Here are some landscaping options to increase your home's curb appeal, so you can get the best price on your home.

Extensive Plants and Greenery

A barren front yard won't get you the price you want on your home. So, invest in at least a little bit of greenery to keep the surrounding area from looking too dead. Shrubs and bushes tie the house to the lawn that precedes it, and flower beds bring a pop of color to an otherwise drab structure. You can also strategically plant some trees to improve the overall feel of your home's exterior.

Lawn Care

As we mentioned, your lawn is one of the most prominent features of your home's exterior. A patchy, dried-up lawn will quickly drive your home's price way down. Some of the best landscaping options for your home's curb appeal involve improving your lawn for the next inhabitant. Overall fertilization, ground aeration, underbrush removal, proper mowing—all of these lawn care tasks contribute to a greener and more lively area that invites people to see your house, rather than stay away from it.

Paved Pathways

There's nothing like a broken and disheveled pathway to make someone think twice about buying a property. Just as you want the entryway in your house to be welcoming, so too should the pathway leading up to the house be inviting. The pathway from the street to your front door provides plenty of real estate to get creative with. You don't have to settle for a boring concrete pathway. Consider something more eye catching, like a cobblestone path or intermittent brick patterns, as a way to better welcome potential buyers.

Usable Outdoor Furniture

Landscaping doesn't just involve the ground you walk on; also included are the items you use as extras to the overall look. Outdoor furniture is one such extra that you don't necessarily need but can look quite attractive if done correctly. Staging is important with outdoor furniture. Old, broken-down pieces will only look like more work to the potential buyer. A few comfortable chairs, a bench, or a table with an umbrella really go a long way to improving your outdoor aesthetics.

A good tip for deciding on curb appeal items is to decide what you personally would want to see as a part of a welcoming home's exterior. You don't need to go overboard, but a little bit of forethought could net you quite a lot of extra cash in the sale.