Renting out the family getaway

Howard Craft is one of four adult children who inherited a lakeside cabin from their parents. Every year, the kids gather for a dinner meeting to decide the dates that the individual families will use the popular getaway, assign cleanup chores and discuss possible improvements to the aging structure.

For the first time since the parents stopped their summer residency at the lake place, none of the four children could schedule vacation time to take advantage of the family cabin. Two of the siblings had moved out of the area to take different jobs and could not justify the costs to return to the North Cascades for vacation.

Another, Howard, had accepted a teaching job in New Zealand for a semester, and the fourth felt pinched by the economy and had decided to postpone any vacation time away from work.

"We didn't know how to best go about renting the place," said Howard, the sibling headed to New Zealand. "We weren't real eager about paying a property management company and there really wasn't one company specializing in the area.

"It turned out that when we got the word out that our cabin might be available, most of the available time was requested by people we had known for years at the lake. They had family visiting from out of town or had friends they wanted to host but did not have enough room for them. It actually turned out great because we were able to rent to people we knew -- people who would take care and look out for us," Howard said.

The Craft situation is not uncommon. Most second-home owners are surprised by the number of friends and neighbors who would rent given the chance. They also are surprised with how easily potential renters can be found on the Internet, but one nagging thought continues to cloud the issue: What if I get a bad set of renters and they trash my beloved getaway haven?

According to Christine Karpinski, author of "How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner," the key to worry-free renting is to have a system in place that allows you to properly screen your guests long before they settle in for their stay.

"Much like how employers interview job applicants and worried parents scrutinize new babysitters, you must properly vet your potential renters," Karpinski said. "However, very rarely have I run into a problem with one of my renters. If you use common sense and ask the right questions, most of the time vacation rentals work out just fine." ...CONTINUED

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