Thinking of buying and renting out a holiday home in America? Home rentals in the United States are different from ours. Before you buy a house there, there are a number of things to consider.

Short-term or long-term rentals

In America, a distinction is made between districts for short-term rental (‘short term rental’) and long-term rental (‘long term rental’). So before you buy a property, you have to make a choice in terms of how long to rent. It is not easy to change this afterwards, so it is best to think about this well in advance. You can compare ‘short-term rental’ with a holiday home or apartment. Everything else falls under ‘long-term rental’.

Rental management

If you live in the Netherlands yourself and rent out your second home in America, you need to hire a ‘property manager’. That person will handle everything to do with the rental and receive the rental fees. Look for a reliable person who lives close to the house. It is useful to have an extra ‘acquaintance’ close to the property who can take care of things if necessary, for example if there is a break-in or an electricity problem. That person can hand over the key to the landlord and it is just also pleasant to know that someone is there to keep an eye on things.

US taxes

If you rent out your property in the United States, you have to pay taxes to the US tax authorities. It is the job of the ‘property manager’ to get this right.