There is one fundamental truth behind successful rental home ownership. It will put everything that follows into perspective. If you remember this, and keep it in mind whenever you have a decision to make, you are on the road to success. It is this:

Be in control of every aspect of rental home ownership yourself.

Trust no-one, check on everyone. The dreams of many homeowners have failed because they believed everything they were told, and let things happen, or not happen, without putting any safeguards and checks in place.

Being in control does not mean that you have to do everything yourself. If you live several thousand miles away from your villa, as most rental home owners do, this is not practical. What it does mean is that you need to allocate time to always be aware of what is happening to your second home, however far away you are.

Ask yourself why you bought, or are thinking of buying, a vacation home. Very few owners will say that it was solely as a business investment, to make money, although most buyers will hope that it will do so as a bonus. Most will say that they bought their second home as a base to enjoy their vacations, and hopefully to pay for their investment over the rest of the year.

You own two homes. One that you live in some of the time, the other that you live in the rest of the time. They are both your homes. You should have the same empathy with your second home as you have with your first. You need to be continually aware that your home in Florida is just that, it is your home. You must make sure that everyone else who comes into contact with your home in Florida knows it, too, your management company, your pool man, your cleaners, and, perhaps most important of all, your guests.

There are several things you can do to keep control, or if necessary recover control, of your second home and of the rental process. None of them calls for you to give up your job and move to Florida. Most call for nothing more than a change in approach. Those that do demand your time are very cost-effective. The potential effect on the profitability of your rental home is enormous.