Long Term vs. Short Term letting in Aberdeenshire

Here at PMC, we offer the management of both long-term rental properties and short-term holiday lets, such as Airbnb properties. Deciding how and where to list your property can be a tricky decision, and a lot of factors play into what will work best for your property. In our latest blog post, we break down the pros and cons of each option to help you find the best route for you and your property.

What is a long-term let?

A long-term let is a rolling month-to-month, legally binding agreement and is generally the standard option for many landlords renting out their property. Tenants are legally bound to the terms of the lease, including paying the rent, utilities, and notice periods. 

What is a short-term or holiday let?

A short-term let is typically a rental that is under six months, but more often range between one night and a couple of weeks. Short-term lets allow guests to stay in serviced homes, with bills, maintenance and WiFi all taken care of. 

Why Choose a Holiday Let?

• More flexibility

  With a holiday let, you can fully manage the available dates or even times of year that your guests can check in to your property. This is great if you would like to do work on the property without having tenants get in the way. You can also block out dates so you can use the house for yourself or friends and family whenever you fancy a wee getaway!

• Upfront payments

  With short lets, you are able to take payments, or at least deposits, up front. This means you don’t have as much of a worry about tenants not paying rent as the payment is guaranteed before their stay.

• Potential for higher monthly return

  With short lets, you have the potential to earn a larger profit from your property as you can charge a higher nightly rate than long-term letting. Here at PMC, we can keep you on the right track when you are setting your prices. We look at your competitors in the area, the quality of your property, location and peak times for visitors when considering this, but generally, you will have a higher average monthly return from short-term letting.

• New short term let licencing

  Whilst a large amount of background work is required to obtain the correct licence for your short let property, the new regulations within in the industry allow for higher quality holiday let properties to shine. Part of the service PMC offer is managing the application process, and we keep you updated and on the right track throughout.

Short Let - Cons

• Hard work throughout the year

  It can be hard work managing guests and bookings for your property, and cleaning, changing beds, restocking, and checking guests in will take up a lot of your own time week after week. At PMC, we can help with this and offer different levels of holiday let management to best suit you and your lifestyle, from a fully managed service to a bespoke service created to suit your requirements. You can find out more about this here.

• Location makes a big difference

  This point could be considered as both a Pro and a Con depending on your property, however, location can make a big difference when you are considering the best options for letting out your property as a holiday property. A cottage on the seafront which is miles away from towns or cities will be more appealing to holiday makers than a tenant who has to travel to work every day. This goes both ways too, as a house in a town with good schools and transport links may be better suited to long term renters. At PMC, our lettings team can help you consider the best options for your house type and location.

• Fluctuating income

  Income from a holiday let relies on having guests to stay at your property throughout the year. The tourism industry will have high and low seasons depending on your location, and this will have an effect on the volume of guests looking to stay in your property too. Unlike long-term letting, where you will receive guaranteed rent on a monthly basis from your tenants, holiday lets are not always as steady. You may have an influx of bookings over the summer period or during popular events, and quieter times of the year to plan and save for.

  At PMC, we use state of the art software to carefully consider your nightly rates and ensure these rates are adjusted to maximise your income throughout the year.

• Higher running costs

  Unlike a long-term rental property, where tenants pay their own bills and do their own cleaning, holiday lets have a lot more upfront and outgoing expenses to consider. Energy bills, council tax, and phone or internet connections will all be covered by you, the property owner, along with wear and tear items requiring more frequent replacement.  

Why choose long-term rental?

• Guaranteed income

  With a long term rental agreement, you will have a guaranteed income every month once you have tenants in place to help cover your mortgage and expenses.

• Reliable tenants

  With a long term let, you can ensure you have good, reliable tenants who will stay in and look after your property. At PMC, we can help you to find the perfect tenants by meeting them in person and performing background checks for you. Good tenants can also help you to keep on top of property maintenance as they are more likely to flag any issues within the property than holiday guests.

• No seasonal variation in your income

  Unlike holiday lets, where the income you make can vary depending on the season, you will receive the same total for rent every month, minus any repairs or expenses for your property.

• You don’t need to furnish your property

  When you are starting your letting journey, one thing our team will ask you about is whether you would like to list your property as furnished or unfurnished. If you would prefer to list unfurnished, this means you have fewer upfront expenses for the property, and don’t need to provide tenants with furniture, crockery, linens as you would with a holiday let.

Long Term Rental - Cons

• It’s not as easy to refurbish your property

  In a long term rental, you will have sitting tenants in your property with few free periods between tenants. This can make the timing of refurbishing or making improvements to your property difficult, unlike a short-term let where you can easily block out time between guests.

• You may not make as much as a holiday let overall

  Where the rates you can charge for a holiday let are higher due to the short stays and high turnover of guests, rent for a long term let is fixed at the same rate month on month. This means you will have a higher turnover for a holiday let at certain times of the year but with a long term let, you will have a fixed yet steady rate that you can rely on.

• Difficult tenants can be difficult to move on

  When letting out your property long-term, PMC will always help you to find the best tenants, however, you can occasionally get difficult tenants staying with you. Unlike a holiday property where guests will stay for a maximum of 2-3 weeks, tenants on a long term rental have the safety of government legislation which more often than not shall favour the tenant as appose to the landlord, and can result in a lengthy process of eviction.

• You can’t use the property for your own stays

  Unfortunately, when you have a tenant staying in your property, you can’t pop in or stay with them when you fancy a holiday, as you can with a short term let property. If you have a property that you love and would like to use when you are visiting the area, this could be something to consider.

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Still unsure? PMC can help you decide!

Here at PMC Property Management & Lettings, we can help you discover the best options for your property, location and personal situation. Not only do we offer a bespoke lettings service for long term rentals, but we have recently launched our Short Let Management service, where we can manage check-ins, cleaning of the property, and even topping up the loo roll. We have excellent knowledge of the Aberdeenshire area for holiday lets, and use state-of-the-art analytics specific to your location to ensure you get the pricing just right from season to season. Our team also offer an interior design and property staging service to help you to get your property looking tip-top to attract the right guests and increase your income.

Get in touch with our Lettings team to find our more about our unique services for both long-term residential lettings and short term holiday lets.