Curious about what’s been developing since the vacation rental ordinances in South Lake Tahoe went into effect? We represented a party this fall that purchased a cabin that was intended for a vacation rental. It was a bit bumpy as the process had just started right at the beginning of our escrow. The good news is that the City did work with us when their process wasn’t congruent with a time sensitive escrow. Both the City, our clients and ourselves learned quite a bit.
One big piece of advice that we can give to our clients getting ready to sell their home is to get a copy of the checklist and make your property “vacation rental ready” for a buyer. This will attract buyers who may be reticent to purchase a property that has to go through the process while in escrow.
The checklist and more can be found at http://www.cityofslt.us/vhr. The form can be found at the bottom of the page.
VHR Enforcement Police are definitely going after non-permitted vacation rentals now. As of mid-December we received a report that they targeted 21 violators. Penalties for operating without a VHR permit (within city limits) include a $5000 dollar fine, pay back taxes or get a lien on your property, risk your ability to get a VHR permit in the future.
Please let us know if you have any questions and pass the word to friends and neighbors that if they are thinking of selling their home within city limits to talk to us about the benefit of getting their home ready to appeal to a larger pool of buyers.
