Travel Rn interest, any experience in renting out residence while on assignment?

[HarmlessDonut]

New RN med surg 9 months, have an interview for ICU transfer tomorrow. Would work in ICU another year for experience then apply to travel agencies. Currently work in a hospital right outside South Philly. Looking to buy a cheap vacation type home in the Pocono mountain area. Property taxes are cheap for the "tax home". I was thinking of commuting to my hospital (1 1/2 hour away) until I got an assignment then going prn at my hospital. While im traveling my husband and dog would come with me and he would put the house up on VRBO or airbnb to rent out per day or per week for vacation rentals. In between assignments we could live at the house. Is this a stupid idea? Would this ever work? Anyone have experience doing this?

[NedRN]

Interesting question. I think that daily rentals will keep your tax home status intact but I would check with a tax specialist. There are often inquiries here about renting out your house/apartment while traveling. That does break your tax home. The workaround I usually suggest, assuming the property is suitable, is get a housemate for a second bedroom. That is legit.

[oceanblue52]

I know several people that do this. It can be viable, but another issue to consider is who will manage it while you are away. It needs to be cleaned in between guests, someone needs to be close by or available 24/7 via phone to address maintenance issues (e.g heat going out at 2 AM on a Sun morning, will you have space heaters available as backup?). I helped a friend out with one of their properties and I got called out on an emergency to scoop up raccoon poop from the balcony. It sounds ridiculous but some guests are REALLY high maintenance, especially when renting out a vacation spot. Same guests will be emailing/calling non-stop to get info when you are working.

Would also look at other properties in the area and see what their calendars look like to get a better feel for demand. Also tax issues and local ordinances can be a headache. Can certainly be done but it is quite a lot of work and it can be difficult to produce a profit if you are not in a high demand area and don't have good systems in place. Other people manage it though so it's definitely an interesting idea if you plan for contingencies.