Thank you for choosing Caroline Taylor Properties to rent your Vineyard home. We welcome the opportunity to find tenants who will appreciate and care for your property, and look forward to working with you to meet this goal. If you have not yet listed your rental home with us, email or call today to give your rental property the market exposure it deserves.

Caroline Taylor Properties and Your Home
Our Rental Department’s primary role is finding renters, matching their needs/requirements with your Martha's Vineyard vacation home, and above all, ensuring that tenants are happy during their stay in your home. It doesn’t sound like much, but this work requires time and effort. Additionally, we process all the necessary lease paperwork and handle the disbursement of all rental monies. Therefore, while your rental agent may, at times, offer to assist with home maintenance tasks, it is important to recognize that Caroline Taylor Properties’ function is as a real estate agency not property management.

Federal Fair Housing Law
Caroline Taylor Properties upholds the Federal Fair Housing Law, which declares that “it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age of children, ancestry, marital status, veteran history, public assistance recipiency, deafness, other handicaps…”

Listing Your Property
The listing paperwork is essential in order to make an accurate representation of your property to prospective renters. Please take the time to fill in all details. The more we know, the more effectively we can work for you.

Advertising Your Home
In addition to our online rental property list, Caroline Taylor Properties advertises in local newspapers, as well as on our web site, the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce web site (www.mvy.com) and Martha’s Vineyard Online (www.mvol.com).

Payment for Your Martha's Vineyard Vacation Home
For most rentals, a deposit equal to half the total rent is required. We request that tenants remit this deposit within ten days after receipt of lease agreements. The deposit less our full commission will be mailed to you upon receipt. The balance of the rent plus security deposit is due 30 days prior to each tenant’s taking possession of your home. The rental balance and security deposit will be mailed to you upon receipt.

Security Deposit
Caroline Taylor Properties requires a security deposit on all rentals; in most cases, the fee is at least $100.00, 15% of the rental fee or whatever amount you request. Caroline Taylor Properties will not always inspect your home between renters. Unless notified to the contrary by you or the person responsible for checking your home on change-over days, security deposits need to be returned to renters within 30 days of their departure. If damage has occurred, or if the property is left in undesirable condition, we need PROMPT notification both by phone and in writing. Photographs are also helpful.

Cancellations and Deposit Refunds
If a tenant cancels his or her reservation after a deposit has been received, Caroline Taylor Properties’ policy requires that the property be re-rented for the same period of time before requesting that the landlord return the original tenant’s deposit. Occasionally, renters must cancel for extraordinary reasons such as a death in the family or emergency medical circumstances. When unusual situations of this type occur, most landlords return that tenant’s deposit.

Repairs and Maintenance
While your home may be in perfect working order at the start of the rental season, it is not unusual to have something go wrong, even within the first few weeks. In the majority of cases, the situation was just waiting to happen and the tenant was not responsible for normal wear and tear. Although we attempt to contact homeowners before making repairs of any kind, some conditions require immediate attention. From time to time it becomes necessary to use a handyman to handle minor repairs or problems that may occur. It would be best for you to develop a relationship with someone in each trade. This will benefit you as a landlord, because tenants deserve prompt resolution to problems. Caroline Taylor Properties is not a property manager, so having your contacts in place can save a tremendous amount of time. We always appreciate being advised of maintenance people you find to be reliable.

Lead Paint
By law, each landlord is required to provide valid information pertinent to the presence of lead paint in his or her home if its construction predates the year 1978. If your home has been deleaded, you will need to furnish the Rental Department with a copy of your lead paint certificate. If your home has not been deleaded, you will need to complete and sign a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Short-Term Vacation or Recreational Rental Exemption Notification. This form is valid for 1 year from the day you signed it and exempts you from deleading your home, provided that you certify that there is/will not be any chipping or peeling paint inside or outside of your home during each tenant’s occupancy.

Reporting Your Rental
By law, we are required to report your gross earnings on rentals to the IRS. Caroline Taylor Properties supplies each landlord with this information in January of each year. Changes or corrections can be made through February 27. At that time, Caroline Taylor Properties sends its 1099 copies to the IRS; therefore, corrections will not be made after that date.

Cleaning Your Vacation Home
In order to provide quality service to our renters and effective rental situations for each landlord, it is important that the homeowner hire a cleaning service for an initial spring cleaning as well as for cleaning between each set of tenants. The rental department can supply you with the names and phone numbers. We strongly urge you to include cleaning fees in the total rent amount so your renters do not have to write two separate checks.

Pets
Because of adverse effects on allergy sufferers, it is best not to permit renters to bring pets. Exceptions to the “no pet” restriction may be considered on a case-by-case basis, if you would like.

Smoking
Caroline Taylor Properties leases stipulate a “no smoking” restriction for all rental houses. It is imperative to realize that our Rental Department is unable to police this restriction. If you prefer no smoking on the entire premises, we must be notified.

THANK YOU
Thank you for choosing Caroline Taylor Properties to represent your vacation home. We look forward to serving your rental needs. Please remember that we have a very active sales department as well. We are happy to help your friends and family find their Martha's Vineyard vacation homes.