Rustic, well-lit bedroom
March 23, 2017

Why an Owner’s Closet Is Important and How Your Property Manager Can Ensure It Stays Secure

Growing up, my parents always maintained locked “owner’s closets” in all of our vacation homes. These owner’s closets that were filled with all kinds of goodies, from toys and recreational equipment to snacks, and even my mom’s favorite set of Egyptian cotton bedsheets (sheets that were consistently stolen if we left them out for general use by our guests).

It wasn’t until I was an adult with my own vacation rental that I fully appreciated the value of a locked owner’s closet (or three). In fact, I’d (wrongly) assumed that every vacation home was equipped with owner’s closets until I stayed at a friend’s vacation rental.

 

What Is an Owner’s Closet and Why Do You Need One?

An owner’s closet provides property owners with a secure, convenient place to stow many of the items that they want to keep at the home but do not wish to share with guests. An owner’s closet can help make for a much easier pre-trip packing process, while even helping you save money because you won’t need to rent or purchase certain items, like bikes, for example, on each trip.

Some common items that you may keep in an owner’s closet include:

  • Clothing
  • Toys
  • Bikes and sporting equipment
  • Non-perishable snacks
  • Bedding
  • Toiletries
  • Cleaning products
  • Any other personal items that you’d like to keep at your vacation home

The reality is that guests are not going to use your vacation home’s hall closets, so they’re a great pick when choosing which closets to use as locked owner’s closets. And while the bedroom closets may see some guest usage, you may opt to keep one (or more) as a locked storage area. The guests generally won’t complain as long as you provide a dresser or armoire.

In addition, if your vacation home has a garage or shed area, you can convert these into locked storage areas. A large locker can be a great addition to the garage, while you can simply affix a lock to an outdoor shed to transform it into a more secure storage area.

 

How Can You Work With Your Property Manager to Secure Your Owner’s Closet?

If you opt to create one or more secured owner’s closets (or other locked storage areas), it’s important that you notify your property manager so that they can ensure these areas remain secure.

It’s also wise to provide your property manager with the combination or an extra set of keys to any locked storage areas, as you never know when they may need to access the storage area in your absence. For example, one of our storage closets has small slats in the door, and a small rodent once made its way into it and produced a strong odor. This was obviously something that needed to be handled immediately!

So it helped that our property manager had a key to the closet so the issue could be handled quickly without having to call a locksmith or break down the door. Also, if you were to forget your keys at home, you could simply make a new copy from your property manager’s set of keys.

Property owners should also provide their property manager with an inventory of the items in each locked storage area. This way, if one of the closets or other storage areas is compromised, your property manager can take a few minutes to perform a quick inventory of the contents to determine if anything of value has been taken. If something of value is missing, you can bill the guest who was staying at the vacation rental when the storage area was accessed.

If you’re seeking the perfect property manager for your vacation home, Rented.com can help. We help match vacation rental homeowners with the right local property managers. Many of the property managers we work with offer a guaranteed income, so you receive a set monthly amount regardless of bookings. To see what property managers in your area can offer, get started today by creating a free private profile on Rented.com.

Lead image: kirkandmimi via Pixabay

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