I need confirmation from the experts regarding our assumption for the rental availability date for our Colorado condominium. We decided to enlist an agency (Vacasa) and brought them on in June 2023 to manage the rental process for our condo. Our condo was ready and available to rent in July; however some good friends of ours were preparing for a large wedding for their daughter in the area and we offered to let them stay at our condo during the middle of July until the wedding on July 26. Since they were friends we did not charge them a rental fee and we did not use Vacasa for this purpose. Unfortunately, following the wedding, one of the guests fell asleep in the tub and overflowed water into the bathroom and adjacent bedroom. The damage was fairly extensive ....my wife and I arrived on August 1 after calling the insurance company and we spent two weeks using heated blowers to dry out the condo and received an insurance check for $3500 to repair the damage. We met with realtors, contractors, etc and following these meetings decided to perform a remodel (new flooring, paint, new fireplace surround, extra cabinets, new fixtures, lighting ceiling fans, new appliances, etc) since the condo was dated and we could combine the repairs with the remodel. We worked for two weeks in August buying boxes, wrapping paper and vacuum bags, packing art, small items and consumables, and covering and moving furniture prior to the remodel. Our remodel occurred from Sept 15 to Nov 28, and shortly thereafter we returned to the condo to return it to a normal state, basically performing similar maintenance activities related to unpacking that we did in August for the packing . Following this, we obtained rental income ( 5 days) in December and have enjoyed good rental income so far in 2024. We had zero days of personal use after July 26.
The question I have is what should we assume in 2023 for the beginning of our rental availability. We were ready and able to rent the condo in July, but used it to house our friends for their wedding preparation and obtained no rental income. Following the damage recovery and subsequent remodel, we were 'out of commission' until December. During that time we never used the condo for 'personal use'....we were constantly working during the two trips we made in August and December to recover and subsequently rent the condo.
