Please remember that when winter is here, its to late to winterize and the problems are already here. Fall is when its time to drain your vacation property of all water lines and blow them out with a compressor. If you already have a leak then its time to get Emerald Isle Maintenance to get out there and get it fixed, water damage is the worst thing that can hurt your rental income and your property investment. Call Emerald Isle maintenance for all your vacation rental needs. 252-764-2332

Having had some guest contact me after returning home from a vacation from a rented house on the island and their child was suffering from respiratory symptoms and went to a doctor and was told that they had probably picked this condition up after being exposed to molds of some kind that caused this reaction in their child. Their doctor told them that this was the #1 CAUSE OF ALERGIC REACTIONS. Molds can grow all around and are on everything, but there are some that can be real bad for infants and elderly people and are often referred to as Black Mold. Things to look for when Black Mold is present,discoloration of baseboards, wallboard,wallpaper, any water penetration marks on walls, mold spots on air conditioner vents, cracks in shower tiles and around poorly caulked tubs, under windows are all areas where you can find these molds. They asked me how can they in the future be sure the home is free of molds. Well they do have a self mold test kit and it does let you know of any presents in about 24 hrs. More info at www.prolabinc.com/ is available. They are easy to use and are sold at CVS,Ace Hardware, Lowe's,True value and many more stores. They also have test kits for Radon gas,carbon dioxide,pesticides,even water so if you pick up one of these for your next vacation and check for yourself you may get a big re-fund from a bacteria spreading landlord. I hope this helps someone out there trying to have that great vacation in Emerald Isle NC. Bloggen Darren at  Emerald Isle Maintenance   252-764-2332    emeraldislemaintenance@gmail.com

While the big deep pockets of the islands biggest real estate companies didn't help with the Fire works they sure are enjoying the benefits of the vacationers here to Emerald isle. Must have been the vacation the owners took to Hawaii that busted the budget ? Or maybe it is the big motor home the other owner drives around that has them not wanting to put up the funds for fireworks for their guests they had for the 4th of July weekend. They take alot from the town and should put a little back into it. Many town residents spend all summer facing their checking in and checking out traffic, which in turns causes accidents, which takes police , which we tax payers pay for and it goes on, and on. Tax payers have also paid for the keys to be handed out after hours to guest, till this year when someone open their eye's to it. I think the town of Emerald Isle needs to ask the big real estate companies who do the benefiting from vacationers most to ask them for firework funds for their guest. I just hope next year that the big guys will step up to the plate and help out the town to have the best show around. Signed only hurting yourself, Darren the blogger

This is a new time in vacation rentals, where the homeowner is renting his own property and dealing with guest's and housekeepers and a maintenance man, yes a little more work but owners are finding that it keeps there vacation property rented and they know whats going on at all times. The Internet has made renting your vacation property easy and is now the way to rent a vacation rental. The larger companies are seeing big short falls in rentals and this is from over pricing their services and under paying their employee's. With them having to take their percentage and charge you for everything they do with big mark-ups its know wonder they are seeing this short fall in bookings. I painted a unit last week and the home owner said they only have 4 weeks rented, I told them that I know this new place that everyone is going and renting their property themselves and they are all full. I gave her the web sites I have seen work and she called today saying "This is the way" she had booked 3 weeks in 4 days. vrbo.com and crystalcoastrentals.net were the two sites and they seem to be really booking some properties. Another homeowner who has a large rental and it to is booked solid from them renting themselves and 78% of the rental were booked by them, he asked me do you think I should have to pay them for the rentals that are not made by them? I replied surely not. Well to beat the band he said it was their policy to be paid for this. I laughed and said what a joke ,now you pay them for something you did,  and know wonder they are floundering in bookings. All I can say is if you are not seeing your vacation rental making you money you might have to do what these people did and put your home on vrbo.com and crystalcoastrentals.net and see what you have been missing by letting someone else run the show and you be the loser in the end. No one will look after your property better than you, but I will help. Darren Tupper  Emerald Isle Maintenance and Caretaker service 252-764-2332

  Many homeowners on the Crystal Coast are seeing full to capacity. VRBO has made renting easy and affordable to both homeowners and renters. People who wanted to rent their homes here in Emerald Isle have done far better than the rental companies in renting there property this year. I have been talking to a lot of homeowners and they are very unhappy with not having their property rented. Its to bad that the big rental companies don't put your homes on VRBO as it seems this would make both them and you money. Seems like common sense to me as they make their money when its rented. If homeowners are tired of not having their homes rented they should pay the 269.00 a year and rent their home themselves and keep the money coming in rather than letting your property sit vacant costing you money. Its time to see the light and stop letting your rental cost you money and start making you some money. Most my clients with the big real estate companies are not very booked at all, and clients with VRBO are booked slam full. It don't take much to see this light. Full or not full you make the choice. Put your rental on VRBO and crystalcoastrentals.net and keep your vacation rental full. When you need the best in Maintenance call Emerald Isle Maintenance 252-764-2332 where here 24/7 at your service.

This week starts the booking of many Vacation rental properties. Many satisfied homeowners are seeing big returns in working with web based Vacation Rental Sites. Others are wondering when they are coming. If your one of the lucky ones to see that this is working in getting your property full on your rental calender you know that with the increase of rentals through these channels has opened up doors you never thought possible. And with the economy in  a savings mode you are seeing the best saving ever in your vacation rental investment. If you do your own renting or have a caretaker using this method is proving to be the best most cost efficient way to rent your property on a more steady basis. The larger rental companies are offering big savings also, but they are offering it from your rental income not their fee from your rental. So you are saving none and paying more to keep them working your vacation rental for you. Many properties have seen the light and with the monies that were saved from last years rentals they are updating there property investment and not dipping into there wallets to do so. That's how is suppose to work but if your paying inflated rates on cleaning, maintenance,yard service, pest service, beach gear, and anything else that's done its hard to make your investment bring in the monies it should. By renting yourself or though a Caretaker you have a better idea on what the overhead really is for your rental. The big difference from your Caretaker and Larger Vacation rentals is how much you pay. At the hardware store we get a discount and its passed on to are clients with no mark-up. The larger company also gets a bigger discount and then add on 8-20% more to your item on your bill, So he's really double dipping you for that Item. Now who do you want to get that bill from? Yes like I said I can save you money in every direction with your rental. Call Emerald Isle Maintenance and Caretakers at 252-764-2332  emeraldislmaintenance@gmail.com

I have had some good info to share with Vacation homeowners that the larger rental companies don't want you to know. First is that they are losing the battle to renting your Vacation property to it's full potential. Many of my clients have both the large Vacation rental company and also are renting themselves on web sites like vrbo.com and crysyalcoastrentals.net and are finding that they are getting more rentals from doing just a little bit more. Some have also used craigslist.com and found that they are getting a lot through this site but it must be up dated frequently, but it does work. I have a high dollar rental property that uses both the large rental company and web based sites and they have found that they are renting more themselves than the big rental company is. They have rented themselves 65% and the rental company has rented it 35%, with odds like this it's know wonder vacation homeowners are looking to boost business and save money by doing a little work themselves and rep-ping the benefits also. With the larger vacation rental companies you have to deal with large mark ups. From your cleaning, maintenance, yard care, to it's personnel that is all marked up to make them money and to put less in your wallet. It starts with labor, they pay 12.00 hr to their maintenance man and you pay as much as 65.00 an hr. Sure a big mark up as they will also mark up your other needs such as parts from the hardware store to the cleaning people they have to get anther bite out of your wallet. At the end you are stuck with all the expenses and they have the profit. Well times have changed and you can keep a lot more of your profit by just doing a little work yourself or having a caretaker do it for you. Here at Emerald Isle Maintenance we don't add on to your parts, if we pay 9.99 you pay 9.99, why should we mark up parts when we charge by the hour? If you would like to have your property looked after by cost efficient company call Emerald Isle Maintenance and we can help you get in the swing of things instead of getting hit by high prices for nothing. Thanks to everyone who has seen the light and making my business a little brighter for us both.  Darren Tupper c/o Emerald Isle Maintenance and Caretakers. emeraldislemaintenance@gmail.com or call 252-764-2332

Having seen what you pay for from bigger real estate companies and what you receive has made me a true believer that when renting through Rental companies you are paying for a lot and not getting yours in return. Are your vacation rentals down? Are you having  problems with your guests not returning? Have you thought someone was in your unit when you went there? Do you feel you are over charged? Do you feel like the people you are paying big money to keep your property clean and rented are not doing there job? If you answered yes to any of these questions you might want to try renting yourself or with a caretaker. Having geared my business for people who are seeing the light, and the guest arriving faster than ever you may want to try this yourself. I have asked my clients there average of renting through a big real estate company, I have some who do both and they are averaging better themselves when booking there properties, about 60% themselves and 40% through the vacation rental company. Granted this is my clients and some may vary in percentages but the good thing is they tried it and it works. If you would like to have a caretaker over-see your vacation rental call Emerald Isle Maintenance and we can offer some of the best service there is at this time. emeraldislemaintenance@gmail.com

 Many homeowners have put their 2ND homes up for rent and are renting them out to monthly tenants to boost there revenue as they can't sell the home at this time or don't want to sell it with the real estate bottomed out like it has so they choose to rent it and get back some of there investment. Many have a caretaker to check on their investment and have a monthly service plan like Emerald Isle Maintenance and Caretakers offer that looks after your property for you, all  you do is collect the rent and they do the rest from plumbing leaks to painting. With this service plan you have a 24/7 maintenance man at your service for a very low rate with no service call charges. This is a must for the homeowner that rents himself, check out the plan at emeraldislemaintenance.com and you will see that its the best in town. Also give us a call for all your needs at 252-764-2332  or e-mail us at  emeraldislemaintenance@gmail.com

 The economy has made things better for select few. With rentals being down for major rental companies and them having to offer discounts to guests, homeowners renting themselves through vacation rental on-line services like vrbo.com and crystalcoastrentals.net are seeing big returns for the little amount of time and money they spent. Many are full and some just have a few weeks to offer for rent left. This is good for the homeowner as it saves a lot of money and also has the place rented with out the worries. There is no percentage paid to the on-line company, some have a low rate usually under 300.00 dollars that gives you a year of on-line marketing and rental service they offer, some like crystalcoastrentals.net are free to there homeowners and work very well. Many are finding that a on-line rental and a caretaker is all they need to have a perfect rental. Caretakers like Emerald Isle Maintenance offer everything you need to rent your vacation rental and keep your guests happy.  Many like this because it gives them more over-seeing to who rents their property and this brings property damages way down also as the guest in has a relationship with the owner that is not found in vacation rental companies. Emerald Isle maintenance and Caretaker can handle any service issue 24/7 and offers a great maintenance plan for $19.99 mo. and has some great rental Ideas also for you from key less entry coded door knobs to tips on keeping your service calls way down also. Give them a shout at 252-764-2332 or e-mail them at emeraldislemaintenance@gmail.com  Also check out the plan at emeraldislemaintenance.com