What should I ask about how a cottage rental portfolio’s owners are paid?

Start with the owner agreements. Read how each owner is paid, what the manager keeps, and which costs come out before the owner sees a cheque. Cleaning, repairs, supplies and booking-platform fees may be deducted at different points, so ask for a sample statement from a busy month and one from a quiet month for the same cottage.

Then follow the money. Find out whether guest payments sit in a separate account or in the company’s own, and whether owners have ever been paid late when bookings were slow. Ask if any owner has disputed a statement, asked for changes or left, and how each case was settled.

Finally, ask which agreements pass to you and which need the owner’s consent. A portfolio is only as steady as the owners who stay with it, so ask whether you may speak with a few of them, with the seller’s knowledge, before you commit. Keep in mind that owners compare notes. If one hears that another was paid sooner or on better terms, the conversation turns quickly, so ask whether payment terms are the same across the portfolio or vary by owner.

Key takeaways

• Get sample owner statements from both a busy and a quiet month.
• Find out where guest money sits before owners are paid.
• Ask which owner agreements transfer and which need consent.
• Ask whether any owners are paid on different terms from the rest.