Buying and renting

[deerejohn]

I would love to own a compact tractor. Unfortunatley my current fiscal limitations are getting in the way. I have thought about getting one on the zero down, zero percent plans offered and renting it out a few days a quarter to pay the loan off. Every time I go the local rental store their tractor is booked for weeks in advance. They charge $275/day with delivery of between $30 and $125 (depending on distance from shop). With rental fees like that I would need to rent it out 15-20 days per year to pay the loan.

Has anyone had any experience with this type of program. Certainly there are pitfalls (damage to tractor, etc)...Does use in rental programs void warranties on new equipment?

I would like something in the 25-30 HP range, HST, bucket, backhoe, and possibly snow blower.

 

[Dmace]

I have not tried this myself, but I would be interested to hear from others who have.
What kind of insurance would you need for this and how expensive would that be.
If someone rents one and rolls it on it's side and breaks his/her arm. Who gets the bill, their homeowners or you ?
I have gone as far as letting family use it for a small fee and odd jobs around the development with me operating. But never full rental.

 

[cp1969]

The only way I would rent mine out would be INCLUDING operator--me.

People simply have no respect for the property of others.

 

[HGM]

I completely agree....... If you have ever rented anything that has been rented for a year or two, you'll know why.. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

If its not mine- I Dont care.......(typical mentality)

On the other hand, I have thought about covering the payment with service. You could plan 2-3 Saturdays per month operating your equipment for hire. The only issue there is, if you are hired and something happens, cut a water main, fall a tree into a house, etc... Who is responsible? /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[hudr]

I don't like letting anything leave my property w/o me there to supervise or use it. No matter how carefully they are screened, people who rent stuff are just not (normally) going to treat it like it is theirs. I mostly loan to family (immediate family) and I think the only reason they take care of it is because they know I will eventually borrow something of theirs /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
And there is the aforementioned problem of insurance, to protect both you and the renter. I have seen this line of logic before :" if he hadn't rented to my husband,father,son,life-partner then husband,father,son,life-partner wouldn't have gotten hurt"
I would say save your $$$ and pay for the tractor on your own terms.

 

[RonR]

I think the cost of the tractor is not the only consideration. Are you going to deliver it? On a trailer you own? You going to pay for the maintenance and repair parts?

And Insurance to protect your investment? My guess is you would have trouble finding someone that will issue you insurance for some other person to operate and you charge rent.

I've figured this six ways from Sunday on the CUT & stuff I own for it. I figure if I charge $50/hour, I'm probably only making $10 an hour for my time operating it. To make it a paying venture, I think you need to be able to figure between $60-100 / hour.

I'm still trying to make some bucks with mine, and now that I'm retired, it might be easier. Just making the loan costs is only part of the story to me.

My two cents.
ron