Still Thinking about Renting Your Home for the 2016 Republican National Convention? Here Are Some Common Misconceptions

Debating whether or not you should list your house for rental during the 2016 Republican National Convention? There's still plenty of time to get a piece of property on the market. We talked to David Resnik, a property manager for Howard Hanna Realty, to clear up some of the myths and rumors involved with renting out a home for the convention.

FACT: RNC attendees are looking for hotel rooms, but... 

Nearly all the hotel rooms in Cleveland are booked during the week of the convention, but plenty of visitors are still looking for a place to stay. Even if they can't get a hotel, they will most likely be looking for something similar.

A two- or three-bedroom house is probably more than what renters want, and it may not be as ideal as a smaller space such as an apartment.

"This is actually the big misconception right now," Resnik said. "The market seems to believe that just because they have a big piece of property, it's rentable for the RNC."

Location is also critical. The absolute best properties will be within walking distance of Quicken Loans Arena, but there may still be interest in homes in other neighborhoods or cities such as Lakewood that have access to public transportation.

Compared to previous convention cities like Tampa or Minneapolis, Cleveland has fewer downtown condos and more suburbs. Resnik predicts there will be some interest in locations such as Lakewood, Shaker Heights or Cleveland Heights.

The perfect property to rent out, according to Resnik, would be a high-end, one- or two-bedroom apartment in the downtown area within walking distance of the convention. A place like that could possibly earn around five figures, though it's difficult to know for sure.

FACT: It's almost impossible to predict how much renters will be willing to pay.

While previous convention towns offer a look at what the market may be like, it can't be compared directly to Cleveland. Until more rental properties have been signed for the 2016 convention, it's hard to predict what the average price here will be like.

"The real estate markets are vastly different than they are here," Resnik said. "Cleveland hasn't done anything like this."

He also expects there will be three tiers of renters - the extremely high-end constituents, willing to shell out the big bucks for a week; the middle-of-the road attendees such as staffers and media members; and the low-end renters like camera crews looking for a cheap place to stay. The prices for rental properties will likely cover a wide range.

At this point in time, nobody can say for certain how much Cleveland properties can be expected to earn, because the rental market still hasn't really started yet.

FACT: Your property won't be booked right away.

Resnik said there have been plenty of calls from people looking to rent out their home and expecting to find a willing guest within a week. In reality, that isn't the case.

"The market hasn't really started to move yet," Resnik said. He expects it to pick up within the next 30 to 90 days, but it could be even longer.

While plenty of rental properties are already listed for the RNC on a variety of sites, including Howard Hanna, Zillow, AirBNB, or others, very few of those have been picked up yet. Resnik said that potential renters may start making deals at any time.

"If you know you want to do it, go ahead and list it," Resnik said. Howard Hanna has no upfront fees for listing, so even if a property doesn't sell, it won't cost anything.

Every situation is expected to be different. For anyone still interested in trying to rent their home for the RNC, the best option would be to talk directly to a real estate agent for advice.