Owning a vacation home is no vacation

When Blythe Graham-Jones and her husband, Cody Liebman, bought a $635,000 home in East Hampton,the Brooklyn couple’s plan was simple: Kick back there in the off-months, rent it out in the summer, let the property pay for itself.

Nearly one in three personal vacation homes double as rentals—and as the owners’ first forays into real estate investing. Still, as Graham-Jones soon discovered, “renting your own home is a tricky balance.” Here’s why.

Your stuff gets trashed—or stolen

“Things often broke, got stained, or accidentally ’walked off,’” Graham-Jones recalls about allowing guests into their house. Luckily, “It helped that I had a two-year-old and was expecting our second. I designed the house as chic as I could, but also to withstand toddlers so that it could withstand renters, too. I prioritized washable, durable furnishings. When I did invest, it was in light fixtures and tile that were difficult to mess up.”

To protect their personal belongings, they kept a closet off-limits to guests. “But it was difficult to remember what was there versus what was at home,” she says. “Eventually, we removed all our stuff. It was simpler to pack as if we were going to a hotel versus trying to think through what should stay there.”

It’s hard to relax if you’re renovating

Given that they were aiming for five-star reviews from guests, the couple took out a $250k HELOC to open the floor plan and raise the ceilings…and officially transform their “getaway” into a second job.

“We’d drive out from Brooklyn for a ‘vacation’ with our kids, but use that time to cram in projects or line up hours of contractor meetings,” Graham-Jones says. “My husband certainly didn’t want to spend the weekend painting or picking up furniture, but I got him to do it anyway. We’d often drag my parents or others in on projects, too.”

You might also be torn between designing for yourself and for your guests. How she deals: “When we’re renovating a property, my husband and I decide ahead of time: Are we renovating to maximize resale value, or how much we can rent it for, or to make me like it the most? The best projects have one single-minded objective. If you’re trying to do all three, you’re going to water them all down, unless you have a limitless budget.”

But these compromises eventually pay off

In 2026, the couple sold the first house for $1.95 million—triple what they paid nine years earlier. Graham-Jones also quit her job in advertising to transition from weekend warrior to full-time flipper. Her success even inspired her mother and mother-in-law to turn their own family properties into Airbnbs. However, “the way renters moved things around in the kitchen initially drove them nuts!” Graham-Jones says. “They eventually became more immune. I’m fully detached from it, because I’ve decided the benefit of rental income is more important than the nuisance.”

And despite the messy boundaries, she thinks homeowners who open their homes to guests bring something extra. “You can feel the difference when you rent an Airbnb that the owner has never set foot in,” Graham-Jones says. “The houses that have been loved by the owners are the ones that are actually the most enjoyable to stay in. This is why, when we’re setting up a new property as a rental, we stay in it for a month or so to work out any kinks.”