Lakefront Nightly Vacation Homes in SC & Renting Out Your Investment Lake Homes South Carolina

South Carolina lakefront homes are very abundant and travelers looking to vacation here at one of our beautiful lakes have a lot to choose from. If you are an owner of a lake home in South Carolina who’s looking to make rental income on your lake home which online company is best for you? Is self-management something you want to do with your property? 

SC LAKE HOMES FOR RENT – LIST YOUR HOME NOW

As a South Carolina real estate expert from the state of South Carolina, I am familiar with most of, if not all of the major lakes in the state. I have stayed or been on almost all of them at some point in my life. Looking to travel and spend a week or weekend on one of the lakes in South Carolina, I will break down the difference in each one for you. Many of my clients who purchase lake homes often want to spend some time on the lake and rent a home for a week to get an idea of the area prior to pulling the trigger on buying a lakefront house, condo or lot. Something to keep in mind when looking for a weekly lake home to rent. You’ll probably only find homes that are not in an HOA standard suburban community because most neighborhoods will not allow short-term rentals as they would in say Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach. Our clients have found that VRBO and BOOKING.COM are the best online platforms for listing their properties for nightly & weekly bookings vs Airbnb. 

First, you have to understand the difference in the regions of SC. There are essentially three separate regions, The Upstate, The Midlands, and the Coastal. 

THE UPSTATE

The upstate of South Carolina has 3 major lakes, 4 other smaller lakes, (and a river) all of which are reservoirs as a result of damming up the Broad, Savannah, Tugaloo, Senaca or Keowee rivers. The upstate is the northeastern part of the state surrounding Greenville & Spartanburg counties with the closest large metro city being Greenville, the second largest and fastest growing city in South Carolina. There are many smaller towns within a 30 min drive of Greenville. 

• LAKE KEOWEE – Located in 4 different small towns Lake Keowee is It is approximately 26 miles a result of a dam being built by Duke Power company to provide electricity to homes and businesses in the northern towns of SC. This beautiful lake also sits in the lower foothills of the mountains 800 feet above sea level that stretch from the upstate of SC into NC, TN, and VA. There are many homes in Lake Keowee that are owned by people who rent them out on travel sites like VRBO & BOOKING.COM. My family has taken a few long weekend trips to Lake Keowee with friends and stayed in different lakefront properties throughout the years as we live full-time near the coast. As a real estate sales broker with clients who have purchased and owned homes on Lake Keowee, my clients have found they do very well with either of the two major online platforms to rent/list their homes to vacationers. 

• LAKE HARTWELL – This lake is very appealing primarily for one specific reason, its proximity to Clemson University. Lake Hartwell offers owners the great income opportunity to not only reap the rewards of owning a lakefront home, but if you happen to be a Clemson fan you can also enjoy the lake while being right near the Clemson campus. So the income potential for investors to rent to people who wish to come to visit the University AND be able to enjoy a lake home makes homes on Lake Hartwell very appealing. Houses for rent on Lake Hartwell vary greatly as this reservoir has been there since 1962 so it has older ranch homes, condos, and large palatial mansion-type homes. VRBO and BOOKING.COM have produced great results for homeowners looking to cash in on lake home profits as a result of those visiting Clemson University and/or just enjoying a lake home for a week. 

The Upstate of South Carolina does have a few other lakes you could stay on or capitalize on if you purchase a home and wish to use it as investment home/second home. Lake Jocassee homes for sale – arguably the most beautiful home in the entire state of South Carolina. The property is very hard to come by and extremely expensive with lots just to build on exceeding $1M. Frankly, I can’t imagine there are many people that spend $5M+ for a home only to then turn it into a weekly or nightly vacation rental, but certainly, you can visit one of the sites above and search to see. 

The smaller lakes in South Carolina are usually going to be primary residence homes, and with them being smaller the number of homes on the lake would also be smaller and thus the chances of finding a vacation rental home are smaller. So stick with the larger lakes if you want to book one for the week or long weekend. The larger lakes in SC are Lake Murray, Lake Keowee, Lake Marion, Lake Moultrie, and Jocassee. Those are the largest bodies of water you’ll find inland likely to have vacation rentals. 

SEARCH BY THE LAKES OF SOUTH CAROLINA