After Retiring from Microsoft, What Should You Do with Your Home?

This time, we are sharing an article written by a friend:

Recently, because our company was hiring, I logged back into LinkedIn after a long absence.

What surprised me most was neither industry news nor new job opportunities. It was seeing more and more former Microsoft colleagues announce retirement or leave positions they had held for ten or twenty years to begin a new stage of life.

As someone who previously worked at Microsoft for nearly ten years, seeing these familiar names moved me deeply.

We had built products, led teams and solved complex problems together, and witnessed successive important stages in Microsoft’s development.

Seeing more familiar friends begin new chapters brings a sense of loss, but also genuine happiness for them.

Retirement is more than leaving a job.

Often, it means finally being able to reorganize your time and do things you have always wanted to do but never had the opportunity to pursue.

Some plan to spend several months in Europe, some intend to live in Asia for half the year, and others want to be closer to children and family or simply slow down and try another way of living.

This is also a life I have always wanted.

I often look forward to spending part of each year in Asia and part back in Seattle once my children go to university.

Not occasional travel, but genuine freedom to choose where to live.

When you begin planning this life seriously, however, a practical question arises:

If you will be away from Seattle for several months, or even half the year, what happens to your home?

Many people’s first instinct is to sell.

But after talking in detail, I find that most do not actually want to.

A home is more than an asset. It holds many memories.

More importantly, they want to be able to return.

Selling is a permanent decision.

For many people, leaving is only temporary.

What about leaving the home empty?

Everyone knows that even an unoccupied US home still carries substantial fixed expenses: property taxes, insurance, utilities, landscaping and maintenance.

More concerning, a home left unattended for a long time can turn a seemingly minor issue into an expensive repair.

Leaks, heating failures, roof leaks…

When problems go unnoticed initially, dealing with them later can become astonishingly expensive.

What about a long-term rental?

With a lease lasting a year or longer, it can be unclear what to do with the furniture. If you want to return or your plans change, the home often cannot immediately be reclaimed for your own use.

Yet flexibility is precisely what many people value most after retirement.

Over the past year, we have spoken with many homeowners on Seattle’s Eastside.

Some are preparing to retire, some plan long trips, and others return to Asia for several months every year.

Their stories differ, but their questions are almost identical: is there a way to keep their home while gaining more freedom in their lives?

After a year of practical experience, I increasingly feel that the real issue property management must solve is more than how much rent a home can earn.

It is helping owners find an arrangement that best fits their life plans.

• When will they return?

• Does the furniture need to remain in the home?

• Is a midterm rental appropriate, or should Home Watch be arranged?

• How should insurance be planned?

• How can income, safety and future flexibility be balanced?

There is no standard answer. Each owner’s life plans are different, and so is the appropriate solution.

For well-maintained, furnished Eastside homes, we still see stable demand for midterm housing, primarily from corporate assignees, medical professionals, relocating families and other high-income professionals staying temporarily in Seattle.

More owners are therefore choosing a flexible approach: retain ownership, allow the home to continue providing value while they are away, and preserve the possibility of returning in the future.

I increasingly believe:

The real freedom retirement brings is more than not having to work. It is being able to choose where you want to live at any stage of life, with your home supporting your choices rather than constraining them.

If you are considering leaving Seattle, retiring, traveling long-term or spending several months away each year, and want to understand the different management options for your home, we are happy to provide a free Eastside Home Evaluation.

For well-maintained, furnished homes in Eastside communities such as Bellevue, Medina, Mercer Island and Clyde Hill, we still see stable, high-quality midterm rental demand.

Guests primarily include executives and professionals from global technology companies and major corporations, corporate assignees and relocation clients, medical professionals, and families who need to spend several months in Seattle for work or family reasons.

Based on your home’s condition, return date and life plans, we will assess the most appropriate option and help balance income, safety and flexibility rather than simply pursue the highest rent.

We will discuss:

• Your home’s current market rental value;

• The advantages and disadvantages of different options—midterm rentals of 30 days or longer, long-term rentals or Home Watch—and insurance and local regulatory considerations;

• Recommendations for preparing the home and furnishing it;

• The best management plan for your timeline.

Our goal has never been to put every home on the rental market.

It is to help owners find the right balance between income, safety and freedom in their lives.

If you know someone planning retirement, long-term travel or a flexible future between Seattle and overseas, please share this article with them.

Life can have many next destinations.

We hope your home can support your next one.

Snowball Rentals property management. Email: bd@snowballrentals.com

If you own a midrange or high-end property in Seattle that has been listed for sale without finding a buyer, or you are considering converting it to midterm or a mix of midterm and short-term rentals, contact us.

We will develop midterm customer acquisition channels more systematically and continue building this business as a separate focus.

If you are a real estate agent with clients holding similar properties, we would also welcome a discussion about partnership opportunities.

If you:

• Hope to increase rental income through short-term rentals;

• Cannot spare a great deal of time to handle the small details;

• Occasionally need to use the home yourself, making it unsuitable to empty out the furniture for a long-term rental;

Then:

Snowball Rentals’ management team is your best choice.

From pre-launch vacation-rental styling, big-data analysis and online marketing to tenant screening, dynamic pricing, customer service and sales, cleaning and repairs, Snowball Rentals provides everything as one complete service for your home.

This Week’s Booking Results

Through long-standing relationships with insurers, assignment companies and technology companies, Snowball Rentals rents homes for medium- and long-term durations at short-term rates, then gives owners a rebate of 5% in management fees to maximize their income.

In the second half of 2026, Seattle’s short-term rental market remains sluggish. How have you done?

Short-term rentals in peak season; mid-term rentals in low season.

Looking back at the large bookings we recently received, this strategy has produced some results and helped us remain confident even during the cold winter!

For the detached house in Brier below, Zillow shows an estimated long-term monthly rent of approximately $3952.

With the owner’s trust and support, we carefully furnished the home and immediately began short-term rental operations. Fortunately, because the home’s condition and location are both good, short- and mid-term bookings have continued to come in.

As shown in the booking screenshot below, this home recently received a large booking:

April 13 to September 30, a total of 170 nights, equivalent to an average monthly rent of $9362.

In summary, under Snowball Rentals’ management, this home’s monthly rental income rose from $3952 to $9362, an increase of more than 100%.

For homeowners, combining short- and mid-term rentals in this way can earn more in peak season and help them get through low season smoothly. Even if the low-season rental figures look less dramatic, they still outperform long-term rentals and give homeowners a strong sense of financial security.

More importantly, the owner does not have to worry about maintenance or cleaning. When something needs to be discussed with guests, we also help with communication and oversight.

Here, we again thank the owner for placing trust in the Snowball Rentals team!

After nearly two years of Airbnb’s downturn, we at Snowball Rentals hope to help owners make steady progress in low season, navigate the challenges safely and lay a better foundation for next year’s peak season.

Once again, heartfelt thanks to our homeowners for their trust and support. Whether the market is strong or weak, Snowball Rentals will stand with you and look for ways to increase your income!

Some homeowners will surely ask the hard question: was a large booking like this just a stroke of luck? What if the home does not rent? A long-term rental is more stable—even earning less is better than earning nothing!

Our answer is: the outcome depends on what we do.

Vacation-Rental Styling

Competition on Airbnb is becoming increasingly intense. The days of piecing together secondhand furniture, taking phone photos and earning easy money on Airbnb are over. Airbnb hosts have moved toward professional operations.

Careful design and furnishing before launch, followed by professional short-term rental operations, will be the only choice for a rental that continues to generate high income.

Here is another of Snowball Rentals’ core services: vacation-rental styling!

Before we took over this detached house, the owner had already furnished it with great care. We made no major changes after taking over, only optimizing a few details. The final result is shown below:

When choosing a short-term rental on Airbnb, would this home’s appearance attract you?

If you would also like to make your home more attractive and earn more rent, please contact us at any time!

We also share practical vacation-rental styling plans and creative ideas to help you achieve more with less spending and keep rental income growing!

Referral Rewards

If you are already a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$500 referral fee for each referral.

If you are not yet a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$250 shopping voucher for each referral.

Snowball Rentals Management

1. Full service — We provide pre-launch rental design, furniture procurement, furnishing, professional photography, online marketing, copywriting, tenant service and sales, cleaning, supply purchasing and property repairs. You only need to be a hands-off owner; we handle the rest.

2. Multi-platform promotion — We promote the home on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and other mainstream platforms for maximum exposure.

3. Dynamic pricing — Using big data, we adjust prices every day according to seasonal demand, holidays, last-minute vacancy offers, weekends and local activities, maximizing the owner’s income.

4. Income-improvement SOP — We follow 44 secrets for maximizing short-term rental income, optimizing each property’s online marketing, on-site operations and other aspects to work toward maximum income.

5. Flexible owner stays — Owners can flexibly choose when to stay themselves. This is especially suitable for owners with multiple residences around the world.

6. Terminate at any time — Management does not require an annual commitment. The owner can end the agreement with one month’s advance notice.

7. Corporate housing — In addition to nightly rentals, we work with insurers and assignment companies to provide executives with hotel-style managed accommodation for stays 30 days or more.

8. Transparent fees — For rentals 30 days or more, we charge 15% of accommodation revenue. For nightly rentals 30 days or less, we charge 20% of accommodation revenue.