vaction home rental

[jie]

Hi, everyone, i posted a message yesterday about finding a place to stay for a group of 16 people, and thank you for your help.
now i just found out that there are vacation houses for rent too. it looks good for us, is there anyone of you have any expericence about renting a house there , i just heard about the one called Elite florida homes.
any suggestion will be appreciated!!! thank you.

[FrozenPiglet]

We stayed at a home May 19-26. It was with Alexander Holiday Homes. We really enjoyed it. You can visit their website at http://www.floridasunshine.com for a tour of their homes, etc. They were good to work with. We enjoyed having our own pool, full kitchen, separate bedrooms, bathrooms and living areas. It also had full-size washer and dryer. Just let me know if you have any other questions.

[PTKeil]

vrbo.com (vacation rental by owner) and floridacontact.com both are nice. You can choose exactly which home you want to stay in with floridacontact.com and they have lock boxes on the houses, so you don't need keys or that extra stop at an office.

[SimonV]

Alexander and Premier Holiday Homes (www.premier-vacation-homes.com) both get my seal of approval in an area where it's easy to come unstuck with bad operators. Florida Leisure (************************) are also worth looking at, and have great video of all their homes, too.

[BonnieA]

I've rented twice from elite homes. No problems, nice houses, one very close to disney. I would rent from them again.

[TShippPugh]

We have a quite large family too (7 of us going) and I found that renting a home is much cheaper than renting a hotel room (which several thousand people have stayed in over the years!).

I found a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with it's own pool in Davenport (10 min to WDW) for $99 per night. The house was just finished in April, so very few people have stayed there.

They have anywhere from 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedrooms for rent. Check out:

www.fvhr.net
www.vrbo.com

:rolleyes:

[OrlandoPlanner]

We will be renting a 5 bedroom/4 bathroom home with private pool located 4.5 miles from DisneyWorld in October. This is a family trip with 7 adults and 2 young children and we think this is the best option for us. We are renting from a private home owner that we located thru vrbo.com. The owners have been very helpful and professional. We are paying $224 per night for 7 nights. This price includes pool heat and taxes.

We chose this option for the extra space, our own kitchen, a private pool and a private garage. We have stayed in condos on family trips before and enjoyed it much more than hotel rooms.

[pats]

I also enquired about a 3 bedroom 2 bath house through vrbo for august which was $550 a week. The owner was very nice and said tht one was already taken our week, but he has a 4 bedroom also on his site which ususlly goes for $650. He is giving it to us for the $550 price which includes all taxes and a pool in the back. I cant wait. Seems like a great way to go with teenagers.

[nhrenee]

We also rented a home through vrbo.com (vacation rental by owner). It was a great experience. We were in a developement called Rolling Hills. It was about 3 miles west of the WDW main gate, about 10 min in the early am.

[shayna]

We are renting a 4 bedroom home in September for $80.00 a night. It has its own private pool, jacuzzi for 6, two master b/r suites with king size bed, each with private bath, two other bedrooms, full kitchen, 55 inch screen t.v., etc. It is in a new upscale community that has its own movie theater, game room with pool tables, fitness room, jogging trails, tennis courts, volleyball courts, etc. Soo much better than a little hotel room. Haven't been there yet but will post after our trip. Can't wait. Hope you have a great time!

[shayna]

The house is really $160 a night it is split by two families.

[tednvon]

strong vote for VRBO.com (by owners).....don't be afraid to ask for the low season price no matter when you go, as there are many many homes for rent and tourism is down a bit....good luck..............Ted

[lisalisa35]

we rented in april from elite and the house was beautiful!
the pool was great!
no problems at all!
in fact we already have reserved again for next april.

[lovhusband]

We rented from www.orlandopoolhomes.com this year in March and have found a private home in Davenport for next by surfing the net for $650 and it is fo 7 nights I believe it is 3 bedrooms

We have never stayed onsite but with there being 10 of us going renting a house was the most economical choice. Good luck and if you have any ?'s email me.

[wdisneyaholic]

We are looking to rent a house for 21 people, we would like to rent one house. The only place I have found so far if vrbo, does anyone know of any other places that can accomodate that large of a group in one home. The one house that vrbo has says up to 20 people but we have several small children and are hoping that one may work. Has anyone rented with vrbo and are they legitimate? Please help.

Thanks

[leeduane]

We were a group of 20 and were able to rent two 4br homes side by side and it was great. Both had pools so the teenagers had their own pool and the small children had their own pool. We were there in Sept so negioations to get the two homes was a lot eaiser than if we had been there during high season. It worked well for us with 2 kitchens and washers & dryers and 8 bathrooms. Good luck on whatever you decide the main thing is to have fun.

[wdisneyaholic]

Has anyone ever had a problem renting from vrbo.com? The house I want to rent is listed one that site and also on blueribbonvillas.com. I have never rented from either place and would some information from anyone ever renting a house. Please help!!!

[pats]

We rented from vrbo for August. I will post when i get back about the house. I can tell you that the owner, who lives in England, was very prompt and helpful in answering my questions. He gave me the name of the management company that upkeeps his properties and i called them on the phone. They were very nice and it made me feel much better about renting the house.

[wdisneyaholic]

pats,

The owner of the house we plan to rent from is also from England, did you go directly thru him? Or did you go thru a company? I actually received an email direct from the owner but also had emailed the company that I saw it listed with. I am just a little nervous because they are in England. What are your thoughts on it? Did you feel comfortable with that? Was it easy to do? Please give me some information on it. I would really appreciate it.

thanks

[pats]

The owner i am renting from didnt have a company listed..instead he had his own website you went to and i dealt directly with him through emails, though he did give his phone number. I was a little leary of renting this way..that is why i asked him about who maintained his properties. He gave me the peoples names and the name of the managment compny whose phone no. i got through information. I called them and at least i know they are a real company. They were very nice. This owner made it real easy to pay him. I just had to send him a check which he forwarded to his bank. Another owner i had inquired of said i would have to get a bank draft and deposit it to his bank myself..that sounded a little more complicated. The pics of the house look real nice..so i hope it is ok. I will post when i get in the beginning of sept.

[lynniepooh]

Check out floridadreamhomes.com We stayed in a home rented by them and really loved it. They have homes up to 6 bedrooms!

[FlLeisure]

Hi all !
My advice to you all is to check out the management co. that you are thinking of booking with. Make sure that they are members of at least 3 of the following, preferably all :

Better Business Bureau

Central Florida Property Managers Association

Chamber of Commerce

Orlando/Orange County & Visitors Bureau

Kissimmee-St. Cloud Convention & Visitors Bureau

Most vacation homes in the area are to a high standard and run by reputable companies....just do a little homework before hand and you will be fine.

Some management co's do have 6 and 7 bedroom homes and whilst scarce, are usually available at excellent prices. You will need to book early to secure one though.

[SimonV]

That is excellent advice, folks. Please do your homework first, as I do still hear a lot of tales of people being ripped off in this area. If you get an offer that sounds too good to be true, the chances are it is, and you should steer clear.

[wdisneyaholic]

FLeisure,

How do I find out if a mangement company is a member of any of these? How can I get some numbers for these.

I am in the process of renting an 8 bedroom house for a company based out of the UK. I am a little leary but everything sounds to be ok. The owner of the house is listed with them and with vrbo.com, I have been contacted by him directly and he said just to go ahead and book with the rental company. I spoke with the guy from the rental company and he sounded very knowledgeable, was very nice and not pushy. We are renting an 8 bedroom home for $2500 for a week, which I think is a fair price. It is located in an upscale gated community. The man from the rental company was very willing to give me any information that I requested, like a reference of someone who has rented from them and the mangement company. This is my first time rented any type of vacation home and especially off of the internet. I am trying to do as much research as possible, their website seems very professional and the contract seems to be what I would expect. The deposit is not too much and we are booking for 2003.

The man from the rental company explained that they have just become incorporated, whatever that means, and they are moving to Florida in November of this year to run the state side part of the company. Everything to me sounds legitimate but I still get a little nervous. Do you have any other suggestions for me? or does this seem to sound legitimate to you?

Anyone have any advice?

[FlLeisure]

The last thing I want to do is cause you any concern but this seems a little odd to me.
For a start an 8 bedroom house has to conform to hotel code. The Department of Business & Professional Regulation have told me that any home over 7 bedrooms must have a sprinkler system fitted and various other items that a 2-7 bedroom house does not need.
If you are renting in Polk county then no more than 12 people are allowed in the house. 6 bedrooms is the maximum down there.
Moving on to your other points; seems to me that this is a new company(the incorporated part of your post tells me they in the process of setting up a US business) and that they are starting things from new. Hopefully they will prove to be good but it does mean they are relatively new to the vacation homes business. If I was to guess, I would say that you are renting in Formosa Gardens which is a great location, near Rolling Hills and 5 mins from Disney if you know the right road to take.

I have to say that I am a little nervous of this....if you email me, I can talk more frankly and let you know the type of question you should be asking. Also , if you can let me have as much info as possible I can tell you about the individuals concerned, assuming I know of them.

To check out a management company call the Department of Business & Professional Regulation, and all of the other bodies I mentioned above. Ask the companies who they are affiliated to and make sure they are !!

[linden's mom]

shayna- can you tell me which owner you got that great deal from?

I called around to get some referrals and here is what I came up with so far:

-Agents won't tell you anything because they don't make a commission on these rental homes-so they were no help.

I called the BBB and Chamber of Commerce- they won't refer...just tell you if there were any complaints that "haven't been resolved". That tells me nothing because usually complaints are resolved one way or another but I don't want to have the complaint in the first place!

Finally- I got the number of the Inspector of the vacation homes for the state licensing board...she wasn't happy to hear from me because as you can imagine she doesn't want to be inundated with calls...so I promised not to give out her #. But she said that she has had complaints from people who stayed a t Elite and Families First (lots). She said Premier was the best. She kept the call short but it's so far the best info I could get.

We mad res. with Premier even tho they asked for $15 a nite more. We only need 2 BR but they promised us an upgrade to a 4 BR what they call "Executive" home (better decor and a jacuzzi). We really love the idea of a Jacuzzi and the smaller homes don't have them.

We are still worried. After seeing all these post for vhbo I am wondering if I can't keep trying and get an even better deal. Sometimes peace of mind- however fragile- is better than $15/nite savings. Any thoughts??

[Bear I.T.B.B.H]

As someone mentioned earlier in the post you do get what you pay for!! nothing more nothing less. Having just bought a 3 bed home my advise would be to forget about Management/Rental companies, then there is 1 less person taking a cut of your precious money!!!
Do a search for what you are looking for and then try to contact a "private" owner, they may or may not do you a "deal" but you will know that their home will be cared for.
Alternativly just e-mail me for my rates!!!! (lol)
Good Luck.

[FlLeisure]

In reference to management companies.......not all management co's are poor. In fact some are very good and do have the local knowledge that can make or break a vacation.

Also, management co's provide an essential service to homeowner's. They look after the lawns, pools, housekeeping, maintenance and also provide supplemental income to whatever an owner generates through their own efforts. In most cases the management company knows more about a house than the owner !

In my view, management co's more than earn the money they make. Booking with an owner has it's plus points but that owner will undoubtably be biased towards his own property. A management company has more homes and will offer a better choice of home. If you require anything extra, a management company usually has these items available for rental.