Last minute housing DEALS-wow!

[floridagirrl2]

Inspired by a DIS board-er who posted about cheap rates for condos and houses in the Disney areas, I came up with 2 VERY COOL sites:
http://www.rentalo.com
Enter your dates and maximum budget and you will recieve a bunch of emails from people who want to rent to you! I entered my dates of Dec. 4,5, & 6, with a maximum budget of $55.00 per day, and have been offered several condos and houses in that price range (one was a 3 BR villa with a private pool!)

Another site is:
http://www.orlandovillas.com/latedeals.asp?page=1
This is a list of houses with pools for outrageously low prices.

Since we're going during a time that's such a low season for Orlando, we still may decide to just go super-cheap with a Priceline bid on a 2.5 or 3 star hotel like we did for our trip last month... but if there was more than just the two of us, I would definitely consider a house or condo very seriously.

 

[FLeisure]

Good luck to you if you can get a house at $55 per night. Chances of it being run down, not looked after properly, of being managed by an unprofessional management company and of being ripped off are extremely high.

As regards the second web link....make sure you're not confusing British Pounds Sterling with Dollars !

Condo's are available for $55 per night but again, you usually pay for what you get.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[SimonV]

Floridagirl, I would advise you to check out deals like this very thoroughly. Yes, it is a quiet time of the year, but those are incredibly low rates and would certainly raise worries of poor quality. However, if they do check out OK and you have got good guarantees of service, you could be on to the bargain on the year I have to admit, FLeisure is usually pretty accurate with his suspicions and you'd be wise to check something like this out to the maximum.

 

[floridagirrl2]

I was inspired to Google rates of houses and condos in Orlando by DisneySteve's comment that there were 2 BR condos renting at Windsor Palms starting at about $55 per night.

I have read some of Fleisure's other posts and I agree that his advice is generally good. However, during this low season, there are owners/managers who would rather rent out their properties for $55/night than leave them empty for $0 per night. I certainly would not expect to get these kinds of bargains during high season.

"Buyer beware" is always good advice, but "the chances of being ripped off are extremely high," is overstating the case a bit. Perhaps there should be a FAQ composed of Fleisure's more thoughtful, reasoned posts to help renters find legitimate deals in condo and home rentals to avoid being ripped off.

 

[FLeisure]

floridagirrl2,
I'm sorry if you have taken my post the wrong way. I didn't intend it to be derogatory.

Fact is though, that I have seen it happen time and time again that folks get sucked in by price. I understand there's nothing wrong with a good deal but sometimes it stretches credibility.

$55 for a condo is fine....no problem, but $55 for a 2 or 3 bed home is ridiculous. If an owner is prepared to do this then he's either incredibly rich or just plain stupid. If the owner doesn't have a mortgage I might be able to understand it a bit more but even then I'd still say the owner was been daft.

I'm not going to go into the running costs of a home as I've done that before but it's simply a fact that an owner doing this rate on a home may as well pay you to stay there.

Good luck to you if you can get a 2 bed condo at $55 a night. It's still cheap in my book and as long as you do your homework then you'll be fine.

 

[UKDEB]

We always rent homes for our Orlando vacations. On the whole, I say you get what you pay for, but I do accept that there are probably some last minute bargains to be had. If I were an owner, I would certainly consider renting my home at $55 a night rather than not rent it at all. What I would want to know, is the regular rental cost of the same home - a fairly good gauge of quality and location, I'd say.

I'd be <i>very</i> interested to hear the views of someone who's actually rented through one of these sites.

Btw, we're paying $350 a night in January - it'd better be good!

 

[FLeisure]

Deb,
I don't think you would consider renting a home at $55 per night.
I'll do this one more time:

Based on 4 bed home
Average mortgage : $ 1300 - 1500 per month
Property tax : $ 200 - $300 per month
Utility Bills : $ 200 - $300 per month
Maintenance (air filters, light bulbs, batteries, fire extinguisher etc etc): $30 -60 per month
Property management, lawns, pool, pest control etc $ 275 - $325 per month.
Insurance : $ 50 - 80 per month
Licenses : $ 15 per month

So far that's $ 2070 at best case and $ 2580 at worst

So lets take the mythical $ 55 per night and pay our sales tax leaving $ 48.40 to service all the above. To break even you need $ 69 per night every night on $ 2070 and $86 per night every night on $ 2580 !

And one thing I didn't factor in the bove was wear and tear on the furniture, carpets, blinds, etc etc

It's not rocket science folks ! A condo has less running cost...therefore the price could well be $ 55.

 

[UKDEB]

Originally posted by FLeisure
Deb,
I don't think you would consider renting a home at $55 per night

Well, you're quite right about that. I was trying to work out why an owner might consider it, but I can't argue with anything you say.

 

[BonnieA]

FLeisure:
I get what you're saying but most of those expenses (mortgage, taxes, licence and insurance) must be paid whether you have renters or not. If you have 2 or 3 weeks weeks rented for the month for full price then why is it beyond belief to rent a week cheaper just to have it rented? After all most of those bills must be paid with or without renters. Isn't it better to have some money come in during a slow time than none at all?

 

[floridagirrl2]

"You get what you pay for" is one of those throw-away phrases that is not particularly meaningful. Orlando rentals are very different from rentals in non-tourist areas. For instance, you can pay $70.00 for one night at a fairly mediocre hotel room, or you can pay $70.00 to stay in a nice hotel room or condo. It's a matter of doing your homework and also of deciding your own priorities.

FLeisure, I don't think I took your post the wrong way. I just don't think you gave out any useful or helpful information, instead choosing to invoke fears of getting ripped off. Your posts are generally quite helpful and you could easily write a FAQ from some of your earlier posts regarding how to choose and safely pay for a vacation house or condo.

 

[SimonV]

Ah, but (just to play devil's Advocate ), if the choice is between $55/day and $0/day (i.e. no booking), would a home owner not decide to cut their losses and take the reduced amount? Just curious as to if there is a cut-off figure below which a home-owner would not go, even at the quietest of times.

Cruise lines often have last-minute sales for 'distressed stock' when they let cabins go for as little as a tenth of brochure value simply to fill a cabin, but is this a bad analogy for holiday homes?

 

[UKDEB]

Originally posted by SimonV
Cruise lines often have last-minute sales for 'distressed stock' when they let cabins go for as little as a tenth of brochure value simply to fill a cabin, but is this a bad analogy for holiday homes?

Ditto budget airlines (in the UK at least). I have paid £3.50 to fly between Bristol and Dublin and £2.49 for Bristol to Edinburgh. Clearly the airlines involved can not possibly be covering costs, but it must make some sort of economical sense.

 

[FLeisure]

Ok, I understand what you're saying but your assuming that there are other weeks booked at those "higher" rates. And your also assuming the homes are owned by large corporations rather than people like you and me, who have to make the investment work.

Essentially you're stating that some income is better than none ? Well I'm sorry I don"t go with that. There is a point where it's simply not worth it and owners who do it are short changing themselves in the end...and that has a knock on effect to all of us in the industry.

Overall it really comes down to the homeowners choice as to what they do with their property. From the experience I have gained over the last 8 years of doing this and 11 -12 years that the company has done it, is it really doesn't pay to devalue your home. What your then doing and this is being brutally honest, is encouraging people to shop around for the best deal until the day comes when you have to start dropping prices to absurd levels. Further, you then start to get into the same mindset as the owners who do discount and where does that lead to......constantly offering deals and then less money coming in to pay the costs, corners being cut and eventually having to sell the property because it hasn't met your expectations.

The other thing to consider is that it's not always about volume. Personally I'd rather rent my homes out once or twice a month for decent rates than four times to achieve the same effect. Renting out four times means more work, more guests going through the property, more wear and tear, higher utility bills, more cleaning charges, etc.

My experience has been that anytime an owner drops their rate they get problems. I don't want to have a go at anyone here or for anyone to take my next comment the wrong way but is an absolute fact throughout the industry that people who get these deals do not look after a property the same as a guest who is paying the proper rate.

Every week I mix with other property managers and every week I hear the same stories about "we gave this person this deal and this is what happened". To be honest, our industry is it's own worst enemy at times. Tell me, where else in the country can you rent a complete home with it's own pool for $ 89 a night let alone $55 ?

My experience has been that people who pay the going rate get the quality homes. Those that don't, get the properties that are rented 52 weeks a year and are not maintained properly. I'm sorry if you think this is scaremongering but it's my experience and you can choose to believe it or not.

Maybe it's just a question of standards. For some people they don't really care where they sleep.....others very much do ! I have very high standards for my homes and I totally believe in offering a high quality product at a good price. This involves the owners spending more money on their property than average and ensuring that everything is in top condition. All of my owners know they must meet my expectations otherwise I send them a letter stating I no longer wish to manage their property. In return they expect their property to be looked after to the highest standard. Many's the time over the last 5 years I've let an owner go because they won't get the carpet cleaned, buy new furniture or some other problem that can spoil a guests enjoyment of the home. I know which companies take these homes and I know the tricks employed to try and save costs. As I said, you can either believe me or not.

There are some great owners out there and some very good MC's who take a similar pride. I'm not trying to invoke any fears in anyone because if you do your homework you'll be fine. If you don't want to take on board what I say that's your choice but I do want you to realise that some things are not what they appear to be.

 

[Robinrs]

I've paid VERY little for homes in off times and stayed at very quality places. I got much more than what I bargained for.

I do agree, as with real estate prices, one house that is given away in a neighborhood causes problems with the property values. Unfortunately, this is coming from the managing companies and the owners points of view. Vacationers, like home buyers could give a FLIP about your bottom line. They want to spend LESS for a trip.

Not that their bottom line could eventually harm us, it could, but we have very many options in Orlando. If I never stayed at a rental home again in Orlando, I could still go on a trip a day till 2010. If I get a good value on a rental home, I'll take it and I have. Did I lose sleep worrying about the owners mortgage or utility bills??? Uh, NO. I have my own bills and one of them, my vacation, has to be affordable.

Not to be uncaring, my point is that we are constantly being bombarded with why we should pay more when we don't want to. WE are the people who are going on vacation, NOT the ones who made the choice to make this their vocation. Don't assume this is our top priority.

 

[SimonV]

Thanks Nigel. I think that puts the case as plainly as possible.

And, it is an interesting point that the cruise industry has got itself in something of a mess with its low rates in the last 18 months (just to fill ships at a time when people were reluctant to book for various reasons) as people now EXPECT those rates to stay low and are constantly looking for a deal, which means more late bookings, which means prices stay depressed and yields remain low and cruise lines cut corners in some areas and hike prices in others. It is definitely unsatisfactory.

 

[floridagirrl2]

Perhaps unsatisfactory for people in the industry trying to make a buck, but not unsatisfactory for us travelers.

I think Robin has put the case as plainly as possible!

 

[UKDEB]

Nigel,

By flaming Robin and throwing around insults ("cheap people rent cheap houses"), you undermine your otherwise credible argument. I can not see that Robin has inflamed the discussion - she's merely contributed her, very valid, point of view. You criticise her for not being able to understand a different point of view, but it seems that is what you are unwilling to do. Because you "realise you can't win", you throw all your toys out of the pram and claim you've made your final post.

It seems that your argument should be with those owners who charge the very low rates, not with the consumer who chooses to take advantage of them.

I've done business with you and I know that you act professionally and efficiently. However, had I not had first hand experience, some of your posts on these boards may lead me to believe otherwise. Ultimately you could be damaging your own business. That's intended to be constructive feedback - I hope you are able to take it that way.

 

[debden]

Floridagirl2,Just wanted to give you the heads up on a 5 Bedroom/4 Bath home in Formosa Gardens for $80.00 per night for your time slot.Go to www.villas2go4.com and Villa ID#1430.
Looks great at a great price right near Disney! Good Luck,Debbie

 

[floridagirrl2]

Amazing, Debbie! Just goes to prove several people's points--that there are good deals on nice houses during the low season! Since there's just the two of us, we went ahead and Pricelined an inexpensive hotel (thus proving what cheap people we are ) but will definitely consider a house or condo when relatives visit with us.

 

[lisag1]

You know they can't have a mortgage to pay offering it out for £300/week and I also advertise on that website and they charge you £30/week commission. So these guys are doing it for £270.00 per week which is only a mere £38/night.

I'm not knocking the home at all but I know Deb and (myself & husband, when renting in the past) if it's a choice between a bog standard home with low rent or a more refined home with extras that cost just that little bit more then every time the extras & luxury win hands down for us. We like to have the same creature comforts away on vacation as we do at our home in the UK which *usually * means paying that little bit more.

I've also just noticed that you can't compare it as it's not in the same development as UKDeb's. Hers is on Formosa Gardens and this one (like mine) is on Rolling Hills. They are next door to each other but FG is gated (ahem! - Nigel will know what I mean!) and ours isn't.

I also know what Robin means as in the past I have managed to get a cheaper deal - £450 per week for a 4 bed on Windsor Palms and although it was cheap (for Windsor Palms) I wouldn't choose to stay there again.

Simon, I do have a cut off rate as I have a mortgage etc so I personally would rather leave my home empty that have it let out to possibly 12 people at the rate of £38/night IMHO.