Rude Response Windsor Hills

[aaronandterri]

Sounds more like a cultural thing than an insult. The responder sounds British and I suspect they are not as chatty as we are on this side of the pond.

That may just be an impression as we had many marvelous conversations with the locals when we were in Great Britain a few years ago.

Sheila

Ok i take offense to that not all British people are short, nor can you take that as a cultural thing, you dont know the owner was british!

Ive also been looking for a windsor hills home to rent, and have asked lots of questions, and exchanged a few emails, more beacuse i forget to ask everything the first time, hope you found somewhere nice to stay OP.

 

[swilshire]

Certainly didn't mean to offend, but I've never heard anyone in the US call it "hiring". Here we say renting.

I loved the folks I met over there and also the visitors I've met in this country from Great Britain. Nevertheless, there are general differences from country to country, just as there are from region to region in our own country.

Sheila

 

[Darby O'Gill]

If I was to see a website that had various comments posted "ALL IN CAPS", and I came to the conclusion that it felt rude to me in any way, awesome!!!!, thats one less place to worry about.
I have been suprised to see the number of responces that defended the "all caps" in a rather vigorous way. I wonder how many of them are renters. My humble opinion(and its just one ol' guys opinion) is that the argument that all caps is there to help you, or to protect both sides, is really silly. Be polite with me, or lose my business, simple.

Now is "all caps" offensive in general....of course not......but I just wish to commend the original poster on knowing what they want, and making an entity that wants your money for a service treat you however you wish to be treated.
I am renting a vacation home for the first time myself in Oct....thats why im on the boards here, to get jazzed about my trip. Here's to everyone having a magical Disney trip EVERYTIME!!!!!!(IN CAPS!!!!!!!)

Darby O'Gill

 

[sympatico]

If I was to see a website that had various comments posted "ALL IN CAPS", and I came to the conclusion that it felt rude to me in any way, awesome!!!!, thats one less place to worry about.
I have been suprised to see the number of responces that defended the "all caps" in a rather vigorous way. I wonder how many of them are renters. My humble opinion(and its just one ol' guys opinion) is that the argument that all caps is there to help you, or to protect both sides, is really silly. Be polite with me, or lose my business, simple.

Now is "all caps" offensive in general....of course not......but I just wish to commend the original poster on knowing what they want, and making an entity that wants your money for a service treat you however you wish to be treated.
I am renting a vacation home for the first time myself in Oct....thats why im on the boards here, to get jazzed about my trip. Here's to everyone having a magical Disney trip EVERYTIME!!!!!!(IN CAPS!!!!!!!)

Darby O'Gill

I'm not a home owner and I did defend the caps. I like things pointed out to me that I may miss. I don't think there's anything silly about it. I've rented a lot of times and had good communication with the owners, whether they had caps in their rental agreements or not. They were very nice and not rude.
Maybe some of these homeowners have had problems in the past with renters complaining about something that they didn't notice in the rental agreement so they decided to emphasize it . No big deal.

 

[Darby O'Gill]

The Disboards have some of the most patient, helpful people on any board I've been on, and I've been on a LOT ever since pre-web USENET days. Yet in your search from hundreds to 22 to 9 it appears that you've managed to try even their patience (see the "Please Help Me" thread if you aren't sure what I'm referring to). I'm not at all surprised that in the course of your research assignment some of the homeowners got sick of you. Of course people rent out homes because they want the money but there comes a point where the money isn't worth it.

OMG, I can hardly even think of how to word this response. No flame war, I just want to ask you to re-read this quote above and maybe, maybe you'll come up with something different.

 

[resol37]

Rented a six bedroom house from Windsor Hill in May 2007 and had no problems whatsoever. My family is pretty low maintenance, though.

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

I'll let you all know about our Windsor Hills stay when I write my trip report I have extremely high standards.

 

[Wolfie68]

The Disboards have some of the most patient, helpful people on any board I've been on, and I've been on a LOT ever since pre-web USENET days. Yet in your search from hundreds to 22 to 9 it appears that you've managed to try even their patience (see the "Please Help Me" thread if you aren't sure what I'm referring to). I'm not at all surprised that in the course of your research assignment some of the homeowners got sick of you. Of course people rent out homes because they want the money but there comes a point where the money isn't worth it.

Purseval, not really sure what you are saying here, other than you insinuating that people were sick of me asking questions on this board, based on another post, which in fact people were saying to "just take the plunge" and not over think it, but if you find fault with my doing research and asking questions about where I am going to spend my hard earned money, I apologize for wasting your time, you can always just skip over my posts.

Just to be clear, I sent one email with a list of questions, questions that were developed by watching the boards and questions that came from people here saying "ask this question" and be sure to ask about "that".

I did finally go with Vacation Central Florida and have been really pleased with both Dave and John so far!

I agree there is a point where the money isn't worth it, and I am not going to spend my hard earned money without doing research and making sure I am confortable with what I am doing. You may be made of money and able to waste it, unfortunately I am not

Best of luck to you!

 

[Purseval]

I apologize for wasting your time, you can always just skip over my posts.

Since you suggested, once I answer this I will.

I agree there is a point where the money isn't worth it, and I am not going to spend my hard earned money without doing research and making sure I am confortable with what I am doing. You may be made of money and able to waste it, unfortunately I am not

And you may have all the time in the world to do your research but lots of busy people trying to make a living don't have the time to participate. In narrowing down your search from hundreds to 22 to 9 a lot of good people wasted a lot of time on you. So you may have gotten your moneys worth but they didn't. At least you had a nice vacation and I hope you have many more in the future.

Best of luck to you!

And you also.

 

[loveysbydesign]

I wasn't going to pipe in here...but I will-lol.
I think that one email with 9 questions for an owner is just FINE! Now if it were 9 separate emails with one question each that would be annoying.

We have rented at WH 3 times from 3 separate owners and thankfully never encountered any rude owners except for the ones who kept emailing me 3-4 times after we chose our rental, asking why I didn't choose their home....now what is up with that!?

Plus there are somethings that are more important to some renters than others. For instance we need curtains in the bedrooms so my kids will sleep in past the crack of dawn. Very few rentals have curtains(most just have white blinds)...if we know this in advance then we take our own along with spring type rods that can fit any window. May seem odd to some people but it is important to us!

 

[PJMPA]

OH Purseval - Thank you for your post. I grew up in New Jersey, relocated to Pennsylvania and have spent many weeks during 30 of my 50 summers on the Jersey & Delaware shores. I have rented numerous homes there and have dealt with countless homeowners as a short term renter. I've always booked oceanfront, as that is the prime location for a beach vacation on the Jersey/Delaware shore... much like Windsor Hills is considered prime location for a Disney vacation. I am also a Windsor Hills owner and have worked with many guests who have rented my home. I appreciate my guests who are willing to pay a fair price for a nice home. Most oceanfront homes along the Jersey/Delaware shore rent for $3,000-$10,000 per week. Many of these homes have deferred maintenance, mismatched, second-hand furniture, dirty windows and screens, 2nd hand electronics and sandy carpeting... Much of this is overlooked by renters who are only too appreciative to be staying in an oceanfront property along the shore. Even the worst kept home in Windsor Hills is probaby 3X more luxurious than many of these shore homes yet it rents for a fraction of the cost. It absolutely amazes me how some potential Windsor Hills guests will spend hours and hours parsing every detail of every home whittling down every nano-detail while at the same time insisting on paying the equivalent of Motel 6 rates for a luxurious, amenity-filled home. Many will pit owner quotes against owner quotes being less than truthful about what they are being asked to pay. I recognize this is all about supply & demand. Right now, the supply of luxurious, amenity-filled homes in Windsor Hills and surrouding short term rental communities exceeds the demand for these homes requiring most (but not all) owners to pretend to happily answer question after question about their properties only to be told that their neighbor undercut them. It is not surprising that some owners will react in a less than pleasant manner.

 

[Wolfie68]

It sounds as if you people are suggesting that renters not do due diligence and just spend their money at any spot without asking questions. I guess I am just not wired that way, thats what makes the world go round, lots of different personality types

 

[robinb]

Just to be clear, I sent one email with a list of questions, questions that were developed by watching the boards and questions that came from people here saying "ask this question" and be sure to ask about "that".

So what were your 9 questions? They might be valuable for others who are in the same situation trying to narrow down their choices.

 

[Wolfie68]

These are items that are important to me and my family:

Are you licenesed by the state of florida to rent your house? Is it current and is it displayed in the house?
Is there keyless entry?
If keys, do we go straight to the house or do we have to pick up a key somewhere?
Is the air conditioner adjustable or is it set by you? (we like it cold so this is important)
Is this price the total price including tax and any cleaning ?
Are there booking fees?
Is there a damage waiver?
When is deposit due and when is final payment due?
When was the house last updated/renovated?
What is the address of the house?
(this last question is to check tax and foreclosure information)

 

[loveysbydesign]

These are items that are important to me and my family:

Are you licenesed by the state of florida to rent your house? Is it current and is it displayed in the house?
Is there keyless entry?
If keys, do we go straight to the house or do we have to pick up a key somewhere?
Is the air conditioner adjustable or is it set by you? (we like it cold so this is important)
Is this price the total price including tax and any cleaning ?
Are there booking fees?
Is there a damage waiver?
When is deposit due and when is final payment due?
When was the house last updated/renovated?
What is the address of the house?
(this last question is to check tax and foreclosure information)

Nothing wrong with those questions!

 

[Purseval]

OH Purseval - Thank you for your post.

You're welcome. There's nothing wrong with a bit of due diligence but then there's "Due Diligence". Since some people just don't seem to get the difference let me put it a totally different way -- a clean home.

Everyone likes a clean home, neat appearance. Nobody at all would disagree that being well kept is a good thing. Then there are some who carry it to a degree far beyond what most would consider reasonable.

Remember the movie Mommy Dearest? That was a biography of Joan Crawford told through the eyes of one of her children. It became a classic because of the bizarre scenes where the uberclean Joan moved a 6-foot vase, showed the dust underneath and and said "you call this clean?", then got down on her knees with scouring powder. Then of course the classic scene where she went berserk and beat the living daylights out of her daughter for using a wire hanger to hang her dress. Clearly this lady had issues.

But that was a movie. Let's go to the real world. Sara Netanyahu, wife of the Israeli Prime Minister, made tabloid headlines around the world (you can do a search to see) for the way she terrorized the staff and visitors to her house. She wouldn't let her husband touch the babies unless he washed his hands and put gloves on first. Several showers per day for the staff. Multiple firings because they didn't work hard enough to keep the place clean. When reporters confronted her about her behavior she didn't back down a bit. Her response was classic: "People who aren't clean just don't understand people who are."

And so it goes here. Nobody has a problem with asking questions. People ask them all the time and you don't end up having threads like this. But when you think about all the time and effort that went towards a one-time rental and hear the response that "well, I guess some people would rather not have you ask anything at all" that's one of those times where you just shake your head and move on. People who don't do due diligence just don't understand people who do, and apparently I'm one of the people who don't.

 

[robinb]

These are items that are important to me and my family:

Are you licenesed by the state of florida to rent your house? Is it current and is it displayed in the house?
Is there keyless entry?
If keys, do we go straight to the house or do we have to pick up a key somewhere?
Is the air conditioner adjustable or is it set by you? (we like it cold so this is important)
Is this price the total price including tax and any cleaning ?
Are there booking fees?
Is there a damage waiver?
When is deposit due and when is final payment due?
When was the house last updated/renovated?
What is the address of the house?
(this last question is to check tax and foreclosure information)

I think that the questions I bolded show a level of distrust which probably got under the skin of the home owner. Especially if you asked them in that order as the first one sets a confrontational tone to the whole message. I'm not saying that it's not important to know things like being licensed and if the condo/house is in foreclosure. I'm just saying that your message set a specific tone and I am not surprised that you received a snarky reply in return. That being said, they are (as a whole) good questions.

Personally, I would have just shrugged off the snarky remark and felt better about the choice that I made. Now you can concentrate on park tickets, dining reservations and park hours. Have fun!

 

[JANNYANS]

The information required from the first and last questions is readily available online once you have the owners name .If it can't be confirmed by searching then I would be inclined to ask the questions direct.To me no owner should be over bothered by these questions .

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

I'm not sure why things are like this when we ask questions

I rem. attempting to buy a yellow lab from a breeder and was brow beaten for asking questions. The questions I asked were compiled based on my friend who is a dog breeder. OMG was the breeder insulted. She said to me "I will not place a dog with you!" My thought was "Why is she so defensive?". I don't have an answer for you but know that people can become rude for no apparent reason. Even though two of the questions (per a previous poster) could have been found on the website, it would not have killed the owner to answer them. Afterall, doesn't the owner want his/her unit rented? It's best that you moved on to a different unit.

These are items that are important to me and my family:

Are you licenesed by the state of florida to rent your house? Is it current and is it displayed in the house?
Is there keyless entry?
If keys, do we go straight to the house or do we have to pick up a key somewhere?
Is the air conditioner adjustable or is it set by you? (we like it cold so this is important)
Is this price the total price including tax and any cleaning ?
Are there booking fees?
Is there a damage waiver?
When is deposit due and when is final payment due?
When was the house last updated/renovated?
What is the address of the house?
(this last question is to check tax and foreclosure information)

 

[aaronandterri]

There is a certain leverl of trust when renting a home from a privated individual , i always check they own the house online records etc to see im not being scammed, just ,y luck to get there and nohouse for me ...lolbut wouldnt ask them questions directly, just something i check, if i couldnt find it out myself or got conflicting information then i would ask, nothing wrong with the other questions.

Did u find somewhere nice to stay now???? hope so xx