Advice on booking villas...PLEASE!!!

[a jay]

Stayed in many villas over the years we have been going but funnily enough we have always booked through a tour operator so did'nt have to worry about bankforeclosures. We have already started looking for 2011 with lot's of people sending emails regarding their villas. i have tried to stick to sites that i know some of you have used and recommended. These sites are:
V360 VILLAS 2000, HOLIDAY RENTALS and of course THE DIBB. My question is how to spot a good rental from a bad rental? The prices seem to be a mixed bag and i don't want to jump at the best rental charge as it may turn out to be too good to be true (if you knnow what i mean). I've had a couple of really good prices and with my husband being a typical Welsh man he's desperate to grab a bargin. I love a bargin but i also need the villa to still be around in the summer of 2011. This is something i need help with. Any advice would be great. If anyone would like to pm me i would be happy to let you know some of the prices i have been quoted as i would like another opinnion as weather they really are too good to be true. With always going through an agent we have always paid high rates as it has been luck of the draw to where we have been placed. Next year we want a particular community so are willing to DIY our accomodation.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I can definitely help you, most of the villa websites you refer to are one's I have recommended to many people on here.

All the villas will 'still be around', although naturally ownership changes from time to time.

If you want to start by letting me know what the particular community is we can move on from there, pm me if you prefer to.

I am familiar with most of the villa developments and know a lot of owners by name too.

 

[UKDEB]

I think the truth of the matter is that you can't possibly ascertain whether or not a property is about to be repossessed. Even if you could somehow establish an owner's status before you book, who's to know what could happen between now and next summer?

Booking through a management company, rather than directly with an owner, might give you a greater degree of security as, if an individual owner fails, they'll provide alternative accommodation. However, there's nothing to guarantee that they won't go belly-up - it can and does happen. Also, you will pay more. All Star Vacation Homes, Advantage Vacation Homes, Florida Leisure, Loyalty Homes, Villa Direct and Alexander Florida Holiday Homes are all reputable companies.

If you decide to rent independently, you really need to take the same precautions you would with any major financial outlay. If you were thinking of hiring a builder or a landscape gardener, for example, you'd be wise to ask for recommendations and you'd check that they were registered with the appropriate trade bodies. As far as private villa owners are concerned, you need to establish that they have a local management company to deal with any issues you may have whilst you're there. I've never come across one which doesn't, but I'd go as far as asking which one they use. And ask if they're registered with The Better Business Bureau of Central Florida. Neither of these measures provides you with any guarantees, but they do provide a level of comfort.

We've rented privately many times without problems, but maybe we've just been lucky. Most of those renting directly to the public are not property investors; they're people like you and me who love Orlando and have bought their dream vacation home. On the whole, you'll find them to be passionate and keen to help. Any who ignore specific questions are always immediately struck from our shortlist. Those who don't tire of answering endless, seemingly trivial queries go up in our estimation. Once we're at the booking stage, we've always made a point of speaking with the owners. Renting privately is largely a matter of trust (on both sides) and, after taking as many sensible precautions as possible, you have to be guided by your gut instinct.

 

[Pegasus928]

We have always stayed in villas during our Florida holidays, but have never used a tour operator, preferring to deal directly with the owners. This has never resulted in any problems and we have had a range of prices. The first time we ever went we paid, in hindsight, too much for the villa we had, but we were new and have learnt a lot since.
The site we have used the most is http://www.orlandovillas.com/
All of the owners on there have to verify their ownership status every 6 months, and I am sure the same will be true of any of the reputable sites out there.
When we went last February we had been given a quote that fell into the 'too good to be true' bracket, and this was also the first time that we had found a villa without going to the site above. After a bit of research we did find the same villa on a couple of advertising sites that we knew to have a good reputation, so went ahead with the booking. Everything turned out fine, the location was great and the villa more than lived up to expectations. I still can't understand why the price was so good but am not asking too many questions

 

[buzz for boys]

Im not going to repeat what other have said but wanted to say the most important thing for me is to speak to the owner by telephone. If I leave an answer machine message i expect to have a retuen phonecall in 24 hours. Essentially the renting of their villa should be run like a buisness and if a phone call asking for a quote is not answered - what chance have you got of getting a reply if there is aproblem.

Also a big consideration when I talk to the owners is how enthausistic they are about their villa. The current villa we are renting for our trip thsi year the owner is animated and full of pride of his villa - so I get a really good feeling everytime we chat.

I found my villa on the dibb - if its a dibb villa you can start a thread asking for experience of the villa too.

Hope that helps along with everything else thats already been posted.

 

[a jay]

Hi jhonny this sounds stupid but how do i pm you? This is how long it has been since i did this you used to just click on the name and the emai icon would appear? sorry to be a pain!!!

 

[Dimplenose]

Just click on his username and a drop down menu will appear giving you the option of sending a private message.

 

[UKDEB]

There are several ways to send a PM, but the easiest is to click on the member's username in the left-hand pane. That will open a list of options, the second of which is "Send a private message to xxxxxxxx".

This is probably an opportune moment to issue a gentle guideline reminder regarding personal messages. Members are free to use the private messaging service as just that - private - but, as this is an open discussion forum provided for all to both participate and benefit, we respectfully ask that - in the public forum - you neither request that members respond by PM, nor indicate that you have sent a PM.

In other words, if members choose to correspond by private message, that's fine and hunky-dory, but to broadcast the fact on the boards is not cool. It aint good netiquette and all that.

I hope that make sense, but please feel free to seek clarification if required.

 

[Dimplenose]

Whilst I agree that it isn't good etiquette to say that we've sent a PM it's sometimes necessary since we no longer get notifications that we have received a PM. I now know to check my message status every time I log on to the boards but not everyone remembers.

 

[UKDEB]

You can opt to be notified by email and/or pop-up message when someone sends you a private message. Click User CP to the far left of the dark blue bar at the top of the forum. Select Edit Options from Settings and Options in the left-hand User CP panel. Select the relevant tick-box from the Private Messaging options in the main panel. Scroll to the bottom of the page and save your changes.

 

[Dimplenose]

Thanks for that. When the notifications disappeared a while ago I thought they'd gone for good. I'll go and check out my settings now.

 

[brer rabbit 28]

Hi guys
I am in a villa minefield at the mo. Trying to select one for next October (2011) and finding it so hard. Have had a great quote for Lindfields but my fella is desperate for a site with a lake so he can fish.

We are on a really tight budget as we are going out there to get married as well.

Does anyone have an opinion about Lindifelds? Is it a nice spot?

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi guys
I am in a villa minefield at the mo. Trying to select one for next October (2011) and finding it so hard. Have had a great quote for Lindfields but my fella is desperate for a site with a lake so he can fish.

We are on a really tight budget as we are going out there to get married as well.

Does anyone have an opinion about Lindifelds? Is it a nice spot?

Ideally located though older than some of the other developments in the area, I am not saying that it isn't nice though.

You have easy access to restaurants, supermarkets, Disneyworld is cloeby as is the I4 also.

 

[Disney owl]

We stayed at Linfields on our very 1st visit & found it a nice community in a good position on 192. It is one of the older communities. Sorry no idea if there's a lake.