Any alternatives to VRBO for owner-rented homes?

[Buttercup Roberts]

We were thinking about Christmas 2007 in a rental house. I must have spent 3 hours going through all the VRBO listings to narrow the huge selection down to about 8 that met all my criteria and were at a good price.

I emailed the owners and every one of them was already booked or the price was way over what was stated on the VRBO listing. There were several that say "$ per night and up", but those aren't the ones I'm speaking of. I'm talking about ones that clearly stated the full price for Christmas 2007, but then when they responded to me it was much higher.

VRBO used to be the best place to find things, but it's gotten to the point where there are mostly management companies and multi-home investors renting on there.

Is there another website out there that is what VRBO used to -- single homes and condos rented by individual owners?

 

[JANNYANS]

There are lots of sites out there but the best used ones are probably

www.orlandovillas.com
www.floridahomevacations.com
www.disneypremiervillas.com
www.floridapremiumvillas.com


the advantage these have over VRBO is they a bit smaller and are verified by the site owners .

 

[cdndislvr]

We have used davh.com to rent a condo in Windsor Palms. Very nice area and extremely close to Disney.....just a hop, skip and a jump from AK. I know they have quite an inventory of homes as well and I wouldn't hesitate to rent from them again. Jeff and Lori are a wonderful couple who manage these properties and I'm sure would be able to help you out. You can PM me if you have any further questions. Hope this helps!

 

[tednvon]

here are few of the classic "by owner" sites:

www.villas2000.com
www.greatrentals.com
www.vacationrentals.com

obviously, many owners will have homes on all 4 sites, so you may see some places you recognize...

FYI..Christmas is high high high season...in my opinion you can:
1. rent now, pay the price and know you are locked in.
2. wait until next August so, go to these sites, check the availability calendars and email those with Christmas open and see if they are ready to deal a little.
3. Wait until end of November next year and spend a lot time searching but get a home for low season price it it not already rented by then....

your choice...at a time like Christmas you are in one of the very strong periods to rent that is really an owners market...so it is a bit of gamble...pay now..be sure...wait until just before and look for a bargain...

We are going for 3 months again this year and need a place from Dec 26 to Jan 1st...pickens are a little slim but got a nice place for 4 of us for low season price...and the owners were delighted to get the rental...

Good Luck...Ted

 

[FLParadisevilla]

You can try
www.fabvillas.com
www.orlandovillaowners.com

 

[isla bonita]

There are so many to choose from. Xmas time is very expensive to go to Disney. Owners charge more the week before the week of and the week or so after because of the New Year holiday. Here are a few more if you care to check them out.

Http://emeraldislandresortvacationhomes.com

http://www.fabvillas.com/villa-rental/menu/1/?session=1642522395

http://www.tiptopvillas.com/

 

[disneysteve]

http://www.windsor-palms-florida.net/
Also check this site for rentals in Windsor Palms.

 

[5mins2disney]

www.cyberrentals.com

For homes in Windsor Hills Resort:
www.windsorhillsrent.com

You mentioned it's for Xmas 2007, it's common for someone to think you mean Xmas 2006, many places are booked solid now for this year's xmas but for next year you should be in good shape still. It is considered a "holiday" rate though so be prepared to pay a little more, but people should be quoting you their advertised rates, not more, that's kind of strange.

I think vrbo.com can be a little difficult to navigate compared to some of the other, newer sites.

 

[momto4obkids]

Someone else mentioned www.fabvillas.com

That's the one we used this year and i thought it was really nice to send out a general enquiry on the site and only the people that have availability will reply back with their price for your stay. I got over 100 replies for ours. So,i just took a bit of time to narrow it down to the one i wanted. i thought it was much easier than going through VRBO like we did last year.


hth,
Amanda

 

[FLParadisevilla]

If you know what neighborhood you want, you can narrow your searches on some of these sites to Neighborhoods. The closest neighborhoods to Disney are
Indian Creek, Rolling hills, Windsor Palms, Windsor hills, Emerald Island, Oak Island Cove, Sunset Lakes, Lindfields, Formossa Gardens. I am sure I missed some neighborhoods... let me know which ones I left out as I would not intend to do that.

You can also try www.indiancreekflorida.com

 

[Darcy03231]

I just got a great place on vacationrentals. I paid $550/wk including taxes for a 5 bdrm/3 bath house in Davenport. They were advertising any week for that rate if booked now.

 

[bamajill]

Also try www.globalresorthomes.com

They rent in 3 or 4 communities. We found ours on VRBO and went directly through the owner (and saved a few hundred $$'s) but global was the management company and were great to work with. Very helpful.

We paid $1200 for a 5br/5ba with pool & jacuzzi in Windsor Hills (but we were there early Nov. of this year so I'm sure the rates are much higher at Christmas).

Good luck!