Help on Villa Rental

[Artuero]

I've found what looks like a very nice vacation home on VBRO that is available at a price I like for when I want to travel.

Now, the owners seem very nice, and have been very forthright about answering questions even if it might not be to their benefit, so from a "feel" standpoint I feel comfortable. The price isn't rediculously low or anything as far as I can tell. But, I thought I would ask here before sending check accross the Atlantic to someone I've never met.

I will probably go ahead and rent it, but thought I would check here first rather than complaining later and having everyone say "what, you didn't do X before renting?" So if anyone has any tips I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Art

 

[FLeisure]

Art,
You really have very little to worry about in terms of dealing with someone who is in Europe. There are close to 16,000 rental homes in this part of Central Florida and the vast majority are owned by folks from UK.

All these people fell in love with Florida and purchased a home primarily for their family to enjoy. They take a great pride in their homes, probably more so than the actual one they live in !

Naturally, they rent the houses out when they aren't able to enjoy them and folks, such as your good self, are then able to enjoy a fabulous time in a true home from home.

The things you should look for when renting directly from an owner are :

1. Make sure you understand the terms and conditions.
2. Know when the deposit is due and know when the final balance must be paid.
3. Very often an owner will accept payment into their US bank account. Some owners even have arrangements with their management companies to take payment in the States.
4. Vitally important is that the owner has a good management company looking after their home. Ascertain who this is and check them out via Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce and Central Florida Property Manager's Association.
5. Before handing any money over, ensure you have seen some pictures of what you are renting and where it is. A web site is Ok and most owners have their own these days. Don't expect to be given the full address to the property until you have paid but you should at least ascertain which sub-division the home ois located on.

The whole transaction should be a pleasant experience and if you follow the above you can't go far wrong. There is a misconception that you can save money by renting directly from the owner but it is true that the owner will usually know more about their property than the MC, particularly when the MC is large and this helps when asking those detailed questions such as what size are the beds?

Hope that helps, feel free to ask more questions.

 

[ptcruisermom]

Art,

We are renting directly this time. Just sent in the final balance this past tuesday. When we had questions with our owners they answered promptly. When they received our down payment they immediately e-mailed us to let us know that it had arrived safely. It takes a good 5 days to get over there(at least fromOhio). So I am anxioulsy awaiting they reply that they received our balance. Don't really expect to hear before monday. Every question I asked they answered, and when their web site went down thissummer( i had it marked as my home page), and i got panicky after a few weeks, I e-mailed them and they immediately responded and gave me their uk web-site. We are going 12-20 tru 1-10. Did they tell you what subdivision the home is located in ? Have you ever rented a vacation home before. We were hesitant to rent this way, but the home has a lot of nice features. Getting close now so strating to get excited.
Dede

 

[Artuero]

Thanks Nigeland Dede for the responses. I didn't really have a preference between renting directly from the owner or from a management company. Just went to the different websites and this property was in my top two choices; the other one was not available and this one was.

I have not rented a vacation home in Orlando before, but have elsewhere, including London (much better than the hotels there). I find it ideal for our family, with a five and three year old. Maybe the kids will like staying in hotels more when they are older, but for a house is hands down better.

They sent me the address and the house is located in Formosa Gardens. Which looks like a good place especially because it seems to have on average larger lot sizes.

I have gotten pictures of the house and it looks pretty good.

Going Jan. 31 to Feb. 8, and can't wait.

By the way, Nigel, that list of questions should go in a FAQ somewhere, it is very useful.

 

[FLeisure]

Actually, it's not Frank.....it's Nigel but I've been called worse

FAQ.....I agree with you and really this forum should have a seperate section on vacation homes as the topic comes up so much.

Hope you have a great time at Formosa. Great location and generally speaking, very nice houses.

 

[Artuero]

Sorry, not sure where I got that from (fixed now though). Thanks again.

 

[ptcruisermom]

I think they should have a separate forum for the vacation villa too. I can't see why anyone would want to stay in a cramped hotel room when you can have a whole house and your own private pool. Just my opinion.

 

[marciaj]

Artuero, could you tell me where you found this house? We are going in Jan. 2004 and I'm looking for a 4-5 bedroom. I'm so excited to stay in a house. I too couldn't imagine choosing a hotel room over a house for the same/more $.

 

[kermittheturtle]

We found a 4B home in Oak island Cove $880/8nights(taxes and pool heat included) on www.orlandovillas.com. So far the owners have been really great. They've answered all my questions (and I have lots of them)in a very timely manner. They emailed me right away when they received the check but then when they sent it off to they're bank it took so long, that they contacted me right away and wondered if it had gone through my account and if it had'nt they thought I should cancel it. They were very apollagetic (is that how you spell that?) for any inconvenience. And why would they want me to cancel it if it was anything illigitimate? I was a little worried about sending a new check since this will be our first time renting a vacation home and I want everything to go smooth but I did cancel it and sent a new one. Should I worry????

 

[JANNYANS]

Don't worry it may be that the owners are new and do not realise that time it can take for mail to get from the uk to the usa -snail mail is about right.If you have cancelled one check then it can't be banked right? If you rent from someone in the uk again ask if you can send them the check to their us bank or their management company- saves the time this is what I -ask my guests to do .I'm sure everything will be ok.

 

[Artuero]

Marcia, I found the house at VRBO - Vacation Rentals By Owners, Central Florida Page which has a lot of available properties. There are a number of other sites that list available properties; I saw a pretty complete listing in a post but the search feature appears to be disabled right now so I can't find it for you.

There really should be a separate board for villa rentals, especially with search not working all that well.

 

[ibleedblue]

I used VRBO and orlandovillas.com when booking three houses for a summer 2004 trip (big, big family). I'm dealing with 2 different owners for the 3 homes. All homes are in Windsor Palms. One of the things I did to try and cover myself was to check the property tax records in Orange County to make sure the people who said they owned the homes did. You can do this online (sorry, I don't have the address any longer, but a Google search of Orange County taxes should get you close). Everything checked out fine for me and I sent two checks to the UK. It took 2-3 weeks for them to clear my account. Thus far everything has gone flawlessly. The owners have quickly responded to any questions I've asked. It's been 2 1/2 years since our last trip and I am hoping this one goes smooth!!

Greg

 

[FLeisure]

Greg,
That's a great idea but don't you mean Osceola County as there are no homes in Orange County that are able to do Short Term Rentals?

 

[kermittheturtle]

Thank you for the replies!! Makes me feel alot better. I'm sure everything will be just fine.

I would have loved to have a seperate board on vacation homes about 2 months ago!!

Thanks ~ Kermit

 

[ibleedblue]

Originally posted by FLeisure
Greg,
That's a great idea but don't you mean Osceola County as there are no homes in Orange County that are able to do Short Term Rentals?

Yep...you're correct. Apologies...

Greg

 

[marciaj]

thanks, for all the info. the search begins.

 

[FLeisure]

Happy hunting Marciaj!

Moderators.......is it possible to have a seperate section for home / villa rentals ? It seems this topic comes up every week and it might be a good idea.

 

[MalcolmC]

I'll second that, Frank.

Sorry!!! Nigel