help with vacation homes

[disneydebi]

To all who have rented vacation homes... help.

I have seen many different sites for vacation homes on the web, many having only a few homes to choose from, to those with many.

my dilema is that we are going with a number of people (4 families), and had planned on splitting the crew between 2 homes, which we thought we would be able to get next door to each other... I haven't found many (only one), so far that have that as an option - and only to a limited number of homes, as it seems in most developments, the houses seem to be owned by separate people or different rental companies.

my first question would be what are the good, honest rental companies out there,

and second, what is the best way to get properties next to eachother?. Is that even likely? or are we better off with a couple of condo's? (although we like the idea of the private pool)

your help in this would be appreciated...

 

[LIFERBABE]

Try www.loweryusa.com
I stayed in a 6 bdrm/4 bath home in the Highland Reserve Golf Course Community that was wonderful!
They have many homes in different subdivisions and mentioned that you can rent homes within close proximity. Not sure about next door to each other but I definitely know on the same street and block. They were very helpful and went out of their way to accomodate us. Pete told us "It's your holiday and we'll do whatever it takes" I really appreciated that and they did.

I too have a question about vacation homes. We are planning on returning next June and want to stay in Windsor Palms. 4 bdrm or more. I prefer to use an agent (better tems and amenities and pricing from what i've gathered). Thanks for the help.

 

[disneydebi]

Windsor Palms is where we were thinking as well. I see so many different rates for the 4 bedrooms there, from 140 - 209/night, depending on where you rent from. Any thoughts?

 

[LIFERBABE]

I found an owner on VRBO.com that is offering $132 per night next June 4 bedroom but I would like to do some comparing of properties available in WP before sending my deposit, since her cancel policy is 10 weeks. Thats why Im looking for an agency. It's hard to compare terms, amenities, and pricing when dealing with individual owners. You have to contact each one and ask the same question over and over. I want top of the line amenities and price in the home not just what the resort has to offer.

 

[FLeisure]

Hope this is not seen too much as advertising.....if it is please delete it :

We have several homes that are side by side. We have 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 bed homes all side by side, .

For large parties we have 1 x 7 bed, 4 x 6 beds and 1 x 5 bed that are all side by side on Cumbrian Lakes. On Sunset Lakes we have 5 x 4 bed homes, south facing overlooking a large lake all side by side. You can book one, two or as many as you like ! Please note that these homes do book out some way in advance.

 

[CDisney]

RE: good, honest rental companies out there

I've rented from two of the rental home companies that get good marks on the DIS boards and have had good experiences both times. I rented 4-bedroom homes from Premier Homes and from Florida Leisure.

I'm partial to Florida Leisure because the prices are a little better and I can pick a specific house from the company's website. I know what to expect before I arrive.

In the confirmation papers, Florida Leisure gives you the address and telephone number of your home, which is convenient if you have to leave any contact info with family back at home or at work.

 

[PartyofSix]

Just returned from a 5 night stay at a home in the Rolling Hills Area. It was a 6br 4ba. It was beautiful. We rented from the Hyslops who live in the UK. Elizabeth gave me a rate of 599 from June 29th-July4th. As time drew closer for us to arrive she provided me with all the info we needed and the managment company was Fl. Leisure. We had no problems. Well, except for one neighbor that moved in 6 or so houses down and they were extermly loud. To the point you could hear them inside the home! I tried to call FL but got the machine and then I could'nt page them because the phone had to be activated for a cc to use it. (We used our cell phones instead) So as a last resort I called 911 and reported the noisy neighbors. I don't believe that helped because the next night it was the same. It was a large group of folks by the pool. Up until then pretty uneventful. When we arrived the sliding door to the pool was off the tract and I called FL and left a message that my husband had come in a few hours later and repaired it. They charge you extra if you leave the doors open and I did'nt want to risk any of the 450 deposit I had shelled out. On Monday the guy from FL came and fixed a pushed in screen around the patio (not at my request) and Tuesday the lawn guy was there and by Wenesday the pool was need of maintance and we never saw the Pool guy. I would lean towards not doing it again. If we do it would proabley be in the Formosa gardens area. The lots looked a little larger and you might could get a bit more privacy. Although it was a nice house and close to Disney like she promised the privacy we expected was not that great.

 

[FLeisure]

I'm a bit horrified to hear your comments in regard to the pools ! Elizabeth has 3 homes and we take extra care of them as the original pool filters installed by the builder aren't really big enough. I can assure you that the pool guy (my brother !) did do the pools but it might be the case that you were out. The pools are normally done on a Friday on Rolling Hills by the way.

I'm also annoyed by the noisy neighbour down the street but events such as that are outside of our control unless we manage the particular home concerned. Some people just don't show any consideration.

Not quite sure what you mean about the $450 security deposit as it is $250. Please note that we have only ever had cause to charge it on three occassions and that was for wilful damage ! Believe it or not, two kids got into a fight one evening on one house and punched a hole through the drywall !

I'm sorry that the noisy neighbours spoiled your vacation and I do hope that they don't put you off visiting again.

 

[Timon]

My brother stayed last year in Indian Ridge Oaks thru Premier and he didn't have a pleasant experience, pool problems, dryer problems...still hasn't received his deposit back yet either.

We stayed in January in Rolling Hills thru Loyalty USA http://www.loyaltyusa.com
and we enjoyed it thoroughly! I very much enjoy their web site as you can choose the actual home you want to stay in. It has calendars with the availability listed which makes it very handy! Another great thing we liked was that the door locks are electronic, so no trekking around Kissimmee looking for the rental office, you just go straight to the house as they e-mail you the code just before you leave. I would highly recommend them! Yvonne was great to deal with too!

FLeisure, I like your website as well, but it would be great to know where each of the houses is located. I had looked into renting with you guys last year and found two perfect houses for our group but after e-mailing about locations, they ended up being in an area we weren't too keen on being in. So we went with Loyalty USA. I love your videos though! Great extra touch!

 

[FLeisure]

Timon,
We've thought long and hard about how to improve things and in an ideal world we'd love to put more details on the web site in regard to location. Unfortunately we also have to bear in mind the security issues and have decided not to put an actual sub-division on the home listing. We could put East or West of Disney on if you thought that would be a help.

We have also thought about a calender for each house but have again come to the conclusion that we could be telling the wrong person when the house is empty. Open to ideas on this.

The other thing we have been working on is more detail on the inventory of the home. We have been working on this for a while but it seems to have taken a lot longer than we hoped it would !

We're always receptive to ideas on how to improve the useability !

Glad you enjoyed your stay and hope you enjoy many more.

 

[PartyofSix]

We were in the home on Star Lake View Drive. Your correct about the pool guy.LOL We checked in on Sat. and out on Thrus. I booked her home thru vrbo.com and when I contacted her I did have to make a 450.00 at her bank then 599.00 for the 5 night stay. She said that would be returned in 14 days or so. But I know she checked into that home for 14days on the day we checked out. No matter the neighbors where just happy to be there I guess. I heard Marko-Polo around that pool for and hour at 11 @ night. It was annoying to say the least. The home was extermly nice and lovely decorated. I did take a drive across the way to Formosa Gardens and the homes seemed to have a slightly bigger lot. I like two that had balconies from the master upstairs. This backed off to the Lake. I must say it was nice sitting out at night and looking over the Lake at the property we stayed at. The view was great.

I have a reciept in hand for the 450 deposit so I'm sure it was not 250.00 I was within 2 months of taking the house if that made a difference. I deposit this in her personal account so I have a reciept from the bank which she and I both liked. Most people wire her the money. But when she told me she banked at a large banking system. There is one two blocks from my work I ran down made the deposit and she was able to call her bank and verify. It was very simple and easy. I assume then if I had of booked thru FL my deposit would have been 250.? I may do that next time. It made me cringe to pay almost as much in deposit and the total rental was.

 

[crazywig]

i am renting from the hyslops in january (i didn't know they had multiple houses, this one is also 6br 4ba in rolling hills, probably the same house as partyofsix).
i must say i'm a bit disappointed with the previous post, but i'm also reassured knowing that FLeisure is the mgmt company! judging from posts, their company seems to bend over backward to assure customers are satisfied.

and yes, the dep. is $450

 

[LIFERBABE]

Party of Six, those were excellent rates on a 6 bdr home! I rented from an owner June 8-16th and paid $1400 for the week.

It was split between 2 families and well worth it and I would definitely do it again. With smaller children 3 and 5 It is much easier to keep up with them in a larger setting. They had plenty to do in the home, enjoyed the pool so much my 5 yr old told his grandmother over the phone that "I have a new house with a swimming pool and he wasnt coming back to Texas!" We Foreman grilled on the lanai and had lunch overlooking the pool. It's not easy dragging little ones out of the bed to get to the park upon opening, and if you do you risk crankiness from hell. We decided we were on vacation and we would get there when we got there, so we had some very relaxing mornings by the pool and breakfast. Once we got to the parks the boys were set to go for many hours and we had very few cranky episodes.

With rates that low I understand the extra security deposit on the owners part. I am already booking our next home for our return next June and I am definitely not finding rates like that.

 

[FLeisure]

Partyofsix,

Hard for me to comment on the security deposit because you booked directly with the owner and they all have different policies and rates. There's nothing wrong with booking directly but sometimes you get odd things like this. I'll have a chat to Elizabeth later on ..... she is out here as you know !

Crazywig,
We look forward to seeing you. You'll probably see more of Andrew than me but I'm always knocking about somewhere !

Liferbabe.....the rates you see are pounds sterling not dollars ! At least I hope they are

 

[PartyofSix]

Crazywig: Don't let me dampen your trip. The house is amazing and you will love it. It was on Star Lake View Dr and was a snap back and to to Disney. Only 13 or so miles to US/IOA. My kids got so tired playing peek-a-boo around the kitchen island they stayed pooped!

FL: Please give Elizabeth our reguards. The Hyslops surley are not to be faulted for the unruley neighbors we encountered. Things like this are bound to happen from time to time. I would have not be nearly as annoyed but when you get triplets down for the night you've done somthing!LOL I did'nt not want them waking up to all that noise and being scared.

 

[kidzmom3]

I can also say that we had a good experience with floridaleisure. We rented 2 years ago a 5 bedroom at Sunset lakes. It was an excellent location, very very clean and they provided some extra amenities at our request (we did pay for them, but it was excellent that they were in the house when we arrived). It appeared that someone checked the house everyday. they left us a couple of notes in the kitchen. We were even able to cook a full Thanksgiving meal and eat it in a lovely dining room.

We have just bought a house in Windsor Palms and hope that the management company we signed with will take as good of care of our house as Floridaleisure did the rental house. My father-in-law decided on the different company. I am not sure of his full reasons, but I think it was partly that it was a family run company with many arms ie decorating, management, grounds etc... Our house is next to get its foundation, so we hope that things get rolling soon.
\
good luck with your rentals.

 

[FLeisure]

kidzmom3,
We're very happy that you purchased a home on the back of your experience with us. We hope that it turns out to be everything you hope it will be. If ever you need some advice or any help whatsoever, just let us know. You will be on a steep learning curve for a while - hopefully the PM I sent you a while back with a homeowers web site address included will have enlightened you to some of the new problems you will face. Enjoy !

 

[momto4obkids]

I came across this site when i was searching for info on the subdivision we are staying at for our Feb. trip.

These people own three homes that are all beside each other.


http://www.imagecreation.co.uk/falcon/thevillas.html


HTH!
Amanda

 

[UKDEB]

Check out this website which I came across a while back:

Magic Mouse Villas

I know nothing about it, other than it is a swish website, the homes look nice and they are all on the same development (Windsor Palms).

In the past we have shared villas on some occasions and other times we have booked separate homes on the same development. I don't think you really need to be next door to one another - just within walking distance. If you book directly with the owners you can normally get a plan of the development, so you can work out the proximity of different homes without necessarily having to book with the same person.

 

[disneydebi]

I appreciate all the input...

I'm leaning towards Windham(Windsor?) Palms or Formosa Gardens. so if any of you have specific info on those, rental agencies that handle those subdivisions etc. We are likely looking for either two 4 bedroom homes, and as I said would like to be as close to eachother as possible....

thanks!