I think it comes down to personal preference, JMHO
Others will chime in on this as well, I hope..
We prefer dealing direct with an owner for a couple of reasons:
1) Prices are generally better
2) I like knowing "who" we're renting from.
Every home we've rented has had a few very minor issues that have required us to give the mgmt company a call, not unlike having to call the hotel front desk about something in the room.
Like, last year, we were in Florida during a really chilly week, and had to turn the heat *gasp* on in the house.
Our homeowner had just sent us an email saying let me know of anything you need...so we emailed him back and asked about the heat. Ray from the MC was there in less than 30 minutes to open the box for us to switch the heat on.
It would have been ana easy phone call for us to make, and with the same response, I'm sure...but boy, did we feel looked after by our owner
That's why we prefer dealing direct - with really great homeowners.
HTH!
