How do I know it's safe to paypal $$ to a WH owner?

[digThisXL]

Just agreed to a price and terms for a stay at a WH townhouse. Owner would like a deposit and the rent to be sent over paypal.

I am happy to do this, but how do I know he will honor the agreement and not run off with the money?

I have verified he is indeed the owner using the property search web site from another post. Also have the name/number of the management company who he coordinates reservations with.

Any suggestions on how I can be 100% safe with money here?

Thanks!
-Joe

 

[deejay-55]

There is always a degree of trust involved - you are trusting the owner to rent you the property, and the owner is trusting you to respect his/her home. Usually it works out fine.

 

[sympatico]

There's no 100% way to know that but if someone is scamming people it doesn't take long for the word to get around, that is of course unless you're the first. Seriously, popular places like WH have a very good grapevine. Other owners would probably know if something illegal was happening. They all want the resort to have a good reputation.

 

[sandybobandy]

Are you able to ask for references? (just an idea)

 

[2xDisneyDad]

As a recent owner in WH I can tell you we are very protective of the good reputation that the resort has. One of the best resources you have is the info that you will find here. There are owners/guests here that may even be familiar with the property that you are concerned about. It is very difficult to be 100% comfortable with it, particularly if its your first time doing the VRBO "thing, I know I was. You can also see if they have a rentors.org calendar and check for reviews of the home. If you found the property through a reputable source such as WH rent or VRBO it also very unlikely that it is a bogus place without an owner taking action or at least hearing about it here.

Good luck, I am sure you will have a great trip.

Steve

 

[digThisXL]

Thanks everyone for the replies! You've all made me much more comfortable with trusting a WH owner who I originally got in contact with through the WH web site (via their request link)

I think I'll send the $ based on your good experiences and feedback with WH owners!

Thanks again,
Joe

 

[Cruz91]

I felt the same way you did about a year and a half ago. I did lots of homework and 'sleuthing' to get the owner's last name, then went through the tax websites to make sure he owned the property I was sending money for. Everything worked out great. So great, in fact, we will soon be leaving for another stay at the same condo!

 

[Mainebound]

You cannot be 100% safe.

You might consider looking into a trip insurance policy that would cover fraud (www.insuremytrip.com).

But I agree with everyone else here -- I consider it a very small risk, well worth what you get in return.

 

[chris7]

plus, you should have some sort of "rental agreement", even if it's just an email, spelling out the dates, the price, the deposit, the date of final payments.........

 

[digThisXL]

He told me there is no "contract," that they just have a lockbox on the door and he refunds the deposit after the stay.

 

[Detailor]

I agree with others that there's a degree of faith associated with making a cash arrangement with anyone renting a property to you. Just remember that the owner is also taking a leap of faith every time he/she rents to someone sight unseen. I think you've performed due diligence by verifying that you are, in fact, dealing with the owner. That should take you a long way toward feeling safer about your transaction. The deposit request is a common one and is the owner's due diligence, assuring that the renter has 'skin in the game.'
One good thing about the way this owner is handling the transaction is his use of PayPal. That creates an immediate transaction history so there should be no concern about a lost check or bad money management.
I've rented from home owners and timeshare owners several times without a formal rental contract in place and have never had a problem, but I think that the advice that chris7 gave you is important. Even if there's no formal rental agreement you should have the basics of an agreement in writing and an email works fine for that. If you haven't received an email spelling everything out I'd suggest that you compose one to the owner detailing your understanding of the terms, when payments are due, verifying when you've sent payments, etc., and asking him to respond to you indicating his mutual understanding.
I believe that the most successful rental experiences are had when there's clear communication from both parties.

Dick Taylor

 

[5mins2disney]

He told me there is no "contract," that they just have a lockbox on the door and he refunds the deposit after the stay.

You should have a rental agreement, which is in effect, a contract. (So should he, it always surprises me that all owners don't do this!) It protects the guest AND the owner, and spells out the terms and conditions to everyone all up front.

If you're using Paypal, I'm assuming you're using a credit card. This means you will have some limited additional protection from your credit card company, if the house didn't exist or something you could file a dispute with your CC company, and in many cases, they would initiate a chargeback and you would get your $$ back.

Trip insurance is also a lot of protection for a small fee.

 

[chris7]

Do yourself a favor and just get something in writing. The owner is probably an honest and upright citizen but it's just common sense to have something in writing when large sums of money are changing hands. What if after you paid he said something like "no, you said you were arriving on the 3rd, not the 2nd". A simple mis-communication can be avoided if you have things in writing. Again, an email works, just something you can point to if there are any discrepancies about what was agreed on.