I need your help with a villa

[eeyorelori]

Hi every one i have narrowed down a villa but it is in high grove i dont think ive seen anyone write about this area ..I was liking E I but i got a responce to one in high grove and the price is good...Real good ..Any ways her calendar is pretty much filled up till july so that is a good thing ...So now where for insurance and how close is it Really to the parks ..... We are going jan 26 till feb 4th ( if it all works out)..So what all do i need to ask her before i take the plunge??????Help please ... I have never rented and this is our 2nd trip....We are staying longer then before and i want it to be the best trip for my family of 7 .....My 2 oldest probally wont go on any more family trips so i want it to be extra special ...Thanks and any tips will help Lor

 

[KerriMc]

Hi Lor ... we are also in the process of looking for a villa. We had some really good offers too and a couple of them were from High Grove as well. In 2005 we stayed in a home in that community. That was before it was completely done, but we didn't have any construction where we were. We had a home that backed onto an open grassy area, so there weren't any homes immediately behind us, which was nice. It was a beautiful home, but our only issue was very smelly water. It was a sulpher smell. I mentioned that to some of the villa owners that contacted us with offers and they both replied that this was a problem that had been fixed and they had never had any issues with it. I would check with the home owner just to be sure. As well, be sure to ask which direction the pool faces as in the time you are going it is cooler and you will want as much sun as possible, even with pool heat. I personally like South or Southwest best, but others will say various directions are just fine. I know the home we were in was East facing and we lost the sun by 2 or 3 pm and then it cooled down considerably to swim. We went in March of that year and the pool had to be turned up a bit as it didn't get warm very fast. Then all of a sudden it was too warm. We couldn't win!

Anyways, it is a lovely group of homes. It is right at the junction of 192 and 27. It is a coded gated community, not a manned gate. Also maybe see who their management company is and how you get your keys. Going to a management office to pick them up is a PITA!!

Have you checked other communities? At that time of the year you should be able to get some really good rates. We are looking in March and it is harder this year because Easter is early and our dates are on the verge of peak times. We are looking at a home in The Hamlet of West Haven and Tuscan Hills (both are gated). There are many nice ones along 27 and they really are just as far away as High Grove is.

Good luck with your search!!
Kerri

p.s. I dont' know where you have been searching but here is a good website ... www.onlinefloridavillas.com or their sister site www.orlandovillas.com. These are all owner verified by the website, which is nice. You can punch in what you are looking for and if you spot a house you like you can put in a request with your dates. If you tick a box there saying "ask all 5 bdrm owners" (or however many you are looking for) then it will go out to all houses on that site and they will start emailing you BUT be prepared to have a TON of emails arrive!! If you are more specific in your inquiry you won't get quite as many (eg. pool direction, alarmed, gated, child friendly, lanai, no smoking, etc).

 

[eeyorelori]

Hey kerri thanks for the quick responce ..
As for the water ,lol we stayed at the holiday inn (nick one) and we found the water really smelly as well ...We will buy bottled water so it dont matter...Thanks about which way the pool faces , i wasnt told that one yet.. I did go to one of those wb sites told them what i wanted and omg was i over whelmed ...They all looked alike but some quates were with everything included and some werent ...What a pain to email all ..But any ways i did ask the owner how we would get in i did read about having to find the manegment comp and it being a pain in the you no what lol.So i guess we will wait to see what her responce is ....Any more tips???

 

[Donald789]

Hi Lori,

I hasn't stayed in high grove yet, but we had a great vacation during our stay at "Cumbrian Lakes".

we have booked the villa through this website springvacationrentals.com

I hope it may be of helpful for you.

Thanks
Donald

 

[isla bonita]

Lori

Ask a lot of questions and keep asking. This is your hard earned money and you should feel comfortable with spending it and getting what you want out of the vacation home. They are not for every one and all homes are as much the same as they are different.

Make lists of what you will need specific to your group. Such as wants and needs ex. baby items, wheel chair access, linens, bed sizes, so on. Ask if there is anything you will need to bring such as pool towels, hair dryers, DVD's or games for the game system.

Sometimes you may find reviews on this forum or when you have chosen the home you can ask if any one knows anything about it. You might get lucky?

 

[MYDISNEYHOUSES]

Just be careful. Sometimes the cheapest price is not always the best.
Sometimes you get what you pay for.

This weekend I received a call from a woman that had rented a home and when she arrived the pool was green and there was no water.

She was calling to see if she could rent one of my homes, but I was booked.
I felt bad for her. What a way to ruin your vacation.

 

[eeyorelori]

Yes i have noticed they dont give you a list of all the stuff they have in the house ..So i am wery of this one ..I new it sounded to ggod to be true lol ...I just have looked at soooooooooooo many and im not sure were to go and who to choose... ..I will keep trying ..Any ideas and tips will be greatly appriciated ...Thanks Lor

 

[MYDISNEYHOUSES]

I do not mean to scare you. I am sure there are some great deals and that
the homes are great. I would just be careful.

You can ask for references from past rentors and give them a call or email them.

 

[WebmasterJohn]

You should check out DreamsVillas.com- they are a sponsor of the DIS Boards and their website is very thorough with lists of what is included in the unit, etc.

Make sure you check out their Frequently Asked Questions page as well.

John

 

[isla bonita]

Yes i have noticed they dont give you a list of all the stuff they have in the house ..So i am wery of this one ..I new it sounded to ggod to be true lol ...I just have looked at soooooooooooo many and im not sure were to go and who to choose... ..I will keep trying ..Any ideas and tips will be greatly appriciated ...Thanks Lor

Lor

Again ask a lot of questions.

who is your man/co, phone, website so on check up on it

see if they have a guest book

check the osceola or polk county for info

There ae some wonderful people out there. Just like anyuthing else there are always a few not so wonderful.

When ever you need more info ask on here they are experts in what to do.

 

[eeyorelori]

Thanks everybody,Hi again Deb you were such a help befroe ..This time we are def going and i got the money ready to make it the best trip ever..Just a little scary..Not like renting a hotel swew...Ok now i do want to no where to go for insurance ..And just about what to expect in price.....
I am decideing this week i made up my mind ..Its just which one lol ...I am sitting here at the puter till wee hrs every night .. ...Thanks everyone ..Kkeep the tips coming

 

[MYDISNEYHOUSES]

www.insuremytrip.com

 

[isla bonita]

Again

Check apples to apples
Travel Insurance Co.s
www.accessamerica.com
www.csatravelprotection.com
www.travelguard.com
www.travelinsured.com
www.travelsafe.com
www.insuremytrip.com
www.costco.com


good luck

 

[KerriMc]

Lor ... where are some of the homes you are considering located? ... I guess this depends on how narrowed down you are!! For awhile there I had it narrowed down to twenty .... my dh didn't understand the obsession!!! Now I have it narrowed down to two, but I've emailed a couple of other ones and I really found another one that I like ... so what is a girl to do??? My three top ones are in Abbey at West Haven, Hamlet at West Haven, and Tuscan Hills. I've also looked at a lot of nice ones in Orange Tree, but the ones I really like don't have alarms, and I do want an alarm on the house we rent. If you need any more ideas I can pm you some nice places!! LOL

Kerri

 

[eeyorelori]

I love you guys i new youd help me ..my god i may ask you which to take lol ...Ok my next question is when i get the quote for the insurance do you quote the whole trip or just the house???
Kerri i just found one that suits me in cleamont,um lets see where it is , its in glen brook ..Gated will have the keys in a codes box..(9 nights for 1000.00 )..Thats about what i found for a 4 bedroom villa ..I think thAT IS A GOOD PRICE ..what all do you think ..Thanks for everything ....Lor

 

[Kellydelly]

You really can get good deals from some homeowners, especially if their homes aren't right in Disney's backyard. I found plenty of nice homes for under $900 when I booked a week's rental for last December. Not everyone charges an arm and a leg . The rate you are being quoted sounds pretty good to me. Is it inclusive of pool heat, cleaning and taxes? (is it a pool home?)

 

[eeyorelori]

Hi Kelly yes he told me that is everything included,and yes it has a pool ...Plus since i am planning it 6 months in advance and its off peak he said hed give it to me for that price...And i think the deposit is only 175 which is pretty good tooo..You mean home owners through the people im gonna rent through? Ok i will ask one more questions ..lol thanks Lori

 

[eeyorelori]

Oh boy am i half asleep ...Sorry Kelly i thought when i read it you said i could get a good deal on the insurance from the owners ...omg I think i may need some tea to wake up lol Thanks again DUH

 

[eeyorelori]

Ok so now my next question is how do i find out who owns the villas??I read on here a while back to make sure they own it ...But i dont no the addy of these villas ...I didnt think they telll you till later......More help please....anything else...Oh yeah when i get the insurance is it just the price of the villa or do you add the whole trip in ..We will be drivng so no air fare....Im down to about 10 now that look good ......Thanks a bunch for all the help ...Lori

 

[Kellydelly]

Is homeowner two words? Now you've got me thinking!