My own rental house thread for advise on house being for sale

[jaceraden]

Another thread about issues with a rental home being for sale got me to investigate the home I put a hefty deposit on.

Low and behold, the house I have a deposit on is for sale. The manager didn't seem to think it was an issue. But didn't have any reassurance for me when I asked the what ifs about transferring bookings, what to do if new buyer doesn't honour same or even desire to use property as rental.

I was uncomfortable with this - obviously! We are going at a busy time so we can't afford to show up and be out our money AND nowhere to stay! So, I asked to cancel. It's been 1 month since we booked and 6 months until we arrive. Tons of notice!

The problem is that HALF of my sizeable first payment is being held back for "fees". Part of it is management fees (X) and was listed in the rental agreement. The other half is booking site fees (Y) that are not listed in the rental agreement. The cancellation policy clearly states only the management fees of X amount would be held back. I was given no logical response for the Y fees other than it being out of their control.

I thought I'd give my CC a call to see my options for disputing the charge. Now that was a complete waste of 45 minutes of my life. Apparently their advise was to wait 15 days after I get my partial refund and then put in a dispute and hope for the best. Oh, this was after they said I couldn't dispute it until after I arrived there and didn't receive the service I had paid for?! ummm what? Conveniently the one bit of advise involving a call back in 15 days puts me outside of my 45 day dispute window....

Halp! Please, what can I do?!

 

[cey]

You are able to lodge a complaint with the BBB regarding your management company. This may not result in your gaining your "booking fees" back, but will allow other potential renters to be cautious when booking with this MC. In my experience, booking fees can be returned when that particular rental property is rented during your original dates. However,this sounds pretty suspect to me, as perhaps the management company is already aware that any new owners will be selecting a different management company and that MC is trying to maximize its profit on this property before they lose it! When our former villa rental sold, I received all my deposit back, as that MC lost the listing. They still continue to advertise that listing on their site though, with all the dates blocked off in order to "pad" their rental inventory. My most important tip is to find out the address of your rental and google it regularly to see if it comes up for sale!

 

[jaceraden]

Well, I went through Homeaway's site today and learned a few things.

1. Homeaway's listing says no refund for cancelling.
2. My rental agreement says 100% refund minus $200 admin fee.
3. Manager says Homeaway's extra cancellation fees are "out of our control"
4. Homeaway has several handy videos on their site that explain the fees are absolutely refundable (the booking manager can choose 0%, 50% 100% refund)
5. Manager is playing dumb...

 

[HopperFan]

Well, I went through Homeaway's site today and learned a few things.

1. Homeaway's listing says no refund for cancelling.
2. My rental agreement says 100% refund minus $200 admin fee.
3. Manager says Homeaway's extra cancellation fees are "out of our control"
4. Homeaway has several handy videos on their site that explain the fees are absolutely refundable (the booking manager can choose 0%, 50% 100% refund)
5. Manager is playing dumb...

Have you contacted Homeaway? and told them what the manager said and that you are trying to cancel because the unit is up for sale and you are traveling during a busy time and can't take that chance.

 

[jaceraden]

Have you contacted Homeaway? and told them what the manager said and that you are trying to cancel because the unit is up for sale and you are traveling during a busy time and can't take that chance.

That was going to be my next step. I brought up BBB, everything I learned on Homeaway, my prior experience with cancelling a booking and suddenly I have a few different refund emails in my inbox to go sort through!

 

[anne60]

I hope it works out and you get your money back. I still cannot get over the audacity of putting a house up for sale and not offering refunds to those who may want to cancel their bookings.

 

[jaceraden]

Phew! I got my money back - every single cent. But, it goes to show that some people are shady and you need to be able to speak up or get run over!

 

[pcstang]

BBB is a scam, they are just a business like any other business. They try to extort money from small business owners, like me, to achieve good ratings. Just a heads up!

 

[cey]

I and many others have posted complaints on the BBB site and they have been dealt in an expedient and professional manner. If you have been scammed or extorted by a site, you should be reporting it to the police. You have a greater chance of having your issues dealt with then posting it on a message board.

 

[jaceraden]

If you have been scammed or extorted by a site, you should be reporting it to the police. You have a greater chance of having your issues dealt with then posting it on a message board.

Good morning!

I didn't come here to get my issues dealt with. I came to this message board for advice and opinions. And I got some good ones. Thank you!

 

[cey]

My post was directed at a posting by pcstang. It is directly above my last post.