Nervous to rent vacation home

[Rroo]

I think I have found a vacation home that I am interested in renting directly from the owner, however, I am nervous to do so. How do you know if everything is legit and that those people really do own the home you are paying a deposit for?
Thanks!

 

[Sunrisedream]

Hi Rroo,

Which site are you booking them from? Some sites (orlandovillas, onlinefloridavillas, villasflorida, disneypremiervillas, for example) require the owners to verify they own the villa listed every 6 months with a current utility bill. For added peace of mind you could ask for the contact details for the owner's Management Company, and check with them. I have done this for guests on occasion when asked.
Finally, don't be afraid to ask the owner any questions to put your mind at rest, most owners are more than happy to talk about their pride and joy!!

 

[Rroo]

Thanks for your reply. We found it on www.vrbo.com.

 

[isla bonita]

You could ask on this forum if any one has ever rented from the owner or stayed in the particular home and how it was?

There is a site that if the home is in Osceola county you can check if they own the property. Here is the site.

http://www.property-appraiser.org/

Hope this helps Deb

 

[Lisa AF]

We always contact the management company and verify tax records. Deb gave a link to Osceloa. This is to Davenport http://fl-polk-taxcollector.governm...page.asp?sid=1456C7C409CC4E959DA2473CF5B925F8.

Many of us have stayed in vacation homes. You could request that Dis folks list the homes they've stayed in. There are also many owners here.

I think you are wise to becareful. We luckily have had only one problem and we became aware months before our trip. The man did own the house we rented but wasn't ethical. We were fortunate our trip wasn't ruined. An owner on Disboards came through with a similar house and price to bails us out.

 

[FLParadisevilla]

Talk to the owner, what kind of a feeling do you get from the owner. Ask them to call you so you can talk to someone in person and its not just an email. You can ask questions about the house that is not in the ad or that the owner would know.
We all also have to have a hotel license and you could ask for a copy of that, or talk to thier management company.
I understand being nervous the first time I rented a home the owner was in the UK and I had never delt with anyone in the UK before. But it worked out wonderful for us! We planned our wedding in the house and got married out by the pool, so that would have been quite a big day to mess up if it did not work. I talked to the owner quite a few times before we got there and they were great!
If you have any questions ask us we all would be happy to help you with this!

 

[horseshowmom]

Also, I only rent from owners who accept credit cards, so that I have some recourse if I have a problem. Not all owners do accept them (and I understand their reasons why), but it's a dealbreaker for me if they don't.

 

[JANNYANS]

Talk ,Talk and talk more to the owner and get a "feel "for them .Check the county site to see if they are the registered owners of the property.I may be wrong on this but I don't think VRBO ask for validation so you need to do your own research .If you need help on checking just ask .

 

[FLParadisevilla]

I understand the part of using a credit card, the problem with some of the owners with that, is that if they are not a US resident they can't get a US merchant account, these owners will have to go through thier managment Company to process cards, which is not a bad thing either.

I agree talk, talk, talk, that will make you feel the most comfortable! I am sure any owner will understand the guest being leary and asking lots of questions.

Jan, You are correct VRBO does not ask for verification on the homes the only site I have found who is very strict on verification is Orlando Villas.

 

[5mins2disney]

windsorhillsrent.com has lots of "Verified" properties listed.

Thanks for posting the Osceola .gov site, that's a neat link! I would definitely want to talk to their MC if you're not sure.

Another site you can use to verify property addresses and values (which is kind of neat for real estate shopping) is www.zillow.com but some of the newest places won't come up in it yet.

You could always call the local BBB too and make sure that both the owner and the MC don't have complaints against them, some of the notoriously bad MCs will be all over the BBB (Better Business Bureau). On the other hand, reputable / larger companies will be listed as members!

http://www.orlando.bbb.org/