Rental Home...Too good to be true??

[terribm]

Ok, I need your help and advice. I have put a deposit down on a rental property (1st time b/c we usually stay onsite). The price is really good and I am worried that I am missing something. I have mapquested the address and it will take about 15 min to travel to the World which I am fine with b/c we will go every other day. It is a 4 BR with private pool in Nov for $350/wk INCLUDING TAXES!! If anyone could take a look http://www.vrbo.com/72211
and help me with any negatives that I might be overlooking I would greatly appreciate it.

Terri

 

[MICOL]

We had a 5 bedroom home from VRBO in Feb in Lake Berkley area of Kissimmee not far from the Walmart on Route 192 and that was $900, we loved it, great way to stay for a vaca as we had our family and two couples stay with us. It is so much better than a one room hotel at disney. We have stayed at AKL and Port Orleans and loved the rental home. The kitchen, full size fridge. A number of baths. A place for all of us to sit at the end of the day to have a drink and relax. We hit everypark without a problem. Just ask the owner for any shortcuts to the parks.

 

[FayeW]

Looks good to me... I emailed to get a quote for my dates!

 

[minnie29uk]

All I'll say is ,if an owner advertises (Davenport,FL 5 Minutes to Disney on his advert
Do you want to deal with someone who starts off with a blatant lie!

Just double check it is 350 dollars and not 350 pounds!

Good luck (hope you wont need it!)

Lynn

 

[spookyuki]

Wow! What a deal!
Please write a report when you get back from your vacation. I am very interested for my next vacation.

 

[JANNYANS]

This home is on Esprit by the looks of it -a nice community and close to the 192/27 junction so use Sherberth road .
Looks as if you have to pay $15 a day for pool heat which you will definitely need in Nov .The owners live not far away so maybe they just run it as a hobby and do not worry about covering their costs .Good luck with this I hope it turns out ok for you .

 

[tpayne]

These deals have always worked well for me. In February, we rented a 6 br home with pool, gameroom, the whole nine yards for 400 dollars from Thursday until Monday. It was so clean and pretty....much better than a hotel room. I don't think I will ever do it any other way.

 

[GoofyGolferGirl]

I have to agree with minnie29uk, if I looked at it correctly it is in Altamonte Springs which is quite a distance from Disney, IMO it is a lot more than 15 minutes and definitely more than 5 especially during morning/afternoon rush hour. I think if you use the pool you will need the heater in Nov. which will add more $ and if you don't stay 2 weeks you will have to add a cleaning fee. Proceed with caution, maybe call the Better Business Bureau and check them out. Fl has all kinds of cautions out for tourist to beware, on the other hand their are a lot of great businesses/rental in Fl. Good Luck in whatever you decide to do!

 

[cinamin27]

dont forget to add the $80 cleaning fee as stated in the policy for stays less than 2 weeks. so $350 + $80 = $430 for the week! great price!

for spring break week 2006 I rented a private pool home right near the kissimmee & st cloud borders for $412 for the week so this price is believable.

I purchased it as a buy it now on ebay. after my stay the owner offered me to stay again anytime I wished (if it was available) for the same price. she has been listing it recently on ebay again as a buy it now for less than $500 for the week. I'm guessing with so many pool homes, because of competition people "gotta to do what they gotta do" to recoup any mortgage/maitenance company fees by renting it for rock bottom prices, especially if their homes are just basic pool homes with out all the extras that other people are adding to their homes for enticement (i.e. game rooms, pool tables, etc)

 

[cinamin27]

I have to agree with minnie29uk, if I looked at it correctly it is in Altamonte Springs which is quite a distance from Disney, IMO it is a lot more than 15 minutes and definitely more than 5 especially during morning/afternoon rush hour. I think if you use the pool you will need the heater in Nov. which will add more $ and if you don't stay 2 weeks you will have to add a cleaning fee. Proceed with caution, maybe call the Better Business Bureau and check them out. Fl has all kinds of cautions out for tourist to beware, on the other hand their are a lot of great businesses/rental in Fl. Good Luck in whatever you decide to do!

they have it listed on VRBO in the category of Altamonte Springs but the address on the ad is actually in Davenport:
ADDRESS: 121 Therese Street. Davenport, FL 33897

just like the OP, I ran it through mapquest & I am also getting 15 minutes to downtown disney so the drive time is probably close to that to all the parks with Animal Kingdom being closest

 

[isla bonita]

The way I read it like goofygolfergirl you will be paying additional 80.00 for clean fee and if you plan on the pool that will be additional 15 per day like Jannyans mentioned. Both of these should be taxed not sure if they absorb that. Also the time there is no way this home is 5 minutes from Disney. Trust me it is not hours away but there is no way you will get to any Disney park from here in 5 min. I think at best it will take at least 20. A great deal just you really need to know the true facts. Hope it works for you and have a great time. Let us know how you liked the home and what the actual time was for further guests.

 

[martina857]

Ignore any comments from dissers who own villas on this thread they have ulterior motives to make you feel uncomfortable, just call the owners of your rental and use your gut feeling, it looks a nice place and a 20 minute or so drive for a great deal like that is well worth it !!!

M

 

[dgaston]

I just read the ad quickly, so may have missed the info, but noticed the second bedroom has a full size bed, and didn't find size of bed in the master. Bedding choices are one of the things I look at to narrow down prices. But even with pool heat and cleaning fee ($350 + 80 + 105) this makes for an affordable rental. Also didn't notice anything about taxes, but I just glanced quickly.

 

[isla bonita]

Martina857

Why the rude comment? We are giving her information like all other Diser's. What did we say that would lead any one person to think I or any other owners had an ulterior motive? Please let me know what I said or how I said it that would leave anyone to think anything other then giving a poster a reply that would give them the facts.

 

[kilee]

I want to add that I have not found any of our villa owners to be out of line on this thread (or others for that fact). In most cases they are extremely helpful in letting potential renters know what they may want to look for. Which is a great asset. I think everyone has valid points that are useful to the OP.

Now, to the OP-- I have stayed in Davenport. You should be able to make the commute in a solid 15 minutes. If you do encounter really heavy traffic or construction that could be longer. I have stayed in Emerals Island-- but we found we can get a much larger house w/ more amenities for 1/2 the price by doing the short drive. So it's our preference to stay in the Davenport area. It looks like a great deal. I'd want to see more photo's, but aside from that looks like it's a keeper.

 

[Kycha]

I'd want to see more photo's, but aside from that looks like it's a keeper.

I agree with kilee. I would ask the owner to provide you with more photographs. When I rented a home 2 years ago, I noticed that a couple of the homes that I looked at used the exact same pictures on their website. So, I immediately crossed them off the list. The home we ended up renting had 30+ pictures on their website so we had a really good idea of what to expect. The house looked exactly like the photos. So, we were very pleased. It is hard to get a real feel for what the house is like with only 3 photos.

Also, I didn't read anything in the description about taxes. Make sure to request a quote before you put any money down. You don't want any surprises later on.

 

[terribm]

Thank you all for your helpful advice. It has really made me feel alot better about the house. I know that the advertised distance of 5 min is not realistic. I was counting on more like 15 min which is fine. And although the quoted price on the website is $15 per day for heating the pool, the owner quoted me $10 per day on my rental agreement. Also, just $75 cleaning fee rather than $80. I have it documented so I feel fine about that. Overall, I feel like it is a really good deal. I will try to see if the owner can send me some more pics of the interior of the house. I will do a trip report when we return for those of you interested in this house.

thanks,
Terri

 

[MaMa3Princess]

Terri,

Congrats on your great find!! I am glad you found something that is accommodating for your family. We just stayed in Emerald Island for 700 dollars including pool heat. And the house was immaculate. SO, there are deals to be made glad you found one Hope I can find a good deal for our trip in December

 

[Robinrs]

A few years ago we did have some owners and managers that caused problems on these boards, one I know got thrown off for some of his comments. Lately I have not seen this happen, thank goodness.

 

[tednvon]

Robinsr, you do a great job!...This board has become much more interesting with so many homes and condos on the market and how much more internet savvy the public is becoming.

You have done a great job of allowing good dialog and open discussion of what is really happening in the rental market...I am sure you know this, but this topic has helped so many people have a vacation of a lifetime at a cost that they could not imagine for the homes and condos they get. Sometimes those of us who are lucky to do Disney a lot forget the thrill and excitement that goes with a trip to Disney World. Keep up the good work...Ted