Renting a home - how to get started? Good location? Company?

[classicpooh]

Hoping to be directed on some information on how to get started in renting a home....

What is a good location /community (hoping to be within 10 minute drive of Disney)?

Reputable managment company? One's to avoid? Please Help!

 

[englishteacha]

I had good luck finding affordable rentals on vrbo.com and vacationrentals.com . We rented from an owner and never dealt with a management company. We stayed at Grand Palms in the Lindfield Development last year. It was about 10-15 minutes away from WDW.

 

[paper1225]

I second vrbo.com and Grand Palms......we stayed in a 3 bedroom condo there and had a GREAT experience last summer. It has to be the best vacation we have taken! The price was great, owner was awesome to work with(even gave us a Rain forest cafe gift card since he could not accomodate our exact schedule), and it was so quiet there compared to our days at the park!!

 

[Blondiex46]

I did it for the first time and I can on here asked questions went to the sites they told me to. I talked to my kids and found out what they wanted (2 wanted a game room, 1 wanted fishing, the other 2 wanted a pool....spoke with the grandchildren they put in there request....I wanted computer access in the house...you get the point, then I started looking. It took me a while to narrow it down and make a decision cause I was the one to make the final decision (and of course will get nailed if they hate it). Do your research. Also there is a site that you can check to make sure the person you are talking to actually owns the property.

 

[Aimros]

we found ours on cyberrentals.com. We were in Kissimmee, right off the main road in a quiet neighborhood...probably 5-10 minute drive to AK, farther for the others, but it was really close!! The house had 5 bedrooms (including two kids rooms, one themed Nemo and the other themed Disney Princess), a pool, kitchen, two living rooms, a computer...it was nice for our family (2 DGP's, 4 teenagers, and 2 kids under 8). It was in the neighborhood known as "Formosa Gardens" and I can give you the exact rental number from cyberrentals if you'd like.

 

[sympatico]

On the vrbo.com site go to the Kissimmee section, then any of these are within 10min of Disney: Windsor Hills and Palms, Emerald Island, Formosa Gardens, Indian Creek, Oak Island Cove, Sunset Lakes, Rolling Hills and the Lindfield areas. Homeaway.com is also a good site as well as Cyberrentals.com .
If you rent directly from the owner you will get to see the exact home you will be staying in. That way you can pick the one with the floor plan and amenities that you want. On the map on this site click on the flashing hands for a detailed map of the subdivisions. http://www.orlando-maps.info/top_down_maps/kissimmee_top_down.htm
If a community clubhouse and pool is important to you then pick the subdivisions that are resorts: Windsor Hills or Palms and Emerald Island in this area. These wil have condos and townhouses along with pool homes.
The other subdiv. are estates with just pool homes.

 

[MYDISNEYHOUSES]

I vote for Emerald island Resort, great location and beautiful resort.

 

[dougsmom98]

I agree with using vrbo.com. I really like the way that they set up their site. The price range is given up front in the list of homes. Some of the rental sites have prices way down at the bottom of each individual pages. I hate spending time clicking on links only to find out the home is way out of our price range. Many people on this site use Windsor Hills, Emerald Isle, Windsor Palms or Indian Creek because they are really among the closest areas. We like staying in the Davenport area because we have found that we can get bigger houses with more amenities for the same price as some of the smaller houses in these other areas. Where we stayed in Davenport last year, it only took 10 minutes to get to the Sherbeth Road shortcut entrance which is the road that most of the other developments would take to get to the parks. We loved Windsor Palms the year we stayed there. There are some great reviews up above on the sub forum. You might want to check out some of those places.

 

[CoralCayTownhome]

Another vote for www.vrbo.com - head for the Kissimmee section and you are sure to find something within a 10min drive from WDW.

Do have a list of your requirements - ie how many bedrooms, gamesroom, internet access, community facilities etc as this will help with coming to your final resort and home.

Good luck with the planning.

Tracey

 

[AMaloy314]

I did it for the first time and I can on here asked questions went to the sites they told me to. I talked to my kids and found out what they wanted (2 wanted a game room, 1 wanted fishing, the other 2 wanted a pool....spoke with the grandchildren they put in there request....I wanted computer access in the house...you get the point, then I started looking. It took me a while to narrow it down and make a decision cause I was the one to make the final decision (and of course will get nailed if they hate it). Do your research. Also there is a site that you can check to make sure the person you are talking to actually owns the property.

I agree. Figure out what you want and then just start looking at the sites mention here. As you keep searching, you will find yourself being drawn back to the same few houses again and again. Once that happens, come back again and ask for info on them here. People are very candid and will tell you what to watch out for.

I had narrowed my search down to 4 areas (Windsor Palms, Windsor Hills, Indian Creek, and Emerald Island). From what I can tell, you really can't go wrong with these locations. After you choose where you want to be, it just becomes a question of finding the right home. I spent hours looking at web sites and home pictures, but kept coming back to Mydisneyhouses.com. I came here to see if anyone had any info on these houses, which got good reviews and I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that Jane (The owner) is actually a DIS Board member and posts here.

This is my first experience with renting a vacation home and so far, it has been wonderful. My whole family is excited about having a private pool and not all being crammed in a tiny space.

Good luck!

 

[isla bonita]

I think the Formosa Gardens Area is the ideal location. VRBO is a great site with loads of options.

 

[FLParadisevilla]

You can try www.indiancreekflorida.com there are nice group of homes on that site.
I have to agree the formossa garden area is a good place to look.
Indian Creek
Emerald Island
Windsor Palms
Windsor Hills
Sunset Lakes
Oak Island Cove
Are some nice neighborhoods close to Disney

Have fun looking at all the wonderful homes and picking a great one for your vacation.

 

[Mainebound]

Hoping to be directed on some information on how to get started in renting a home....

What is a good location /community (hoping to be within 10 minute drive of Disney)?

Reputable managment company? One's to avoid? Please Help!

We like the Formosa Gardens Area best, but then it is all we know!

We have used www.vrbo.com for Kissimmee and also many other locations (even found our apartment in London for this summer with that site!)

We have also used www.fabvillas.com and www.windsorhillsrent.com and www.orlandovillas.com

I would highly recommend any of the homes in my signature.

 

[heathera]

I just returned from a visit to Florida with a house rental from www.excelvillarentals.com

Very reasonable, I got one week rental for $470 taxes and fees included. I was in Davenport 10 mins from AK, super walmart and publix nearby, great Hamptons Lakes subdivision. PM me for more details if you wisH!

Heather in Nova Scotia

 

[KayR]

If you have never rented a home before take a look at

http://www.stayatemeraldisland.com/HomesforRent/GuideChoice.php

It was put together to help first time renters.

--Kay

 

[deejay-55]

Windsor Hills always gets good reviews

 

[Christine]

Here is a link to my review of our recent vacation home stay!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1425526

 

[MissLori]

any suggestions on what "resort" for condos/townhomes, etc is somewhat closer to Universal as that is our destination?

 

[paper1225]

When we stayed at the Grand Palms, we went to Universal-I think the drive was about 10 minutes or so. It was so nice being away from the "hubbub" of the busy part of town.