Renting a house - which payment method do you prefer or is safest?

[LglBlonde]

I'm trying to decide between houses and some I have eliminated b/c I was not happy with the payment details.

1) Pay owner directly by deposting money in a bank account; wire transfer; check or money order (to me, this seems the least secure)

2) Payment by credit card to a management company.

3) Payment by credit card directly to an owner (one owns her own shop in the UK and has a CC machine)

4) Payment by Paypal using a credit card.

Any other options/suggestions?

 

[sympatico]

I think I've used all of these methods. I would rather do any of the pay pal or credit card ones rather than the cheque/money order ones. In March because we went last minute to Fort Myers area the only place we could get was a pay by money order and it was just a hassle. It's so much easier to use a credit card or pay pal. I didn't like the idea of just sending the money order and then wondering whether you'd get a place to stay although we checked everything out well. Everything did go smoothly and the owners were very nice.
So any of the last 3 is good for me.

 

[LglBlonde]

That's my thinking as well!

I've had several owners not too pleased when I've told them I didn't want to rent from them since they did not accept credit cards.

There are MANY houses to choose from for our dates, so I want to be sure I pick the right one.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

I was to rent a house three years ago. Owner insisted on a check way in advance. I told him I'd only do a credit card. So glad I did. We checked out day two, and disputed the charge based on misrepresentation. The house was not 5 mins away (more like 30) it was dusty, dirty (used band-aide on the floor by bed), moldy, and buggy! We lost our down payment and first night charge. He'd promised a crib with bedding (wasn't there) and TV's in the spare bedrooms....also missing.

By the way, I would have checked out the moment we arrived but it was very late in the evening.

Please do not rent from this person! http://www.sunstaterentals.com/

 

[IluvKingLouis]

I should add that the glass light fixture over the dining room table had the word (written in finger) "dirty" on it due to the thick coat of dust. The maid had left a tip envelope on the table directly underneath the lighting fixture.

 

[Brian Noble]

All of them are equivalent. For most rental home transactions, you pay the money more than several months in advance, so it is too late to dispute the CC transaction if something goes awry during the actual vacation.

 

[LglBlonde]

In this case, I disagree Brian. We leave in 2 months. I'm not paying today, I believe I'll have plenty of time to dispute the charges.

I believe you usually have 90 days to do so. If I deposit money in someone's account or write them a check, it's gone forever.

I'm just surprised at the homeowner's who are offended because I don't trust them enough to hand over a money order or deposit funds into a bank account.

 

[deejay-55]

PayPal or credit card

 

[Buzz & Woody]

We just booked our first ever vacation home (we have always stayed onsite). The person that we are renting from is from the Netherlands and we sent the CC my email. I woud have prefered to send the # by fax, but due to time differenece I couldn't. If I sent a US cheque I would have had to pay a fee at the bank to get the cheque but if I paid with CC then there was a 4% fee, I opted for this because then I am also protected through my CC company

 

[LIIRISHMAN]

Most owners (including their agents) want a check. The reason for this is they don't have to pay the credit card company fee for the transaction. That fee can be as much as a $100 hit for the owner.Some agencies will take a credit card but will charge you a 3% charge on your balance.

 

[LglBlonde]

Considering that even a 4% fee on $1000 is $40, I'd gladly pay the surcharge for the relative safety of using a credit card compared to a check.

 

[horseshowmom]

More agreement here - I will ONLY rent from owners who accept credit cards. There are lots of houses to choose from, and I'm just not willing to gamble with that much money. I want to be able to dispute the charge if there's a problem (as others on this thread have talked about).

That said, I've never had a problem with any house or condo that I've rented!

 

[Princess_Michelle]

Most owners (including their agents) want a check. The reason for this is they don't have to pay the credit card company fee for the transaction. That fee can be as much as a $100 hit for the owner.Some agencies will take a credit card but will charge you a 3% charge on your balance.

This is what we did. Florida Sun Vacation homes said they would take Credit Card, but charge 3%, so we sent a check. Everything has gone fine so far. We use USAA so I can pull up and look at a copy of the check and when they deposited it, etc. anytime. I believe USAA will dipute something if I need them too. But, like I said, so far it has been fine. They sent us an e-mail on Saturday (1 week till arrival) allowing for early registration. I just printed out the paperwork, filled it out, scanned it in, along with scan of Driver's license and Credit Card. Attached to e-mail, sent it out. 30 minutes later, they sent me the directions to our condo with the access code and a paper to give the guard I don't even have to stop at their office now

PS. I'll let you guys know if it ends up biting me in the butt.

 

[Brian Noble]

In this case, I disagree Brian. We leave in 2 months. I'm not paying today, I believe I'll have plenty of time to dispute the charges.

I believe you usually have 90 days to do so. If I deposit money in someone's account or write them a check, it's gone forever.

Hence the phrase, "In most cases."

The limit is 60 days from the billing cycle the charge appears. Many issuers will allow you to dispute after that, but legally they are not required to do so. Many homeowners ask for final payment 10 weeks in advance, so in those cases, paying by credit card offers very little additional protection.

If some owners won't accept credit cards, but you don't like that, simply take your business elsewhere. If enough renters do so, then those owners will start taking cards. I'm not an owner, but from my perspective, the owners are trusting the renters a lot more than the other way around. It would be pretty easy to do a lot more damange to a home than a few hundred dollars' worth of security deposit can cover.

 

[Detailor]

I have no problem with any of those methods, though I'll admit that mailing a personal check leaves more possibility for problems. My preference is to use PayPal whenever possible - I have my PayPal account pointed to my checking account rather than a credit card. I've rented from several timeshare owners and from house owners without any problem. While there's always a degree of faith necessary in any of these transactions, making sure that you've researched the owner and finding feedback on the property help make for a better transaction. And you should always have some type of contract or letter of understanding defining all aspects of the rental arrangement.

Dick Taylor