Renting a Vacation Home from VRBO - Tips?

[stobaugh6]

Hi there! I am Heather and I am new to the boards. My dh and I have 6 kiddos and have decided...at the last minute...to rent a vacation home rather than staying on property this year. I have found some great deals on VRBO website, but I am a little nervous renting from a person rather than a company. Any tips? Is this safe??

 

[sympatico]

to the DIS.
We always rent from owners rather than companies. Been doing it for a lot of years, so far so good.
I do spend a lot of time googling , checking tax records, zillow "for sale" listings, asking about their management company and even contacting them for info. and check on these boards for info about a certain home.
I don't rent the cheapest or the most expensive, usually middle of the road. Sometimes prices that are "too good to be true" usually are. May not be kept up well.
I pick it according to the amenities I want and the location. Lots of people on here will help with checking stuff for you. I'll be away from my computer until Friday afternoon but I can help after that.
There are a few owners here on the DIS that can help also, although they're not allowed to let you know that they are owners.

 

[stobaugh6]

Thank you so much, Wanda! We had reservations at Pop Century, but I cancelled those on Monday and am now trying to find us a vacation home for September 4-13 which is 1 month from now. I am feeling VERY overwelmed at this point. There are about a gazillion vacation homes in the WDW area and the more you look at them, the more they all start looking the same. Is VRBO the best site to find a home?

 

[stobaugh6]

Oh another question...what area should I be looking at?? They ALL say "minutes from disney".

 

[sympatico]

There's also http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rentals/florida/kissimmee-area/r696
and http://www.vacationrentals.com/vacation-rentals/Kissimmee-Florida.html

These two along with vrbo are all under the HomeAway company. They have a piece of mind guarantee: http://guarantee.homeaway.com/
I've never used it but it's available.

Also : http://www.orlando4villas.com/
Some of the subdivisions have their own listings:
http://www.windsorhillsrent.com/ You can put in an inquiry and it will be sent to all owners but be specific as to the number of bedrooms etc or you'll be swamped with replies.
http://stayatemeraldisland.com/

This map will give you an idea where the subdivisions are located:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...8.272032,-81.608849&spn=0.068335,0.11055&z=13
We like the area around Windsor Hills which is #1 on the map to Emerald Island which is #15.

 

[sympatico]

Usually when they say 10 minutes to Disney or similar they mean 10 minutes to the beginning of Disney property. It may take you another 10 - 15 minutes to get into the park.
From Windsor Hills it takes 5 -6 minutes to the Animal Kingdom parking lot via Sherberth Rd entry (shortcut), 7 minutes to DHS using World Dr., MK is about 15 to the parking lot and Epcot 12 minutes.
For Emerald Island just add a couple of extra minutes.

Some of these subdivisions like Windsor Hills, Emerald Island and Windsor Palms have resort type facilities like community pools, clubhouses, fitness rooms, mini movie theaters (WH, WP) etc although may not have planned activities like a true resort. These 3 also have a manned security gate. Also Reunion Resort. These all have townhouses, condos and pool homes.
Others in that area that have just pool homes and a coded gate are Formosa Gardens Estates, Acadia Estates, Sunset Lakes.
Some have no gates: Oak Island Cove/Harbour, Rolling Hills, Indian Creek, Lindfields, Indian Ridges.

 

[mnrose]

I'd decide what communities you are looking for, and then the minimum size of home you will need. I used VRBO, and looked at 6-7 BR homes (the size we needed) in Formosa Gardens and Emerald Island. I also wanted 4 "en suite" baths, and that pretty much eliminated Windsor Hills and Windsor Palms. So, in doing that, my list got a lot smaller. Then, checking for my dates narrowed it even further. I got back maybe a dozen responses from possible homes, and selected 3 to check further based on price and features. Of those three, I conducted searches to ensure they weren't for sale, and were in fact, owned by the people with whom I was dealing....property taxes up to date.

If you follow these steps, you can pretty much assure that you will get what you pay for, and have a good trip. Trust your instincts, but also research!!!

Rose

 

[stobaugh6]

How do you go about conducting a search on the home??

 

[4forMe]

The following thread has very helpful information on how to use VRBO as well as the links to find tax records:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2517136

 

[mnrose]

How do you go about conducting a search on the home??

If it's in Kissimmee (sp?), you can use this site to check ownership and tax payment status.


http://ira.property-appraiser.org/PropertySearch/


You can search either by address, or name of the owner. In some cases, I could find the address from the website, and sometimes, I did an owner search, and then found the address that way. Once you have the property address, google search it. If it's listed for sale, it will come up this way


Sent you a couple of PMs as well.

 

[sjanus]

I love VRBO and Home Away and they do have a renters guarantee program. They are very reputable sites.

There have been a lot of Nigerian scams I've been reading about that involve wire transfers so be cautious of that. I would never pay by wire transfer. Poor English in an e-mail could also be a sign of a scam.

Paying by charge card gives you added protections. There are a lot of great owners and properties and resorts. Just ask all the questions you need, don't be afraid to do so, and choose someone that maintains an open line of communication with you. Once you hone in on an area in which you want to stay, then choose the resort, amenities that are important, and the budget you need to stay within. Choose someone with a great availability calendar and reviews, you know they are doing something right!

Have fun searching and your vacation is right around the corner!

Sandy

 

[softballmom3]

Hi there! I am Heather and I am new to the boards. My dh and I have 6 kiddos and have decided...at the last minute...to rent a vacation home rather than staying on property this year. I have found some great deals on VRBO website, but I am a little nervous renting from a person rather than a company. Any tips? Is this safe??

Hi Heather . I second the www.windsorhillsrent.com and putting in an inquiry. If there are 8 of you total, you would fit in a 3bedroom condo or townhouse there. We are renting a 3 bdroom townhouse from vacationcentralflorida.com in the fall. I thought it was a good price and am ecstatic over having washer/dryer I can toss stuff in .

I have also rented on VRBO and Homeaway.com and have not ever had a problem. I like to look for the updated calendar and lots of photos.

 

[stobaugh6]

This is the house that we ended up renting for our vacation. http://www.vrbo.com/239076 The owner sent me a link to the virtual tour and the house is so beautiful!!! And we got such an AWESOME deal!! I am so excited! Thank you all for the tips. You were so helpful!

 

[4forMe]

This is the house that we ended up renting for our vacation. http://www.vrbo.com/239076 The owner sent me a link to the virtual tour and the house is so beautiful!!! And we got such an AWESOME deal!! I am so excited! Thank you all for the tips. You were so helpful!

Congrats on your rental! The house looks beautiful.

Please post a quick review when you get back from your trip if you get a chance.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Frothy]

Here's a book at Amazon that may help everyone.