Renting a villa from someone you don't know

[juliebro]

The person who we usually rent from has got our dates mixed up, and so the townhouse on Emerald Island we thought we were going to stay in is no longer available.

We have found a similar townhouse through villarenters.com - but obviously have no knowledge of the people who own it.

Any tips for making sure our booking is safe?

Thanks in advance.

Julie

 

[Freaky]

Renting direct from an owner always means a certain amount of faith - both for the renter - Does the home really exist? Are the photos recent? etc - and the owner - Are they going to trash the house? Is the payment going to bounce? etc.

I recommend having a read through the guestbook (if they have one), also ask for details of their management company whom you can contact to make sure that they are the right owners of the home. Any owner should be only to happy to supply these details and answer any of your concerns and queries.

 

[minnie29uk]

The person who we usually rent from has got our dates mixed up, and so the townhouse on Emerald Island we thought we were going to stay in is no longer available.

We have found a similar townhouse through villarenters.com - but obviously have no knowledge of the people who own it.

Any tips for making sure our booking is safe?

Thanks in advance.

Julie

As an ex villa owner,Id recommend booking from sites that verify their advertisers do own homes www.lastminutevillas.net or www.orlandovillas.co.uk does this.Cant recall about villa renters.

Have a nice holiday,
Lynn

 

[martina857]

Also a personal recommendation is worth its weight in gold from someone who has already stayed there.

I have stayed in a Townhouse at EI now a few times here is the link www.orlando-rental-home.com
M

 

[Kaslee]

Hi
We used villarenters.com with no problems. Have a look at the owners member profile and see how well they have done in the past. also look for the reviews on the property but make sure they are verified ones. On the help page is this bit of info which although not a guarantee, made me feel a bit more confident about booking

Why is it better to pay the Villarenters way?
A. Convenience. Pay online with a credit card or switch card. Safer. You have the assurance of credit card protection Secure. You have the extra assurance of knowing that Villarenters holds onto your money until after your stay . Clarity. You can log in to your personal renters account and review your booking status and make payments. Efficient. All our member use a state of the art booking management system.

I have just booked one I found on holiday-rentals.co.uk and am also worrying about how to check its for real.

Good Luck
Kay

 

[WebmasterJohn]

Hey Gang

Don't forget about Dreams Villas.

They are a sponsor of the DIS Boards. Not only do they help keep these forums up and running but Pete makes sure every advertiser is very reputable before he accepts them as an advertiser on the site.

In addtion to their great pricing they are close to all major area attractions, offer great perks and will make your Advanced Dining Reservations at WDW.

Go ahead and check them out - you won't be disappointed you used them.

Thanks
John

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Have rented villas several times and have never had any problems using the following:

www.vr360homes.co.uk
www.villas2000.com
www.holiday-rentals.co.uk

Also when you contact owner's, you actually do so through these sites so they get copied on communication's, that way you know the details are current.

Having said that we are good freinds now with an owner of a very nice Indian Creek villa, can't really see us looking elsewhere as they offer us a fantastic discount. A few off the DIS have booked with them too based on my recommendation.

 

[JANNYANS]

You can verify the ownership of the property on the appropriate county property appraisers website the information should tie in with what you know usually owners name and address.
Do not be worried about asking any questions of the owners -they should not mind answering any of them.
Ask about their man co and maybe get in touch with them.
Remember it is a trust thing and that it goes both ways .

 

[Haworthfamily]

Hello
We have booked though villa - renters at the last minute and took what felt like a risk on the villa. Everything turned out fine, we were given the owners details to contact him directly, which put my mind at rest.
We haven't looked back since and we go back to the same one. I did search the internet also to see if the villas was also advertised seperately.

 

[juliebro]

The lady we normally rent from (who made the mistake with our dates) has come back to us and thinks she may be able to get a 4-bed house with private pool on Windsor Hills for the same price. We're just waiting for confirmation.

There's only 2 of us going so we'll be rattling around a bit in it!

Fingers crossed she can confirm it quickly.

Julie

 

[Rami]

Our family rented a villa in Spain (near Marbella) though Villa Renters and we had a lot of issues, too numerous to count. One of them is that we got charged (300 pounds) for items that were already broken when we moved in! Anyway, we wrote what we felt was a fair and balanced review and sent it to Villa Renters. First they resisted publishing, then when we pushed, they did publish, but apparently only to placate us because they removed it a month later! So much for the trustworthiness of the reviews!! If this is common practice, then don't expect what you read about people's experience to be representative of reality.

 

[mungo]

The person who we usually rent from has got our dates mixed up, and so the townhouse on Emerald Island we thought we were going to stay in is no longer available.

We have found a similar townhouse through villarenters.com - but obviously have no knowledge of the people who own it.

Any tips for making sure our booking is safe?

Thanks in advance.

Julie

don't villa renters guarantee your booking now, sort of like an insurance, i don't think you would have any problems booking through them, holiday rentals also does a similar thing.