Renting homes - can you negotiate?

[rileyroosmom]

Looking into renting a home. Can you negotiate prices with the owner?

 

[spiceycat]

yes.

but some owners will say I am not interested.

 

[kilee]

You can always offer what you would be willing to pay. If they say no- I'd leave it at that and not push the issue. Some may be willing to haggle- but others are not going to be interested.

 

[isla bonita]

As an owner I would say always ask. All we could say in no thank you.

 

[JANNYANS]

Can only agree with Isla butplease be aware that homes are not cheap to run .

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We always rent a villa despte there only being the 3 of us - often owners have reduced the price because of the size of our party.
I normally when I make the initial enquiry just say something like "a fair price preferable as there are only 3 of us" etc

There are so many villas available now it is very competitive , at the end of the day you can only ask.

 

[Mainebound]

Yes, you absolutely can, but it is important to remember that most (not all) owners are not out to make a killing. Renting out villas is their only menas of owning them for their own family's use.

I usually get several quotes, then if there is a house I love which is out of reach, I reply by saying that our upper budget is "$XXXX". Or I just reply asking if they can come down at all. Often they reply with "have a nice vacation", but sometimes they reply with "since your party is so small, or since your dates are between my bookings, or because you are a repeat customer, or because you are booking so far in advance... etc., I will lower the price".

It doesn't hurt to ask.

 

[melomouse]

This past October I was actually in the middle of a "bidding war" between two neighbors both wanting me to rent their homes! I eventually stayed with the one $120/week more since I had committed and deposited -and the house was just awesome and still the best deal around.

This was my first time doing a WDW offsite rental and it was a great experience.I went to a site where you could have owners contact you directly w/ prices, and the range of prices was incredible. You need to know neighborhoods, rough distances and age of the developments, too. Some prices are lower for a reason, other owners are just looking to get some recoup on the space for that week or two.

Lots depends on the season, too. You are more likely to get a deal offseason than on. OTOH - there are an awful lot of homes out there and I think competition is tough.

melomouse

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I'm interested in considering this option for our next WDW trip. We had two connecting rooms at POR last fall, for seven people, and I think going with a house or condo might be a better option.

I had seen the allstarvacations site linked from allearsnet.com. but wondered what other options there are.

Teresa

 

[mbb]

www.orlandovillas.com
www.onlinefloridavillas.com
www.villasflorida.com

All sister sites, and you can send out General Inquiries..owners with availability will get back to you...you might wind up with more offers than you ever bargained for!

Have fun!!

 

[isla bonita]

Here is a great one.
http://www.fabvillas.com/villa-rental/menu/1/?session=1642522395
Many great people to deal with.

 

[crjack]

Also try www.vrbo.com for a site that lists by owner. We happen to like Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms and Emerald Island because they are newer resorts and we also like being as close as possible but we probably pay a little more for the location. In our opinion its not much and rental homes are such a value for us. There are lots of other nice developments out there and if you find a location that you are interested in, lots of people here can help answer any questions before you reserve anything.

Most of us who have rented a villa can't go back to hotel rooms.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

These sites are great - this should make our next trip a lot less expensive. Thank you so much!

Teresa

 

[Mainebound]

Here is a great one.
http://www.fabvillas.com/villa-rental/menu/1/?session=1642522395
Many great people to deal with.

I'll second this suggestion. We have rented two homes through this site, both excellent.

I also like the orlandovillas.com and its sister sites, because the homes are "verified" (i.e. the webmaster makes sure the owners actually own them) but after receiving like 200 replies to my 3 and 4 bedroom queries this year, I found that only maybe 4 or 5 of them were in the areas I wanted (i.e. the newest closest-to-WDW developments off 192, like emerald Islan, Windsor Hills, etc.). We HAVE to be very close to WDW as we go every day and take breaks every day.

vrbo.com is fine, but a real pain in the neck as you have to send inquiries to every owner indiivdually.

 

[MaMa3Princess]

I want to so agree with the previous poster. We first went through the orlando villa site and did a hit for 4 bedrooms, I was deluged with offers and felt really bad for turning down 30 homes. So we knew we wanted to stay either in Emerald Island or Windsor Hill and we personally contacted 4 homes that fit our needs. We made offers on all 4 and only one negotiated which I added that we were able to get a 4 bedroom with pool heat for 700 dollars tax included. LOVE IT!!!

 

[rileyroosmom]

Wow great deal, what time of year did you go? We are about to book (I think!) a 4 br home in Emerald Island. They wouldn't negotiate on price, but through in the heat for pool/sp for $1,288 which includes tax and cleaning.
Does this sound good to you veterans? It also has a game room, nintendo, it backs a conservatory area so pool is private, crib, highchair and stroller for free.

 

[xboxundone]

how do u make a general inquiry? Thanks.

 

[MaMa3Princess]

rilleyroosmom,

If you go to Florida online villa's website and plug in advent #2216. That is the house we have booked for April and Christmas week. Your price sounds about right, like I said before we narrowed our search down and we sent out a nice email and three said "Have a nice day or I will throw in pool heat for free" This owner was the only one who negotiated with us and we are very grateful.

But most of the owners were very firm anywhere from 850-1000.

 

[Mainebound]

rilleyroosmom,

If you go to Florida online villa's website and plug in advent #2216. That is the house we have booked for April and Christmas week. Your price sounds about right, like I said before we narrowed our search down and we sent out a nice email and three said "Have a nice day or I will throw in pool heat for free" This owner was the only one who negotiated with us and we are very grateful.

But most of the owners were very firm anywhere from 850-1000.

Wow. That is an incredible rate, and it is close to his published rate. I can't figure out why it is so low - usually there is a reason, and not a good one. Um, the pool is small, and is overlooked, with no spa, and the home doesn't offer broadband or free phone calls, and the games room is really the garage with a couple of things thrown in, but ... other than that this home has every amenity.

I wonder how the other 4 bed owners will feel about this one!

Good job!

 

[mbb]

how do u make a general inquiry? Thanks.

For the OV sister sites, you have to do one GI for each site..

Pick which size bedroom villa you require on the search feature.
First house that comes up in the list, scroll to the bottom, fill out your information.
You can be as specific, ie, the actual community you want, or as general as you would like.
There's a box to tick if you want your GI sent to all villa owners with the specific number of bedrooms you require.
Tick that box, and off you go

We specify the bedding arrangements we need, 1 king bed, one queen bed and two twins, one level homes, south facing pool and spa, pool blanket, high speed access, TV's in all bedrooms, and no leather furniture (weird, I know, but just not for us )

I don't particulary ask for lowest rates, but because we rent for longer periods, off season, owners will generally give us a lower rate than their published ones. I do ask for a total price, including pool heat, for our time frame. Just one number is easier for my head to process than a "per night" rate

I *try* to respond to most of the replies we get, and let them know why we're not able to choose their house - and sometimes, if the reason is our budget, we'll get another reply from the owner with a lower offer...sometimes. As others have indicated, most will say, thanks, have a nice day

HTH!!