Renting vacation home directly from owner?

[momo64]

I am interested in hearing from anyone who has rented a vacation home directly from the owner. We have rented from Advantage Homes and Endless Summer in the past but I heard you can save quite a bit of money if you deal with the actual owner instead of the management company. Has anyone tried this? If so, who did you rent from and were you happy with your choice?

 

[B&B Mom]

I can't help just yet...we have rented a villa for April this year. It the first time we've done this and are really hoping all goes well. I'll let you know when we get back. The couple from the UK that we have been dealing with have been very responsive and helpful so far.

Good Luck.

 

[momo64]

Thanks, I look forward to any information you can pass along.

 

[sammi]

We rented a villa with our own private pool last year and were very pleased. The home is in Davenport and had 3 bedrooms. The owner is from the UK and was very helpful with everything. Here's his site:http://www.poloparkfloridavilla.com/

Also on Monday we fly down to Florida and have rented a townhome in Emerald Island resort which is again owned by a very nice lady from the UK. She has also been very helpful and we're really excited about this trip. If you like I'll be sure and let you know what it was like when we return.

 

[momo64]

That would be great. Thanks.

 

[KerriMc]

We have rented twice directly from home owners.

The first time was a villa in High Grove (junction of 27 and 192) in 2005. They were from the UK and a retired couple who visited frequently.

The second time was this year in Windsor Hills in a condo. Again the couple was from the UK.

Both experiences were great and they were both responsive to any questions or concerns I had. We just arrived home on Monday though, but I haven't heard from the recent owners since I emailed them. The gentleman is likely away on business though, so I am not worried.

We may choose the same fellow for next year again, as we really liked their condo and LOVED Windsor Hills.

Kerri

 

[NikP]

We rented a villa with our own private pool last year and were very pleased. The home is in Davenport and had 3 bedrooms. The owner is from the UK and was very helpful with everything. Here's his site:http://www.poloparkfloridavilla.com/

Also on Monday we fly down to Florida and have rented a townhome in Emerald Island resort which is again owned by a very nice lady from the UK. She has also been very helpful and we're really excited about this trip. If you like I'll be sure and let you know what it was like when we return.

Is there a reason, maybe location, why you didn't rent from the same person again this year? I hope I didn't offend you with this question.

 

[sammi]

Not offended at all! This was a last minute trip (just planned 2 weeks ago) and the villa wasn't available for next week. I would have returned to the pool home in a minute if it had been available for our dates.

 

[webworm]

I am interested in hearing from anyone who has rented a vacation home directly from the owner. We have rented from Advantage Homes and Endless Summer in the past but I heard you can save quite a bit of money if you deal with the actual owner instead of the management company. Has anyone tried this? If so, who did you rent from and were you happy with your choice?

We just got back from Orlando on Monday and rented a 4 bedroom villa for 10 nights for $850US including taxes and pool heat. That worked out for $85.00 a night which is better than most crammed hotel rooms. An inground pool in the back yard and games room in the garage with lost of space with 3 kids.

There are all kinds of deals to be found. This one was in Davenport on Highway 27 about 10 - 15mins from Disney.
http://www.dolphinsbc.com/

 

[momo64]

Great price but I'm looking for something a lot closer to Disney. We rented one a few years ago that was a bit of a drive and we found it to be an inconvenience. Thanks for the link though.

 

[mtmbyck]

Yes, Davenport is a bit far away. We have rented every year directly from owners. We like to change homes just to try different communities but we know how close we want to be to the parks. We also have different sizes of parties coming each year so we have done 5, 6 and 7 bedrooms (just got back from renting a 6 bedroom in Windsor Hills). There is absolutely no difference between renting direct from an owner vs from the Management company - EXCEPT PRICE!

Firslty you should go on www.vrbo.com and get some responses from these owners. In many cases, if you have a set price, you can negotiate a fair deal. Most of these homes still have Property Management Companies overseeing their care, but becuase you rented from the owner directly, they can charge you less since the Management company was not involved.

MY favourite communities are Windsor Hills, Arcadia, Indian Creek, Formoasa and Emerald Isle. These are all less than 2 years old and they are literally 5 minutes from the Animal Kingdom and MGM and less than 8 min from any of the others.

If you want some homes links, send me a PM and I can show you where we have stayed.

 

[sympatico]

We've rented from owners the last 5 or 6 times and got good deals. A couple of times in Davenport and other areas of Florida but the last two times at Windsor Hills in 2 different townhouses. Both owners were very nice. Go to the other forum for Orlando Hotels and Attractions:
The DIS Discussion Forums > Disney Trip Planning Forums
Orlando Hotels and Attractions
There's a few owers who are usually on this board.
I much rather rent directly from the owner. The homes are their pride and joy and they are usually very willing to accomodate you. Remember they're trusting you with their investment just as much as your trusting them. If you find something that you like post a question about it on the above forum and usually someone knows someone or something about it.
I've never had any problems with owners I've rented from. I do get cancellation insurance though just incase an emergency comes up.

 

[mbb]

It's the only way to have a vacation, as far as DH and I are concerned

We like to spend some time onsite, too...but the relax time for us is in a beautiful home...with lots of space for everyone, a washer/dryer, barbeque, and our "own" pool and spa.

Nice part is that we have room to include the grandparents too

 

[RainbowsMist]

We just got back last night from our first family Florida vacation. We rented a 4 bedroom pool home in Mission Park (off the 27) from a couple from the UK. It was EXACTLY like the pictures from their website. It was GORGEOUS and to be honest it's the only way we'd ever go again. We pad $1280 USD for 14 nights..that's less than $100 per night and with 3 kids, our niece and my parents who joined us for 1 of our weeks...it was SO great having all the space, not to mention our own jacuzzi and pool!

We also wanted the freedom of shopping and doing other parks and attractions..for us it's the best choice.

 

[sympatico]

Rainbowmist, I agree that renting a home is the only way to go. But you just can't convince some people of that. Is Mission Park near the intersection of 27 and 192 ? We've been renting homes for quite a while even when there's only the two of us.

 

[RainbowsMist]

Rainbowmist, I agree that renting a home is the only way to go. But you just can't convince some people of that. Is Mission Park near the intersection of 27 and 192 ? We've been renting homes for quite a while even when there's only the two of us.

Mission Park is the next one down from Weston Hills. Citrus Highlands was pretty much across from us. We were about 10 minutes from the 192 ramp.

 

[beachwarmer]

We rented a 4 bed pool house in Emerald Isle in February. The owners were based in US but from the UK. They were good to work with and the house was fantastic. It was only about a 10 minute drive to AK. The house was full of movies, pool toys, games etc. It was great if you have children. It was around $900 plus heat for the pool.

I can send you the web site and info if you are interested. If we had not bought into DVC we would stay this way.