Renting vacation home risky?

[ashlux]

We're considering renting a vacation home for a stay in the first week of June. I'm surprised about how affordable the vacation homes/condos can get - some are as cheap as $89-99 a night for 3-4 bedrooms. The places we've been looking at are very close to Disney

It seems to me that this approach is riskier than renting a room from Disney or any of the other off-site resorts and hotels. One thing that concerns me is whether the people I am dealing with are legitimate and that we won't run into issues getting checked in once we get there.

I couldn't find much information on this, so what things should we do to protect ourselves and ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible? Also, will traffic on 192 be an issue, especially getting to the parks in the morning?

 

[nkereina]

You're dealing with a person so it could be risky. One thing you could do is ask for references, or you could go through a real estate agent. Real estate agents often deal with vacation home rentals, especially in cities like Orlando. We rent a vacation home every summer in the Finger Lakes here in NY, and we go through a reputable company to do it. We're still renting from the homeowner, but we're protected by the company who does a good business. They are just a rental agency, not even real estate agents, so there may be companies like this in Orlando as well.

 

[jodls01]

Try VRBO or Homeaway.com
then when you find a house/price you like email owner
ask any questions you may have about house
When they answer, use their name to check house status
go to www.osceolaclerk and www.osceolataxcollector.com to ckeck property taxes
Use paypal to pay

We rented in Davenport several times and had no problems. We check the house upon arrival and when we found a problem(stair rail) it was repaired early next day.

 

[MinnieForMe]

We just used VRBO.com to rent a townhouse and the VRBO site does have an insurance policy you can take to at least protect you financially should the house fall through or you have problems.

I tried to use an owner with recent and good feedback. I also called the main number at the Clubhouse at Windsor Hills and made sure the owner's membership was in good standing. Other than that, I'm just hoping for the best!

 

[ashlux]

Try VRBO or Homeaway.com
then when you find a house/price you like email owner
ask any questions you may have about house
When they answer, use their name to check house status
go to ... to ckeck property taxes
Use paypal to pay

We rented in Davenport several times and had no problems. We check the house upon arrival and when we found a problem(stair rail) it was repaired early next day.

Excellent idea to search the property tax records. I was able to find the particular owner I'm interested in at https: //osceola.county-taxes.com/public. I was also able to get the exact address which I hadn't asked for yet.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I'd rather book thru some company unless I really knew and trusted the person.
But I will never book thru hotels.com again- there's my warning!
Years ago our first trip to WDW we booked a vacation home on a golf course gated community thru hotels.com and when we got there (drove) suddenly they didn't have our booking (already paid and everything!) and were booked solid! This was on Christmas eve mind you....
They ended up putting is in an apt type place- enough room for us to sleep and had the kitchen and washer/dryer but it was NOT what we booked in so very many ways and we weren't refunded at all even after complaining when we got back. All they offered was $50 off our next stay with hotels.com when we really overpaid for what we ended up getting and I wasn't about to use hotels.com again anyway! Said I'd warn everyone away from them- so that's what I'm doing now.

It makes me leery of renting vacation homes from other companies too, to be honest.

 

[Upatnoon]

I'm happy that people consider them "risky." If they didn't, they would cost a lot more money and there would not be deals out there for "risk takers" such as myself.

I do my due dillegence staying in rentals and I have saved thousands of dollars because of it. I have also stayed in much larger, nicer places than hotel rooms.

 

[shalom]

The risk is why it's so cheap. That said, there are ways to minimize the risk. We've always rented through someone we "know" on the Internet, who has a great reputation as a straight shooter. So far, everything has always been exactly as advertised. The main risk for us is that there's no refund if we end up not going.

Some renters will let you cancel, but I believe most won't, so that's something to consider. And I would not rent without a clear contract, myself, but some people do fine without one. From what I have heard, VRBO does try to work things out if there's a problem, and of course they offer the insurance thingie, which helps to minimize risk.

Checking out property tax records is fine, however, depending on the billing system, someone can be up to date on property tax but not on their membership fees, meaning they own the place but can't rent it out, and of course they could theoretically double rent or just never intend to hand over the key, so there's always a risk.

But frankly, there's a risk getting a unit direct from Disney. Aside from the occasional cleanliness issues, with Disney you're guaranteed a unit, but you're not guaranteed the kind of unit you want, which can lead to an ugly surprise sometimes. There's always a risk, no matter what route you go. OTOH, whether it's Disney or individual renters, usually things work out just fine.

 

[4forMe]

I'd rather book thru some company unless I really knew and trusted the person.
But I will never book thru hotels.com again- there's my warning!
Years ago our first trip to WDW we booked a vacation home on a golf course gated community thru hotels.com and when we got there (drove) suddenly they didn't have our booking (already paid and everything!) and were booked solid! This was on Christmas eve mind you....
They ended up putting is in an apt type place- enough room for us to sleep and had the kitchen and washer/dryer but it was NOT what we booked in so very many ways and we weren't refunded at all even after complaining when we got back. All they offered was $50 off our next stay with hotels.com when we really overpaid for what we ended up getting and I wasn't about to use hotels.com again anyway! Said I'd warn everyone away from them- so that's what I'm doing now.

It makes me leery of renting vacation homes from other companies too, to be honest.

The management companies most frequently recommended on this board that rent out homes are:

www.allstarvacationhomes.com
www.floridasunvacationhomes.com
www.ovhfl.com

We are booked at Windsor Hills through floridasunvacationohomes for our upcoming March trip as we have used them before. My DH did not want to do a private rental and deal with the house possibly being sold, foreclosed, etc.

I am considering a summer trip with my mom and the kids, and I'm looking into a private rental at Rolling Hills. Rolling Hills is literally right next door to Windsor Hills but much, much cheaper. Same thing with Indian Creek which is right next door to Rolling Hills. These subdivisions are not gated which make them cheaper, but the homes have alarm systems. Also, I had started a thread a couple of months ago regarding the importance of a gated community and that was not an important amenity to most people who responded.

 

[momof3girls6712]

This is our first trip staying offsite and worrying about the rental has been a huge concern. In the end we decided that the price made it worth the risk. We paid with our credit card through Paypal and plan to call Bonnet Creek ahead of time so we feel that we are some what protected. This trip wasn't originally planned so we are on a tight budget and taking this risk makes the money spread a lot farther.

 

[Gretchen]

The management companies most frequently recommended on this board that rent out homes are:

www.allstarvacationhomes.com
www.floridasunvacationhomes.com
www.ovhfl.com

We are booked at Windsor Hills through floridasunvacationohomes for our upcoming March trip as we have used them before. My DH did not want to do a private rental and deal with the house possibly being sold, foreclosed, etc.

I am considering a summer trip with my mom and the kids, and I'm looking into a private rental at Rolling Hills. Rolling Hills is literally right next door to Windsor Hills but much, much cheaper. Same thing with Indian Creek which is right next door to Rolling Hills. These subdivisions are not gated which make them cheaper, but the homes have alarm systems. Also, I had started a thread a couple of months ago regarding the importance of a gated community and that was not an important amenity to most people who responded.

We've rented from allstar--it was wonderful, I would use them again.
Gretchen

 

[jondis]

we have satyed with Loyalty Vacation Homes 3 times now and it gets better each year. www.loyaltyusa.com