Suggestions to make sure vacation home renters don't get scammed??

[GinnyBear's_mom]

Hi,
We'd like to rent a house off property for our summer trip. I have gone through what seems like hundreds of listings to find the perfect house. Is there a list of things that anyone has previously asked or checked to make sure the house/rental agency is legit? I have seen a few posts where people mention checking to make sure the owners are current with property taxes but I have no idea where to even begin checking something like that. Any help is appreciated! TIA

 

[sympatico]

You can check the county tax records and clerk office for whichever county the house is in. There's also zillow.com with listings of homes that are for sale, in foreclosure, recently sold etc. Also do searches for owners name or house name etc.
If you post the subdivision, I can give you the websites for the tax records.

 

[bouncy54]

http://www.orlandovillas.com/ (I hope it's ok to post this link. If not.. I apologize to the moderators)

I rented through this site in 2005 and had a wonderful experience. I'm renting one of the homes listed there again for our November trip. Most of the owners live in the UK and I find them to be professional, helpful and prompt.

They hire management companies to take care of their homes and have found them to be top notch as well.

 

[Brian Noble]

Go with your gut. If the owner is responsive, informative, etc. and you get a good "vibe", then chances are things are going to be okay. Once you exchange emails with a few of them, it's easy to tell which owners are paying close attention and which aren't very focused. These transactions happen every day, and the vast majority of them go smoothly.

You can check tax records, etc., but I must admit that I've never really bothered.

 

[snowbunny]

It would take a lot of time and energy to try to scam people out of their money on vacation home rentals. And it wouldn't really be a going business, after the first time or two.

I agree with the previous poster, don't stress overly that you are going be scammed, and if you are that worried about it, go with a commercial company that manages home rentals instead of directly with an owner.

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

You can check the county tax records and clerk office for whichever county the house is in. There's also zillow.com with listings of homes that are for sale, in foreclosure, recently sold etc. Also do searches for owners name or house name etc.
If you post the subdivision, I can give you the websites for the tax records.

We're looking in Windsor Hills.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

 

[bbwhos]

I also do a Google search of the owners name. If they are a professional (dr, lawyer, realtor, etc.) they may have something show up. I always pay with credit card never cashiers check or check of any kind.

Another suggestion, I inquire as to who their management co is. Search for the mgmt co's website to see if the unit is listed there or call the mgmt co.

 

[bzlitme]

I like using one of the large rental companies like Global or AllStar. You pay a little more than going directly through an owner but have the safety of having them behind plus if anything goes wrong (locked out, broken AC, etc) they have 24 hour service.

 

[gqchicago]

#1 - Pay with a credit card. Visa has a lot of protection in place for the consumer. American Express, even more so.

#2 - Buy trip insurance. It's cheap, and will protect you (read your policy to make sure). www.insuremytrip.com is a good place to look for this.

I recently read that Homeaway / VRBO has a guest vacation rental guarantee to protect guests from scams, not sure on the details of this offering but I think it's a good idea that they're offering this to people.

 

[4forMe]

I agree with the recommendation to go through a management company if you are concerned about getting scammed.

The following are reputable companies that have gotten positive reviews and manage homes in Windsor Hills:

www.floridasunvacationhomes.com
www.allstarvacationhomes.com