Villa Agents

[chunkster20uk]

Any recommendations of who to try and get villas through?

 

[JANNYANS]

Your best bet is the owner direct .
Try the following sites
http://www.vacation-rental-villas.com/
http://www.cottages2villas.co.uk/USA.htm
http://www.holidayhomes-mall.com
http://www.staynplay.net

 

[vernon]

Renting direct from an owner is the cheapest option, but it does carry an inheirant risk in that if you find the house you book is unsuitable, it is going to be almost impossible to change houses. If you use a local rental company that will be cheaper than using a UK based Travel agent or rental company but should still provide you with the opportunity to change house in the unlikely event the house you book is unsuitable. I rented out the house I formally owned through Premier Vacation homes who advertise on this site and found them very professional in their handling of all matters, although they have ownership since I joined up with them. If you are well versed in villa rentals, know the ropes and have a good idea of what you expect and are doing the private rentals are cheaper. If this is a first step into using this type of accommodation using a local company is a little more expensive, but does afford you more protection and flexibility.

 

[neilybealy]

we used Florida Villas Select last year and were very impressed

the villa's management company were also excellent

 

[JANNYANS]

Renting direct from an owner you know exactly what you will get before you go so the question of it being unsuitable should not arise.If it does then all owners will have a management company looking after it who will have access to other homes in an emergency.There should be no reason to worry .

 

[vernon]

Janny said

Renting direct from an owner you know exactly what you will get before you go so the question of it being unsuitable should not arise

I respectfully disagree with this statement. Unless you have visited ( or have a personal recommendation) of a house then you do not know exactly what you'll get. I have lost count of the times people have posted , I have been offered a villa on X development the owner says it's 10 minutes drive from Disney. When that may be true at 2 in the morning averaging 80 mph but in rush hour traffic 25 minutes is correct. While the majority of owners are reasonably honest there are dishonest ones about, even taking that into consideration what one person considers "fully furnished" or "luxury" is not always a constant. Not all owners use management companies I do know of people who use friends or neighbours as keydrop/collection or to deal with maintenance and cleaning. they are a small minority, but they do exist. As a private renter it is a risk you run. Even if the private owner does use a management company if you have already paid an owner for the use of THEIR home that management company does not owe YOU any duty to help get you an alternate home. They may well do, as many would, as a service to their customer ( the owner) but you as a private renter have no legal comeback on the rental company. It is a private transaction and legally you are on difficult ground should something go wrong and the owner decides they do not want to help you. Ultimately they have your money, they are insured if you decide to damage the property and you have more to lose than they do.

It is rare for things to go horribly wrong, but not unheard of and to not make those risks plain is not giving the full picture.

 

[Elle]

Vernon,
Although I see your point and it is a fair one, I feel to a degree it is a "scary post" for people who are eagerly awaiting thier dream vacation in a "privately owned villa" In practise what you are saying hardly ever happens, it probably runs the same risk of the management going bust, getting mugged over there or being run over by a Disney bus!
Things can and do go wrong on holidays, but most if not all "pro-active" owners will have somewhere to fall back on if the guest was not happy, I certainly do, didn't you? Another thing to remember is that the "pro-active" owner who advertises and rents their villa themselves will be in a better financial position to the owners who rely on management company bookings, so the home is likely to have upgraded furniture and better amenities and is FAR less likely to have a lein served on it!!.
I don't want to go into the whole MC v's owner debate as there are good and bad in both I suspect, but I certainly know of a few bad mangement/rental companies, and a lot of good ones come to that, Florida Leisure, Premier, Elite etc. I just felt that your post was a little one sided when the risk is actually quite minimal.
I also think that the whole 10 minutes to Disney thing has now been latched onto by almost everyone who go's out there! But again it's not just owners who make these claims, Management/Rental companies are just as guilty, and they definately do not have a monopoly on all the homes within 10 minutes.

Elle

 

[Disney owl]

We're very impressed with the help & service we've had from the villa rental company we've used this year.

www.kingdomstatevillas.co.uk

Very helpful on the phone

 

[JANNYANS]

[

t is a private transaction and legally you are on difficult ground should something go wrong and the owner decides they do not want to help you. Ultimately they have your money, they are insured if you decide to damage the property and you have more to lose than they do.

I do not believe -nor do I suspect you do Vernon- that any owner who
rents out their home would not do everythng in their power to ensure the guests ' holiday goes smoothly-maybe even more than a large company
As for the guest having more to lose if they damage a home -I think not.A security charge is taken- whoever the booking is made through and this may not cover the damage-in fact I had this happen to me when I was with a large company and it may prove difficult to get the extra amount needed to repair/replace the things damged.
It is unfair to give the impression that all owners are interested in is the money and that once they have it -that's the end of the deal.I am sure when you were an owner you did not think like that.

I still think that booking direct gives you a better idea of what to expect as most home owners have their own web site where you can see their home ok some might be economical with the truth about the distance to Disney but then as Elle says they are not alone -when I bought my home I was told "10 minutes " in fact it's probably closer to 12 which is what I tell my guests

 

[Janice]

With respect to everyone here - I dont think Vernon's post is scary at all. I know from first hand experience how things can not always be as they seem!

We booked our first villa holiday in 1998. We hired direct from the owner (someone who lived on Canvey Island, where we lived at the time) - and they showed us superb photo's of their villa, a video and lovely coloured glossy brochures. It looked fab, so we booked it. We paid (I think - it was a while ago now) a security fee of £250, which was returnable after we got home and everything had been checked out. When we got there - the furnishings were a lot more worn that they appeared in the photo's and the equipment in the kitchen was certainly not so shiny and brand spanking new as the video had depicted, so we had been misled. As much as I hated doing so, I took photo's of the stains on the carpet and furniture, and the rips in the sofa's. I was a bit wary that we might get home and then be expected to pay for damage.

During our fist week, the swimming pool filter got blocked - so as per the instructions in their Welcome folder, we contacted their Managing Agent to come in to repair it - they wouldnt come because we had rented it privately, so the owners (after a phone call from us) phoned the MA and paid in advance for the repair, and then the Poolman came and fixed the problem. Then as our luck would have it, the Air conditioning unit broke down a couple of days later. So, again we contacted the Managing Agents and this time they said they couldnt arrange for the AC Repair man to come out because the Villa Owners owed them (the AC Repair Company) money from a previous occassion. Luckily we got it sorted out as DH is a Heating/Ventillation engineer and was able to do it himself, but other people may not be so lucky.

This is just an example of what may and possibly does go wrong ~ we just dont hear about it.

I think it is good for people to be aware of these things happening......but that is of course, just my opinion.

 

[JohnnySharp]

We are now planning our 10th trip to Orlando next April.

Our 6 year old boy is Autistic , hence the last two trips we have taken, and our next one, we have stayed in a villa.

This year we stayed at a villa on Indian Point , after extensive internet searching and found an excellent villa at a reasonable price.
However, in 2001 we rented an older home at a different location and to be honest it was a nightmare.
The owner's web site looked fine, clear pictures , nice interior and the pool area looked good too.
However, on arrival we were horrified to see that the villa was frankly horrible and nothing like we were led to believe on the web site which had obviously not been updated in ages.
Unfortunatley the property hadn't either, the bed linen was ripped, the 3 piece suite dirty and we couldn't use the pool for 3 days until the whole area was thoroughly cleaned.
The exterior was in need of more than just a lick of paint and the interior could have used some Dulux as well.

Our boy loves water so this in particluar was dissapointing. The management company said the owner had not made sufficient funds available to keep the property well maintained - they transferred us to another villa after a week.

For us the key is to search and search until you find what you are looking for, the age of the villa is vital , I would never rent one that is more than 3 years old - they just get so much 'stick' from the weather -after a while of sending mail after mail you get to know the good ones and the bad ones.

We were probably just unlucky I am sure that the majority of properties are well maintained but you do have to spend time looking.

I can recommend: villas2000.com and vr360homes.co.uk

Additionally this year we looked around a number of estates in the Kissimmee area and Indian Creek, Rolling Hills, Formosa Gardens and Cumbrian Lakes (where we will stay next year) are ALL very nice and I would highly recommend anyone booking a villa to choose one of these. All the homes are fairly new and ideally situated off the 192.

 

[JANNYANS]

It is strange that the man co wouldn't come out because they would have been employed by the owner to look after the house so maybe they hadn't been doing their job properly if the house was not as the owners described-after all whether it is rented privately or through a large company the house still needs looking after by someone in the USA..You have both had bad experiences -for which I am sorry-but I am sure these occurences are in the minority and that for the majority of times nothing goes wrong otherwise more home owners would be going under if their homes were not up to scratch as nothing spreads quicker than bad news.

 

[vernon]

Janny I think you're missing the point, the reason a management company would not be keeping up a house in the majority of situations is that the owner was not paying the money owed. This is not common, but it is a regular situation. As far as your comment "nothing spreads quicker than bad news" where exactly is that bad news going to spread? Many people will just use a website that has limited feedback ( often controlled by the owner). I know that you are an owner and while I'm certain that the views you are sharing are genuine ( not just an attempt to push private rentals because that helps your own interests). It seems obvious you have only come across honourable and reputable owner but as myself, Janice and Johnny show from personal experience that isn't always the case. You may not like my views, but from my own experience and those others posted here I'm happy to stick with my basic rule of thumb that for a first time villa renter it's a much safer bet to go through a reputable company. Once you've done it a couple of times and gleaned information from sites like this then by all means look at the cheaper route of booking direct, but you would be doing so with some experience behind you and having stayed in a villa that is maintained by one of the more reputable companies will give people a yardstick to judge what is and what is not up to the usual standards.

In my experience homes, that have management companies, which are not up to scratch are almost always because the owners are either slow to pay or simply refuse to send sufficient money to cover repairs and replacement of old fixtures and fittings.

 

[JANNYANS]

I am not missing the point I know some owners find it hard to keep sending money to deal with the upkeep of their home, maybe because of the low rates paid to owners by the majority of large companies that deal with travel companies In fact just recently I know of someone who has had to sell because they could not afford to continue paying into the management company due to low rates.
As for reputable companies I had mine with the biggest one in the area -I'm sure you know who I mean-and my home was not always in the best of condition when I visited.I lost no end of linen -there were stains on the carpets-once I arrived with my family to find the whole place upside down because it had not been cleaned.Now I use a small caretaker service and I get nothing but compliments so big is not always better.I don't disagree with all your points -people should do their research first -ask an owner any questions they can think of -get references if wanted-but lets not frighten people away from going down the independant route as for the majority of those who do it this way it is a painless experience.

 

[MalcolmC]

Sorry Vernon, but I'm with Janny on this one.

I have a lot of money invested in my Florida home. I want my guests to have the best accomodation I can give them. Then, hopefully word will spread and I get a few referrals. I made sure I had a mangement company that cleaned properties and maintained them when we were guests the first few times we went to Florida.

I have also been in a home where the A/C broke. The man, Co. couldn't do enough to sort the problem (on a Sunday evening) out and offered us alternative accommodation, which we didn't take.

I have just come back last week from repainting and repairing minor defects to our place because I want it in A1 condition for myself, if no one else.

I'm not going to rent out for a rediculously low rate just so I can fill the house for 50 weeks a year! I just gets trashed with all the wear and tear. If you pay peanuts you can't expect quality.

 

[UKDEB]

I don't consider Vernon's post to be scary - he makes a very valid point. I do agree that the risk of something going wrong when booking privately is minimal and no greater that the risk of an MC going bust. I particularly like the analagy of the Disney bus - I think that puts it very nicely into perspective.

The issue of the villa not living up to the glossy photos is one of the reasons I choose to rent privately. No-one - not owner, nor MC, nor Tour Operator - is going to publish anything other than pictures of the place when it is brand new. How many times have you booked a hotel only to find that the reality is very much different to the promise in the Thomson brochure?

Our first villa holiday was booked through Airtours. It was described as a 'top of the range, executive villa' and we paid top dollar. It was on Lindfields (although we didn't know that until we arrived at the MC's offices) and there is no doubt that it had once been so. However, after years of hard wear and tear, it certainly was not. It was filthy. The glass dining room table was cracked, the air-conditioning vents were thick with years of caked-on greasy dust, there were used plasters and lolly-pop sticks littering the lanai, the laminate was peeling from the kitchen worksurfaces and the furnishings and carpets were worn and stained.

For us the key is to search and search until you find what you are looking for, the age of the villa is vital

I'm in complete agreement with Johnny. I now know the locations and ages of all the sub-divisions (although you still need to nail down the age of the individual villa within a given development). I spend many hours conversing by e-mail with the owners to make sure all my requirements will be met. I wouldn't book with one who didn't have a local Management Company, but so far I haven't come across that. The benefits of booking privately are that you do not pay an agent's fee, you know precisely where the villa is located, you know what it looks like, whether the amenities are what you want, whether the furnishings are to your taste, how old it is, and (in the case of those I've booked) the key is in a lockbox at the front door of the villa so you don't have to drive miles out of your way to an MC's offices after an international flight.

Although I would never again book with a Tour Operator (simply not enough control over what I will get), I did book the villa for our most recent trip through an MC. It doesn't follow, though, that I would be comfortable booking with any MC and I went through the same careful selection process that I do when booking privately. I booked with Florida Leisure (www.floridaleisure.com). Nigel is a UK ex-pat and a DISer who I've 'known' for some time through these boards. Simon V recommends him too. Although the location of the homes is not advertised on the site (he claims for security reasons, although I don't entirely follow his logic), you do get to book the individual villa of your choice. If anyone is interested in any of the villas on his site, I can probably work out where they are if you want to know.

One final point - you get what you pay for.

Mandy and Mark - I will e-mail you with some specific info.

 

[vernon]

Actually Malcom, while you may be "with Janny" for wanting people to rent privately ( and as a former owner who also had a lot of money tied up in my property I understand that desire) but what I am advocating is actually exactly what you appear to have done as a renter, which is check out things using a management company the first few times you did things ( or at least that's what I'm reading from your post).

Paying "top dollar" is no guarantee of getting top quality either , particularly when renting direct. Different owners have a multitude of "cost bases". What they consider "worthwhile" to rent their houses out for can depend on whether they have a 75% mortgage at 8% or if they have "paid cash" for their house and calculate what they could earn had their money be invested (maybe at 3-4%). Some owners look on their rentals as a working business, some are just looking to cover some of their costs. That can mean for exactly the same 3 bedroom pool home, fitted to the same standard one owner thinks £300 a week for 25 weeks a year is sufficient income, while next door that owner would consider £400 a week to be as you put it "rediculously low rate ".

Janny I don't believe I am frightening people away from going "direct", this was my view when I owned ( and one that cost me money), but it's an opinion that is strong enough that I was happy to lose a booking and have someone proceed in a way I feel is safer than have them take a risk that having been made aware of the small but significant risk of something going wrong. It may only be a 1 in a 100 chance ( although my opinion would be it's closer to one in twenty five) but if you are that one person that has a bad experience it is a 100% hit. I have always been very aware that a holiday to Florida is a once in a life time experience and one that many people have to scrimp and save for several years to achieve. While you and I may be lucky enough to be able to afford to buy a house there, therefore a disaster of a holiday that cost say £5,000 is unfortunate but not something that we would have invested such a high proportion of both our available income nor our hopes in.

IMHO one has to take the view, not only of one's own circumstances but also those of those who don't have such a large disposable income. I simply can not allow someone who's investing 4 to 5 years of their labours enter into a potentially risky endevour without explaining fully those potential risks. As an owner, if a 2 week rental goes wrong it's a cost of another 2 week rental, for the person renting that cost could represent 200 weeks work, curiously enough thats also a 100-1 ratio.

I believe the relative merits of renting direct from an owner compared to using a company have been adiquately covered now. So I'm going to leave this subject, as I believe there is enough information for people to draw a conclusion and what ever they choose they do so fully aware of the risks. I do appreciate the owners that quantify their position as I feel it does help those looking to rent to be able to judge those opinions in that light.

 

[Janice]

Originally posted by MalcolmC
If you pay peanuts you can't expect quality.

I didnt consider £400 per week as 'Peanuts' back in 1998 when we had our 'experience' (plus the £200 - <i>not £250 as I previously mentioned, I checked back in my records</i> for our Security Fee) and therefore expected quality.

It was our third visit to Florida, but our first in a Villa. I certainly wish now that we had done a lot more research into booking our villa ~ the beauty of hindsight!

The beauty of these boards is that members can ask questions and hopefully receive unbiased, imartial help and suggestions.

 

[Enright78]

No axes to grind here. I have always rented direct with owner. The first time was a bit of a "leap of faith" but paid off well and now we return to that owners property sometimes twice a year.
I feel very confident dealing with someone I now know and he visited us the last time we were there and took us to lunch!
I think we benefit from the fact that he has now 6 properties in the area (though still nominally resident in the UK) and can offer us great deals.
However, I am sure that had we been less lucky I might be in the other camp.
I think that the key is to use boards and communities like this to spread the word when you find both good and bad villas...and do your research!!

 

[Lakul]

Originally posted by vernon
In my experience homes, that have management companies, which are not up to scratch are almost always because the owners are either slow to pay or simply refuse to send sufficient money to cover repairs and replacement of old fixtures and fittings. [/B]

But Vernon the opposite can also be true. You can plough loads of money into your home but you are still reliant on your MC to keep your home in top-top condition for your guests. We trust them to keep it clean, look after the pool etc, but we cannot see what they do from so far away and sadly this is not always done. We also moved to a small caretaker who has provided excellent service and has looked after home perfectly. We get great compliments from our guests. So sometimes big is not best.