Villa owner has house for sale?

[emmsmama]

Is this normal? I was looking at three different properties so I've been checking out reviews on the different resorts and trying to find info on the owners and location before making a decision and paying a deposit.

So in my search I found that one of the houses is listed on mls. In the listing it says that it is a rental, but I'm just wondering if I should bother even considering the house anymore. Someone on a dis forum has stayed there before and spoke highly of it and the owner is quick and courteous with emails and I really like the house. What would happen if it did sell - would I be out my lodging?

Should I just ask the owner directly about it? I don't want to seem like a stalker that is searching info out on the internet. I also don't know if it is normal for people to be booking rentals while having their house for sale. I'm guessing the market is competitive in Florida so houses could be for sale for a long time, but just not sure if it is normal for a rental to be up for sale while advertising availability and what would happen if you did rent a place that sold.

 

[mareed]

We've had 2 places we rented that ended up being sold while our reservation was pending. In each case, we received an email from the original owner we booked with telling us about the sale and giving contact info for the new owner. The new owner honored the reservation in each case, and any further correspondence was done with the new owners. I suspect it's pretty standard for a sale to include all outstanding reservations, but I can't say for sure.

 

[emmsmama]

Thanks for your input. So would the house likely stay the same if it sold? Right now it has a games room, huge tv, surround sound, dvd/tv in every room, themed bedding for the kids in the bedrooms, etc. I really, really like the house and the price is very reasonable.

Would it be tacky or weird to email the owner back and say in a google search for reviews I found the house on mls for sale and I was wondering what would happen if I booked it and it sold?

 

[gqchicago]

Thanks for your input. So would the house likely stay the same if it sold? Right now it has a games room, huge tv, surround sound, dvd/tv in every room, themed bedding for the kids in the bedrooms, etc. I really, really like the house and the price is very reasonable.

Would it be tacky or weird to email the owner back and say in a google search for reviews I found the house on mls for sale and I was wondering what would happen if I booked it and it sold?

That's exactly what I would do. In fact, I would take it one step further if I were a guest, I would insist that the owner put it in writing in the ERA (rental agreement / contract) that if his house is sold, the booking goes with the house and is guaranteed at the existing rate, terms, conditions, dates, etc, and cannot be cancelled, altered, etc, in any way, and is 100% guaranteed. We had a lady call us in tears last spring when the "new" owner of a home refused to honor the "old" owner's rental commitments and cancelled her trip...2 weeks before arrival. (Someone from the DIS actually). I thought that was pretty despicable, but I've also heard of Mancos doing the same thing, so not completely unheard of. Now, 98% of the time a new owner WANTS the bookings, so you won't have a problem, I would just get it in writing so you have a guarantee in hand. If the owner is honest and reputable they should have no issues with this whatsoever. As a guest I wouldn't mind booking a home for sale, I would just want an ironclad guarantee I'll still have a reservation if it does sell, in writing.

 

[livndisney]

Depending on the wording of the sales contract the rentals may not be honored. I have seen homes go from "investment" homes to "owner occ" homes.

That said, the housing market in Orlando is SLOW, so depending on when you are planning on renting-you may be safe.

 

[JANNYANS]

Most new owners will honour bookings but of course the home may not go as a STR in which case there is no way you can stay there.The new owner may also have higher overheads than the old and so may not be able to operate on the income from the bookings already in place.I don't think there is anyway the new owner could be forced to take the bookings although if it is being bought as STR
then they would probably be grateful for the head start.

 

[Babyjustrun]

On the other side, when you get there make sure you have an agreement that the realtor will not be showing the home while you are there. We rented a home in 2006 and arrived to see a for sale sign on the lawn. While we were there the agent to called to show the home, I put my foot down as I am not turning my relaxing day around the pool into a hurry up and do the show room cleaning for someone else. I told them it was not a good time and would not be a good time until I checked out.

 

[snowbunny]

if I were a guest, I would insist that the owner put it in writing in the ERA (rental agreement / contract) that if his house is sold, the booking goes with the house and is guaranteed at the existing rate, terms, conditions, dates, etc, and cannot be cancelled, altered, etc, in any way, and is 100% guaranteed.

We tried that with a house we were planning to rent at Christmas on the gulf coast, which we discovered is on the market for $6 million. GREAT house. The owner told us that there was no way he could guarantee that, the only thing he could say is he would do his best. As we have family who would be coming from all over the world, that wasn't good enough.

BUT be aware that ANY house you book can be sold at any time, whether it's on the MLS today or not. Most people are not going to want to encumber a sale agreement with such terms as suggested above. They just want to sell the house, especially with the Florida market tanking worse than pretty much anywhere.

In our case the owner did take umbrage that we felt leery of the whole situation, and basically told us to take a hike (we hadn't sent the deposit yet) because he would have no trouble renting that week.

 

[Darcy03231]

This happened to me last year. I was stuck finding a new house a month before our trip. Everything ended working out and I found a home, but ended up paying $150/wk more than what I originally booked for. I would never again rent a home thats for sale.

 

[tednvon]

Hi, we sold and passed all bookings along and things went just fine
...anything can happen, but like most folks say, huge chance everything will be fine.
If you want an idea of how many of these homes are for sale go to www.realtor.com, search zip 34747 for homes and condos between $150,000 and $600,000 and see how many pop up...most of these other than Celebration will be short term rentals in this zip code.
But remember there are thousands and thousands of homes and condos for rent in this zip so still a small percent on the market that are up for sale.

Rental homes/condos are still the only way to go if budget is an issue and you want lots of room and some privacy!!

Grandpa Ted

 

[emmsmama]

I still totally plan on renting a condo/townhouse/home for 10 out of our 14 day stay most likely, I'm just debating whether I should take a chance on this home. Realistically though, we are planning on going during low season - either first couple weeks of Dec. or mid-Jan., so if we booked it and the house did sell and the new owners didn't honour the bookings then logically it should still be pretty easy to find a new place as long as I have backups bookmarked of places I like with availability right?

 

[deejay-55]

There are so many rental homes on the market right now - it is a buyers market (and a great time to buy!)

 

[Mainebound]

Personally, I would not take the risk. There are so many homes out there. Why rent one that might make your trip more stressful? Is it really the only home you can find that meets your needs? Can you try finding another one? You may be less risk averse than I am, though, and YMMV. For me, knowing that the market is glutted and all of these homes are so similar even the managers cannot tell them apart sometimes, I would take a couple of hours and find a house that I don't have extra worries about.