Villa that we rented for April is for sale...

[vitfamily]

I just found out that the villa that we reserved for our Spring Break vacation is for sale. I am now really nervous. Has anyone ever had this happen? This is the first time we are staying off site and the first time we have rented a vacation home. Maybe I would not be as nervous if the owner would have told me, but I just came across it while searching for information on the sub-division we are staying at. The listing said "rentals CAN be transfered..what does that mean? We are going to be there for Easter, what if someone buys it and wanted to use it at that time? I told my DH and he said don't worry about it, it probably won't even sell before we go down. But the final payment is going to be due in a couple of weeks. Should I send it? Look for a backup villa just in case? I will appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks

 

[JANNYANS]

Your OH is right in that it will probably still be ok by the time you go -homes aren't really moving that quickly unless they are priced sensibly.On the other hand there are a couple of things I would think about.
Firstly contact the owner and put your fears to them.
State to the owner you are not willing to have prospective buyers view whilst you are on vacation and that if the home does go through and it is bought by a resident you want to be certain the new accommodation is of similar standards and that there will be no increase in costs to you.

 

[vitfamily]

I didn't even think about people viewing the house when we are there. I looked at our contract and it said if the home owner must cancel all money will be returned, so I am thinking they will not find us new accommodations. I will email her and ask. Thanks

 

[mnosky]

The house we rented a few years ago was for sale - we din't even realize it until we got there and saw the sign. There was no problem. Also last year our rented house at the beach was for sale too.

 

[sjanus]

You might ask the owner, if they cannot offer you a guarantee that the villa will still be available if it is sold, if you can have your money back free of penalties or with just the processing/administrative fees.

My concern for you is that April is very busy, and even if they are with a management company that has other villas, they all could be booked for that timeframe.

Chances are even if sold, it will take awhile for everything to go through, etc., unless they get a cash buyer.

That's a tough one....I'm not sure what I personally would do...but it would probably worry me also. But being honest with the owner about your legitimate concerns is definitely the first step.

 

[Freaky]

A number of years ago we booked a home on Indian Creek, via owner, and found out a month or so before we went that it was up for sale. There wasn't a problem as it was not sold until after our trip but it did look a bit 'tired' as obviously the general maintenance was just being left - it needed new blinds, towels and a bit of TLC. In hindsight the Management Co were not great when we contacted them about the pool - it hadn't been cleaned, topped up with water or heated (we did pay extra for that). In the end DH sorted the pool out before the pool guy arrived about a day later.

Your home will probably not have sold, due to the slow market, but I would ask for up-to-date photos to check if it has been maintained properly.