Questions about renting vacation properties

[mommyj_2]

I'm looking at cabins and houses to stay in if/when we take DS to see the snow. We've always stayed in hotels, so I have some questions.

Is it better to rent from a leasing agency, or is it usually okay to rent directly from owners? (I know there are more risks renting from the owners, but a lot of the properties seem to be rented by their owners)

If I rent directly from the owner, what should I look out for? How can I make myself sound like I've rented before when I email or call? Are there certain questions I should/n't ask?

We would be staying for 2 nights, so it's not the end of the world either way. I guess my main concern is that someone has listed a fake property and we would be out all the money. Or, the owner might try to keep the security deposit, falsely claiming damage to the property. I'm probably being paranoid, but I tend to like to think things through to avoid trouble.

I would appreciate any advice/tips/suggestions. Also, are there some other big sites that are good? I've been looking at vbro (or something like that), and there are also a bunch of listings on Craigslist....Am I missing any other ones?
TIA

[almostamom]

Wow, after reading your post I'm realizing how naive I am. It never even occured to me that someone would list a fake property. YIKES! I guess we've just been lucky. We've rented two places in the past six months from private owners. The first was a cabin in the mountains. The second was a beach house in Calif. In both cases I emailed back and forth with the owners a few times before we decided to actually rent them. We received their paperwork/terms prior to sending any money. I will say that we were much happier with the cabin than the beach house. Both sites included lots of pictures, but the cabin was spotless and the beach house was NOT - but you couldn't really tell that from the pics. It wasn't awful by any means, just not as clean as I would have liked especially since I had a crawling baby with me. I guess my biggest recommendation would be to have them send you their rental agreement ahead of time. Both of the places we stayed at had them and they included a lot of important info. We didn't have any problems getting our security deposits back on either place, but we did take lots of inside pictures at the beach house before we left just to show that we left it clean.

Good luck,
~Linda~
DS 11/9/04

[JFC]

We rented a beautiful beach house in CT this summer that we found on VRBO - vacation rentals by owner. Our listing had a lot of pictures and my MIL spoke with owner on the phone for more details before we booked it. I think between the listing and speaking with someone you should be able to get a feeling about it - also, if it made you feel better you could probably ask for a reference or two - people who have stayed there recently... have fun planning your trip!

ETA: the link to the website...

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa

[bostonsmama]

My dad rents out his vacation property through a rental company (Outer Beaches Realty at Cape Hatteras), and I must say that's the only way I'd ever rent myself. Now, it's only 2 days, but for instance if the heater died while you're there, if you rent w/ a company you can request a different house, a repairman or fix within 6-8 hours, or an immediate refund of your money. My dad has gotten stuck LOTS of times paying for very pricey upgrades or fixes to the water heater, air conditioner, cable, phone, etc b/c they have to be done right away (24/7)...but it keeps customers coming back. Most private owners don't live in the area of their rental and are either unwilling to refund or reduce the rental price, or are slow in coming up w/ a resolution. And you'll have a hard time making them feel guilty b/c you're just one person (there will always be others), but when an entire rental agency's reputation is on the line, at least the good ones will make a huge effort to make you happy.

Other thoughts: private renters may not accept credit cards, they may have an uncharacteristically long and high cancellation fee, they may require a very large security deposit, they may not offer as many ammenities such as free linen service (sheets for all sorts of bed sizes, towels, turn-down service), free local calls, free pool pass, ski lift or trail hiking tickets, etc. It's not that these things are necessary, it's just that they may be free or included at the same price with a managed property b/c renters (as my dad always tells me) always have to think competitively. I've seen private cancellation policies as large at 50% at 90 days, 75% at 60 days out and 100% at 30 days out. That's just crazy. My dad's company offers Zero deposit, 7-day cancellation policy, tons of ammenities (linen service, passes) and accepts credit cards w/ online reservations, photo tours, even a listing of the kitchen supplies.

Anyways, that's just my personal experience. Good finding a place to stay. The trip sounds fun!

Larissa
***Cheers! Here's to better luck in 2006!***

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them."
-James Baldwin

[lizajane]

my family owns a rental property and they use an agency. i would say to us an agency because they can switch you to another location if there is a problem with your cabin. and they can fix things immediately, as PP said. plus, you can get them to only tell you about places that fit your needs. for example, my parents' place at the beach is 100% kid equipped, with a high chair, portable crib, toys, games, videos, etc. it would be easier to rent a place that is equipped with the things you need so you don't have to lug them with you.

[lizajane]

oops. hit the post buttom twice by accident.

[mommyj_2]

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to look into both and see what I find. So far I've had much better luck finding places rented by the owners rather than through agencies. The agencies I've found have insanely high prices. Is there a website where I can find rental agencies? I've been looking at the ones that have owner listed properties, but haven't had any luck finding many agencies. I'm new at this, so I'm guessing there's something I'm missing.

[mommyj_2]

The house I love is actually on this site. I'm going to ask some questions, and then see if I can find some agencies in the meantime. I'll try to remember to post how it all turns out. I'm excited to take DS to the snow...even if he doesn't like it, he'll have fun because we're going with another family, so the kids can play together inside as well.

[bostonsmama]

I wish I had a recommendation for you b/c it sounds like you're probably finding a lot of those time share rental properties...which are generally MUCH more expensive than both private and company-leased properties. I know that in the Hatteras area, prices run between $300-600 a week in offseason and between $800-2,000 a week in peak season for a 4-5 bedroom cottage/house on the beachfront. If you're heading to snow country in peak skiing season, i bet that's why the real-estate company-owned places are getting a little more.

You might look up the city's chamber of commerce online and call for a recommendation for real estate company leased properties...or even see if they advertise on there.

Larissa
***Cheers! Here's to better luck in 2006!***

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them."
-James Baldwin

[MrsZaz]

Just curious -- I'm in CT where did you stay? I'm in Fairfield county.

Colleen