With nicer weather Finally here we realize that while we are fine to stay at home when we can get out for walks, we may lose our minds if we are stuck inside all winter here. We are considering a seasonal rental maybe November or December thru March or April. Maybe Scottsdale. I have no idea how to get started and could use advice. I looked at VRBO but couldn’t figure out how to find more than nightly rentals.
If you are willing to extend that a little bit to a 6 month rental, then you could go on the regular apartment search websites like zillow or apartments dot com and search for apartments that do 6 month leases.
Actually, I have not used zillow much. Maybe they would have shorter than 6 month, you’d have to check.
Call a local real estate in the area where you want to rent. I have a vacation home in a desirable area and I don’t want the hassle related to rentals and dealing with renters. I prefer to use an agent rather than VRBO. It may cost me a bit more, but I think it’s worth the money.
If you are thinking to rent in the ‘off season’ you might try asking the owners if they offer that. The concern for vacation rental owners is that once past 30 days you get tenant rights. If an owner has named their home in the listing you might Google the name and see if they have a website or anything that can connect you outside VRBO/ABB so you can skip the fees.
Do NOT use Craigslist or use it carefully with much verification. I see owners posting, often, about scammers copying their VRBO listing and putting in on CL, often super cheap, grab the cash from the victim, but when they arrive they are unknown, leaving the emergency issue in the lap of the real owner. Quite a messy situation.
How does the difference in medical cover state to state re the travelling types? Those of you who do a lot of travel, do you have special medical cover? Those who live in two states? We have always had great corporate medical insurance but this isn’t so common.
You can find a seasonal rental by looking on Airbnb or VRBO, without putting in any dates. When you look without any dates, it will show you all potential properties. Then you send a message to the owner, asking if they’d be willing to negotiate a rate for a 6 month rental. Then you figure out how to contact each other off platform, and sign a 6 month lease, the same as you would for renting an apartment for a year. You also can do it by going on Zillow or another rental site, contact the owner, and ask him for a rate for a 6 month rental.
Other than that, there are realtors in seasonal rental areas, like South Florida or Arizona, that will happily help you find a seasonal rental.
My insurance covers everywhere in US so not an issue. I am more than happy to pay to work with an agent but haven’t seen any that do seasonal rentals.
^^^If you can’t find real estate agents who will handle vacation rentals, try looking for property management groups.
“You can find a seasonal rental by looking on Airbnb or VRBO, without putting in any dates. When you look without any dates, it will show you all potential properties. Then you send a message to the owner, asking if they’d be willing to negotiate a rate for a 6 month rental. Then you figure out how to contact each other off platform…”
Doesn’t that constitute a violation of the hosting platform’s rules? What kind of protections against late-stage gauging (after you leave the rental) and just plain old things-go-wrong do you have in such an instance? (Not that I think anyone is enforcing even the basic terms of service the hosts and Airbnb declare they operate under, but this is something I would worry about.)
@Waiting2exhale VRBO and AirBNB offer zero protection for renters. Any protections are covered in the contract between the owner and the renter. The renter will get a contract, no matter how the property is booked. VRBO and AirBNB are just advertising platforms that try to pretend that they are more than that.
I recommend going through a property management company or real estate brokerage. Realtor.com also has rentals.
Looked on Realtor.com but didn’t see anything about furnished seasonal rentals. If anyone has any suggestions for a broker or specific property management company they can message me. I’m happy to pay more by working with a Realtor but none appear interested in a seasonal rental.
@bouders: " VRBO and AirBNB offer zero protection for renters. Any protections are covered in the contract between the owner and the renter."
None? Geezy.
I was trying to be as politic in my wording as possible, bouders. I won’t book with them because of certain fraudulent practices they abide, but did want the OP to consider the hazards of going off-script, as it were.
Does it have to be Arizona? If you could do something like Pensacola, Fl. or something on the Gulf Coast of Florida. You might find something reasonable for several months. It is really the off season for Northern Florida, so there are rentals available for the winter months. Years ago, my parents would spend a month there in February. Dad was always happiest when it would snow in the midwest, but he could golf.
@maya54 this has monthly rates https://www.arizonasnowbird.com/
( fwiw…I have not used…)
You could look on Facebook? Where abouts in AZ?
Yes, of course you are violating the terms of the platform by bypassing it, and you would have no protection through the website. You probably also drive a bit over the speed limit at times, too. You’re in that in between area, looking for a furnished rental for a few months, rather than a night or two. You would have a lease, with the protections and obligations that a lease brings. The recommendations for the property on the website might be of assistance to you in predicting what the place might be like.
As a landlord and a vacation property owner, I currently advertise my year round rentals on Facebook marketplace and Zillow. I still list my vacation home on Airbnb, but the law change in that state regarding vacation rentals means that I virtually never rent it out for less than a month at a time. I’ve been exceedingly lucky in that I have a corporate tenant for the entire vacation season, whom I treat like royalty, who come back year after year. May the corporation’s name be blessed forever and ever!
If someone were to approach me for a 4 month rental of a furnished vacation property I had listed on Airbnb, I would probably give them a SUBSTANTIAL discount, especially now with coronavirus. And if I didn’t have that marvelous corporate client, I’d probably be advertising my vacation rental on Facebook Marketplace.
Arizona resident here (16 years in Scottsdale). We have so many snowbirds that sometimes I think most of the state is six-month rentals. We live in a golf resort community that used to be 60% Canadian snowbirds but is now closer to 70% permanent residents. In any case, there are plenty of furnished homes for seasonal rent though many are booked years in advance by the same people who return year after year. I agree with the advice above, contact a local real estate agent in whatever area you are interested in renting. In Arizona, I would think that ANY RE agent would be able to assist. If you are looking at a specific resort community, like Troon or Encanterra, just contact the community’s business office for a current listing of available properties.
We have so many Arizona residents come to San Diego in the summer to cool off that they’re called “Zonies”. Giant SUV covered in bikes not knowing where to go in our little beach community? Check the plates - odds are Arizona. San Diego is filled with STVR’s, often by the month or more. Coronado has a minimum of a month.
I contacted several real estate offices. They said no money for them in rentals. No interest in helping even though I said I’d pay outright fee. Sigh…
Would you consider a house swap? There are organizations that facilitate these. Although if you live in a climate as awful as mine, no one in their right mind would want to come from someplace decent and endure our hellish winters.