<p>This is the time of year I make our reservation for the family summer beach vacation. Each year we rent a house and the kids are allowed to bring a friend. As the kids have gotten older, they have been know to bring along more than one friend, and sometimes a friend will come for a couple of days and then another friend will arrive. My husband and I love having them around; it makes us feel young!!</p>
<p>I wasn’t sure with the economy of we would take our yearly trip, but this is the only time my husband takes off work and he really want and needs this trip. I almost always rent directly from owners through VRBO or other sites. Most, if not all of the homes I have rented in the past are also listed with a rental/management company; the owner just offers it for less. I have always had a good experience with the exception of one owner that took 3 months to return my deposit.</p>
<p>This year the house I am interested in does not use a management company; the owner handles all rentals herself. Not a problem in itself, but she will not take a credit card for the deposit or the final payment. I am a bit hesitant to send a check to an unknown person with no recourse if there were a problem. Of course with a credit card I only have 3 months and we will not be staying until July; so past the 3 month to dispute a charge.</p>
<p>The other worry I have is I have heard of a few owners going into foreclosure and the rental homes no longer being available. If I lose a 50% deposit, that would be a huge deal! I expressed my concern with the owner and she told me I had nothing to worry about, she wasn’t going anywhere. Of course, what else was she going to tell me? I know this woman has owned this home for 6 years as I have looked at it before and actually rented the home next door to her many years ago.</p>
<p>I have never rented where I could not use a credit card. The house we rented last year actually uses paypal which I think is a good idea. My gut says not to rent the house that will only take a check; but it seems like a good price. The woman is keeping her rate from 2007, making this house a good bit cheaper than others; but maybe this is a red flag that she is having trouble renting. While my husband and I were excited about getting a bigger house for less money, he now said go with the house we know and don’t worry about the extra money. I was really trying to save money, but this woman gave me a bad vibe.</p>
<p>I would go with the house you know, especially if it is only a few hundred bucks.</p>
<p>Vacations are about relaxing and having a good time, and if you have to worry about it, it cuts into the pleasure of your vacation anticipation!</p>
<p>I’ve used VRBO and Cyberrentals, rented through owners, and sent checks. Numerous times. (I think I’ve only had one owner who would take a credit card.) I’ve either been lucky, or most people are honest. The foreclosure possibility is a real one, I suppose, but nothing I’ve had to worry about in the past. Usually I send the deposit along with a signed contract, so maybe that’s why I’ve felt OK.</p>
<p>I have a friend who rented a place in France, and never got her deposit back. She did stay at the place, but it ended up costing a lot more than originally planned.</p>
<p>We rent a house on the beach every summer directly from an owner who has multiple beachfront properties. They NEVER took credit cards and we have always put our two deposits down with a personal check and had to pay the balance with a certified or bank check. That is just how this owner has done things for the past ten years or so. We have never had a problem.</p>
<p>I guess if I did not have personal experience with a particular property owner, I would ask them for references (prior tenants) that they have dealt with in the past.</p>
<p>Listen to what is telling you ‘bad vibe’. We often argue away those inchoate feelings with logic and reason when we should be paying closer attention to that voice from within. Why take a chance on wrecking your one vacation?</p>
<p>The reason many private owners do not accept credit cards is that there is fee for using accepting them. If, looking at other “by owner” sites, it is the norm in your locale to only accept personal check or money order your only other option is to use a rental agency. I agree with “listening to your gut”, but does the owner offer a lease with full contact information? Does she offer references? has the listing been online for more than a few months?</p>
<p>See also [Vacation</a> Rentals, Vacation Homes, Vacation Rental Home, HomeAway](<a href=“http://www.homeaway.com%5DVacation”>http://www.homeaway.com) for listings. VRBO is part of the homeaway network, but it charges a separate fee, so there may be listings on homeaway that are not on VRBO. There is a tab where they offer a “rent with confidence” guarantee, but read it carefully as there are a fair number of exclusions, but it does offer some protection against outright fraud.
One of the reasons by owner sites are popular is there is some $$ savings due to not having to pay management company, not accepting credit cards etc. So only you can decide if you have done enough due diligence to make the cost savings worth it.</p>
<p>If someone had not put a bug in my ear about foreclosures, I would most likely not have thought twice about sending a check. As a matter of fact, the check was written yesterday morning to be mailed today. </p>
<p>One other think bugged me about this owner, which is why I might really be getting cold feet. I emailed her a couple of questions that I forgot to ask her when we spoke on the phone. I am very anal about the houses I rent; I spend a lot of money and I want it to be perfect. I obsess over the pictures of the house to see what kind of furnishings are included and because we end the evenings with movies or like last year 3 seasons of West Wing, we like a nice TV in the living room. I emailed to ask about the size of the pool as you could not tell from the pictures and how many cars the driveway would hold and could we park on the street. I received an email that the owner was concerned about my questions and it sounded like her house would not be for us. After a few back and forth emails, it seems she had her house trashed maybe during spring break with a family that had many kids in the house. I had told her before that my “kids” would be bringing friends; she just didn’t know my kids were 22 and 25. </p>
<p>I thought my questions were legit as I have been in homes where the pool was nothing more than an oversized bathtub, and the driveway would only accommodate 2 cars. We will have at least 3 cars just because we are coming from different directions. If my son has a friend here or there come for a few days each, more cars will be there. I don’t see having more than 4 at any time, but I wanted to make sure what the driveway could hold. </p>
<p>The owner did apologize, but I feel she jumped to the wrong conclusion without asking me first. Silly of me to get cold feet; yes, but again it is my vacation money and I want to have a great week, not worry that if we break a glass she will assume we had a wild party and charge me an arm and a leg. On the other hand, we can save $800 on this house and it has a very similar set up to the one we love.</p>
<p>I have to let the owner know today with the house we have stayed in before. He is rented every week except for the week I want due to a cancellation. His house always is rented every week during the summer, whereas the other home so far is only rented 2 weeks this summer. I think that is due to the economy, my husband thinks there might be something wrong with the house.</p>
<p>Hmmm… I can comment from both perspectives.
We rent a vacation property through a rental mgt agency - they do a great job on collecting payments, advertising, dealing with problems, and keeping the place spic and span clean. They’ve dealt with some weird requests, including renters who insisted there was a squirrel in fireplace (ummm…no).<br>
Now, we also rent places - but usually go with a rental mgt agency. I like the idea of an impartial party to complain to when something is wrong. And I’m pretty fussy about clean places and I just don’t trust that the individual owners will have the proper standards. We did try VRBO once and I remember dealing with personal items in the closets and fridge…and didn’t like it. But didn’t have the heart to complain to the sweet lady who gave us the keys!
Go with what you know or a rental mgt agency. I think it’s worth the extra money…as both an owner and a renter.</p>
<p>A parallel question is arising between parents of 2010 Prep School graduates thinking a graduation party at a timeshare in Mexico. Will the airline or the timeshare orginzation even be there when the kids arrive? The students are planning it so far in advance so that they can work to earn the money.</p>
<p>Snowball- we have two vacation rentals in our extended family. (not owned by us) One of them is handled by a rental agency. My SIL owns property in another country. She does most of her own renting. She takes only checks.
My husband often rents a condo in Cabo. The first time he was nervous about depositing a check (the manager in Mexico had his deposit the check in a US banking account). It went fine and he has rented from them several times. It did help that a friend had rented from them the spring before.
I would go with your gut. Plus the fact that this house has plenty of vacancies when the other house is booked solid. Though the house booked solid might have some time open up as people don’t send in a deposit. We used to rent a house each summer on a small island off the Ca coast. The policy of all the agencies on this island was you could reserve you same week without giving them any money. The deposit was due 6 months before the rental date. The first year we looked for a house about 8 months out. All the houses were booked. We were told call 6 months before you want to come and see if something opens up. It did and that was in a better economy.
I also would go with your gut. It is only Feb 1 and you don’t want to spend the next 6 months worried you made the wrong decision.</p>
<p>Kind of surprised to hear 2007 prices are a good deal. This tells me owners are being unrealistic and their rentals will remain available. Absolutely every indicator is that families are canceling and not planning vacations. Travel sales are at unheard of low prices. NYT ran an article last week called “Caribbean on Sale” and my inbox, as a frequent traveler, has never been more full of travel offers at low, low prices.</p>
<p>In CA, my relatives with beach houses are asking 30% less than 2007 prices and have been booked by by this time every year and are not even a quarter booked now.</p>
<p>So unless where you vacation is in a uniquely untouched by the economy area, I would not rush to rent and would listen to your gut here.</p>
<p>hmom5-I also thought rates would be lower this summer, so imagine my surprise when houses I had prices on from past years were all asking more this summer. While it is typical for rates to increase each year, I really did not expect rates to go up this year. Some homes have not increased their rates, but I have yet to see a home with lower rates than last summer. I would assume as it gets closer to the summer months and a home is not rented, the rate will drop; but this early out, that isn’t happening.</p>
<p>As my husband has to schedule is week off soon, we don’t have a choice of just any week to go. Plus, the kids have commitments that also narrow down when everyone can be available. We were left with one of two weeks that would work for everyone so I have been looking for homes with availability during that time. Surprisingly, there really were only a few homes that had the bedding, location and amenities we wanted and needed; my favorite house and this other house fitting the bill. If I were able to go on vacation just any week, I would just wait until closer to summer and see what the rates are doing; unfortunately I do not have that option. I was surprised to see my favorite house was even available this late in the season as the owner usually have returning renter who tend to book a year in advance. He only a 2 other weeks available, and told me this week was opened due to a late cancellation; I am guessing someone that booked last year and now can not come. I have enough trouble getting everyone’s schedule in January for June; I can imagine trying to do that an entire year in advance!!</p>
<p>It’s become a little game with us, everyone plans for a week off and we do a last minute deal. Kind of fun but you have to be cazy adventurers like we are, willing to go almost anywhere with sand or snow or whatever we’re looking for.</p>
<p>This can actually be of benefit when dealing directly with owners. They have the ability to decide immediately to offer a lower rate, which some may be willing to extend to repeat, trustworthy tenants that may be anxious about committing the $$ this year. A rental agency would have to go with what ever rates the owner sets, and couldn’t make changes without a round of phone tag.</p>
<p>“Absolutely every indicator is that families are canceling and not planning vacations”.
Well, it really depends on the TYPE of vacation. Around here, a lot of folks are choosing to drive to the Jersey Shore, the Outer Banks or the mountains for a vacation instead of flying somewhere.
Our vacation property is a small cabin in the mountains and it’s renting beautifully all year round. With no reduction in rates. The same folks are coming back and others are staying for the first time. Long weekends, full weeks, you name it. We have to reserve dates at our own place or we’d never be there! So…it really depends. You can’t expect bargains in all cases.</p>
<p>I think many people around NYC (especially NJ) area will opt to rent a beach house rather than take an expensive vacation in Italy or France this summer. Just the airfare alone would be a big saving.</p>
<p>Since I am not a gambler and I am an impatient person, I went ahead and booked the house we know. Once I get into the mode of house looking and I find a house, I book because I am afraid it will get away. </p>
<p>I know I should have waited a little while longer and gone with the other house, but I wanted to be done and know what I was getting. I will be interested in seeing if any of the other homes that are too expensive end up reducing their price later in the season. I will have to take a look in April and May and see what is available. Maybe it will be a lesson learned.</p>