michele_d

Hi everyone. We plan to rent mostly apartments while in Europe for three months next year and I just need to check and see if I am overlooking anything while getting references for the VRBO 108514 apartment in Castello, Venice, and apt renting advice in general. We plan to stay in Venice for one week beginning of October next year.

I have been in contact with the owner via e-mail and she is very prompt and helpful with replies (within 12 hrs). She has answered all my questions and has given me several reference e-mail contacts for previous renters to check with regarding the apt. She said she should have references on her website this summer.

I plan to ask the references about apt location with regards to vaporetto service, nearby markets and shops for dining in purposes, noise level in apt either from inside or outside, kitchen supplies, enough linens and towels etc. Also I will ask if there were any hidden charges, problems or "surprises" with the apt, and if so, were they adequately resolved.

Is there anything else I should ask these references or other references in general before I commit to an apt? And yes I know, the apt is on the fourth floor with no elevator. It's stated on the website and the owner was sure to tell me when I contacted her. No big deal, our usual trips are backpacking where we walk 8-9 miles a day, so a few flites of stairs is no big deal to us.

The apt is 850 Euros/week which I think is great. It looks great in the picture, very light and open with a full kitchen. We are from a very small town so we are trying to seek places a little away from the throngs of tourists, because I think with a long trip like this it will be much more enjoyable.

Has anyone rented here? Any opinions or questions which I am obviously overlooking? Thank you for your advice!

sandi_travelnut

Make sure you clearly understand her cancelation policy and if she requires cash in hand as soon as you arrive, for the balance on the apt. Also be sure you have a contact number in case there's a problem or emergency(water leak, fire, etc).

michele_d

Hi sandi_travelnut
The terms she e-mailed are as follows:

"We ask for 25% of the total to confirm your booking, with the balance due no less than 30 days before your arrival date. After I receive the final payment, I mail keys and complete arrival instructions a few weeks before your arrival date. Payment is by check to me in US funds at my bank’s current exchange rate or by wire transfer to my account in Italy."

Since we will already be in Europe for two months prior to Venice she told me she would have someone meet me at the apt with keys upon arrival. She, as well as myself, live in California, but confirmed there is someone local to contact in case of problems.

But I am unaware of the cancellation policy! I will ask. Thank you.

michele_d

I did find the cancellation policy on the apt website: 25% of booking for cancels prior to 14 days before arrival, 50% for less than 14 days prior to arrival. Does this sound reasonable?

sandi_travelnut

Reasonable enough, some I've seen are more strict than that.

Ackislander

The problem you are most likely to have in our experience (3 out of 5 rentals) is meeting the person with the keys.

There are many ways you can be late or they can be late. You need a phone number for this person that you can call as soon as you arrive in Venice. Do not leave the station until you have reached them. Believe me, it is much nicer than sitting around on the fondamento until they arrive. DO NOT rely solely on meeting at a prearranged
time.

At the same time, don't let this worry you; expect a problem and you may have none. And if you do, it isn't a big one.

Have you discussed "acqua alta" with your owner? If you are there in late October, you might need to be concerned though it is not usually a problem until November.

Make sure you have a detailed map and directions. Remember that there are no street numbers in Venice (or even canal numbers -- joke). This does not mean that buildings don't have numbers, just that they are not in numerical order. You thus need good map references and directions like "a red door, four doors down on the right from the Cafe Pozzo."

You got a great price for Venice, and I hope everything works out really well. We love renting apartments and houses despite minor problems getting in.

michele_d

Ackislander
Yes, I agree the key issue worried me a bit, but the alternative is carrying the keys around for two months prior to the trip and the chance of losing them was weighing on my mind. The apt is on the fourth floor so do you think the "acqua alta" is a concern the beginning of October?

Getting a description of the bldg is a great idea. We just take for granted we will find it from the address...but I guess not as I'm learning. Thank you for your advice. There are just some things we never think about, being "newbie" travelers.

Ackislander

With a fourth floor apartment, "Acqua alta" would only be a concern when you go out!

I wouldn't worry about carrying the key around for two months, but then I am not you. I am sure that if you call the contact when you arrive by bus or train, all will go well. The problem arises when you agree to meet at 3, then your plane, bus, or train is late and they get tired of waiting. Also, make sure you know whether you will meet inside or outside the building. Confusion is possible with both of you steaming away. Ask me how I know this

michele_d

Ok how do you know this??? Just kidding. But really. We will be driving in from Austria that day, so I think I will call along the way and then again when we arrive at the San Guiliano parking lot to confirm we have arrived. That would be about one hour from the apartment. I will expect glitches along the way, but the more I can iron out ahead of time , the better. Thank you for your help.

caroltis

We have had great success with renting apartments in Italy and France. Little glitches of course but all of the posters have touched on most of the possible scenarios. Staying in touch with the apartment owner either via phone or email is imperative. Our trip this Spring started out with a plane delay which caused us to miss our international flight out of JFK...leaving us "stranded" in NYC for 3 days until we could get another flight to Nice. I immediately contact the apartment owner to update him...fortunately there was nobody scheduled to immediately follow us in the apartment so he very kindly let us stay an additional 2 days to make up for what we lost on the front end. Of course that caused a ripple effect and we had to contact the next place we were staying to re-arrange dates...Anyway the point is that you never know how your well planned itinerary is going to change and if you keep in constant contact with the innkeepers or apartment owners it will help tremendously. Be sure and get all of their telephone contact numbers and give them yours. We now much prefer to stay in apartments and houses rather than hotels and we feel we oftentimes are paying less to have this independence. Your adventure is going to be wonderful and memorable!!

vivi

Make sure you complete all the transactions on this VRBO and there are no email glitches along the way! I though I had rented this exact apartment for a May stay and about 10 days before departure I e-mailed aboout setting up an appt for the keys. I was shocked to hear that the apartment had been given to someone else becuase they "didnt hear back from me." I even forwarded copies of the all the correspondence I had sent verifying the price, dates, time of arrival, etc and their replies! But it was too late. They were apologetic but there was nothing they could do.

I had to scramble at the last minute but lucked upon another VRBO, it was fantastic and in a better location. So it all worked out OK for me. But it was a stressful few days of finding a new place to stay!

michele_d

Thank you for the input. We will definately stay in constant contact with the apt owners. They live here in California so that should be easy while we are still at home, but I will also keep in touch with them for the prior two months while we are already in Europe.

Yikes, don't want to lose this apt as I have had very positive feedback on it already from previous renters.

Vivi, did you already give them your deposit? Did they cancel on you prior to deposit? They require 25% to confirm booking. You never know, I guess there's a fine line between feeling like you're 'bugging' the owners with constant e-mails and then sending the right amount to show them you are still interested. I hope that once I give a deposit it will show I am interested.

Girlspytravel

Michele-here is a post I did awhile back on apartment renting in Venice-hope this is of help to you:

Author: Girlspytravel
Date: 03/11/2007, 04:35 am
Okay, since I always rent apartments in Venice, and I am familiar with most of the agencies and their inventory, (and most use the same real estate database of apts. btw) I took a look at this site, and here are my observations:

1. Although the rates per night for two persons look relatively reasonable, it says on a lot of the apts. that the only services provided are "linens"- you therefore need to send emails asking the following questions:

1. Is electricity/gas/water included in the stay?
(doesn't look like it is, and that could add up for a week or more stay)

2. What about a final cleaning fee at the end of the stay? (this can be as much as 70-80 Euros)

3. What type of security deposit, if any, is required? (a lot of Venice rental agencies require a 400-500 Euro damage deposit, which is returned to you at the end of your stay, minus cleaning fees, and any ADDITIONAL fees which they may tack on, and not bother to tell you about, unless you ask beforehand.

A few of the apts. I looked at on the site look small (around 35-40 sq. meters-which is around 350-400 sq. feet) which is okay, but you want to ask how large the apt. is, i.e., how many sq. meters, and then go online to a site that converts square meters to square feet. I also noticed that many of the apartments are located OUTSIDE the 6 "sestiere" or districts, of Venice, and are located in other parts of the Veneto-so make sure the apt. is within the historical center of Venice, if that is what you want.

Also, when I rent an apt. in Venice it MUST have a washing machine-I use my washing machine all the time there, and would not rent one without, so if that is important to you, then make sure you ask about that as well. Ask also if the apt. has tv, satellite, dvd, stereo, etc.-there is so little info. on the site about the apts. themselves that you need to ask about all of the amenities that are important to you beforehand, since you cannot assume that such things as a t.v. or stereo are included, unless you find out that it is.

In sum, Linawood, the apts. look fine, some of them have great little balconies, which is a big selling point for me -however, there are a lot more questions you need to be asking, b/c that rate that is quoted on the website is NOT all there is, and you need to ferret out ALL the hidden fees first. And note also, do you want a ground floor apt.? I personally don't like ground floor apts., because they usually (but certainly not always) have less light, and your view is not very good-however, on the plus side, you may have an outdoor garden/terrace area, so that is a bonus.

My suggestion is to ask more questions, get more answers, and look at alternatives, and I would strongly suggest looking at vrbo.com. I'm telling you, when you deal directly with the owner, you can get all kinds of discounts, sometimes just for being last minute, plus the owner or broker for the owner usually has a lot of information about the apt. on the website already, and my experience has been that the owners are very quick to respond by email as well.

Generally speaking, when you rent from the owner or broker for the owner directly, you won't have the kind of fees associated with renting an apt. that a rental agency will charge, so it saves you money to go vrbo.com. I can tell you I've had great success with apts. in Venice by using this site, but I have also used venicerentals.com, which is owned by an American, Denise, and her apts. have no hidden fees, everything is all included. So you might want to check out the website, and email her for a listing of her apts.

Whichever way you go, there is absolutely nothing like renting an apt. in Venice to get a sense of the true Venetian experience, and there are so many great apts. to choose from, just make sure you ask all the right questions beforehand to avoid any unwelcome surprises in terms of hidden fees or user costs.

travelbunny

re owners vs agency- I think this is something to consider carefully BUT one is not better than another. An excellent owner (who preferably lives locally or has a local presense) will not have to build agency fees into cost. He or she will almost always want a money order (not too $$) but occasionally wants money wired which costs- ie they wont accept Visa. If the owner is not resposible you may have real issues with misrepresentation of the apt. If you arrive and things arent as they should be you may have no fall back and you will be looking for a hotel to sleep in that night. Agencies can be great- a relatively small number of apts that thye know well and maintain themselves or they may have a large number that they are renting for owners with litttle knowledge or control over a property..and every scenario in between. With a good agency, you should have excellent support if something goes wrong with a bad agency you will be just as stuck as with an individual owner. Do your homework. I was recently looking for an apt. I found it bothon a French agency site and a US agency site..but with a $300 diffence per week in rental costs!

vivi

Michele- I also got very good vibes from these owners--I just want to give you a heads up on verifying everything in advance. Apparently 2 of the e-mails I sent to "seal the deal" were not received! I felt like I may be getting pesky but I wrote again to ask for the third time how to handle the deposit and the kesy, this is when they told me they had never gotten any of my e-mails and assumed I was no longer interested. I was briefly in panic mode as my trip was fast approaching (Venice was the last stop.) Like I said, I forwarded them copies of all my correspondence, they were horrified that I fell thru the cracks somehow!

Anyway, it looks like a GREAT apartment in a wonderfulneighborhood. And we also found another super spot so it worked out OK.

ENJOY!

michele_d

Hi Girlspytravel. Yes, thank you. That is a great post, it covered everything I have discussed with the owners and previous tenants already. Thank you. And yes I agree, a washing machine is a MUST!

Travelbunny, I like dealing with the owners direct, more personal I think. The owner is in California, my state, and also there is a contact in Venice. So hopefully no problems.

Vivi, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I've already been in e-mail contact with the owner and she responded within 1 day so I know, thanks to you, that in the future if I don't hear back very soon to call. Additionally, she lives in my state which is another plus I feel.

I feel very confident now that we have made the right choice. The owner doesn't try to make the apt sound perfect, she clearly states it is up 50 stairs, no AC etc, so I'm confident she is upfront and honest. Will keep my fingers crossed!

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I love this site! I could never have imagined planning this huge of a trip without all the wonderful posters here. I have just learned soooooooo much here I can't tell you, and everyone is so helpful and not condescending at all due to my lack of experience. I can't wait to eventually be one of the experienced travelers so I can turn around and do the same for other "newbie" posters in the future.

Take care and thank you!

vivi

Michele- In retrospect, I am almost sure I was dealing with the agent in Venice, not the actual owner in Calif when negotiating for this apartment. I am sure you will be fine! That Castello neighbohood is very nice, there is a long beautiful waalkwy to St Marks from there.

michele_d

Vivi,
I just got a short video of the apt from a previous renter. It's exactly like in the pictures even the 58 steps! They both rave about it and the area, but they also let me know any glitches that happened. I'm so excited, now the waiting begins. Paris apt is done and now I'll start my Rome apt search next. Take care and thank you for all your help.