Laurie

Has anyone ever rented a condo from "At Home in Key West inc."? They have a condo in Duval Square that looks interesting. Is this a good location? They require a $500 deposit to hold the property, payable by credit card or check. Is this customary? Anything I should be wary of? Thanks for your help. Laurie

susan

Duval Square is a great location, and unless I'm mistaken the condos there are on the second floor. The entire first floor is taken up with restaurants and shops. Since there's so much outdoor dining in Key West, and one of the town's most popular restaurants - Square One - is in Duval Square, the noise might be a problem at night. We pay 40% to reserve a condo at the Galleon; deposits of that sort aren't unusual in Key West.

Laurie

Thanks for your help, Susan. How about the shipyards in the Truman annex? At Home in Key West is a licensed real estate co. in Key West. Do you know of them? They are offering a 2bed/2bath condo for about $1200 for 8 nights. They require a 50% deposit to hold. Does this sound reasonable? Thank you!

melissa

I stayed at the Truman Annex about 2 yrs ago (probably was the shipyards) and stayed in a 2br/2 bath unit. It was great... roomy, clean and reasonable. We paid $950 for the week and had to put up a 50% deposit. Well worth it. (it was in May when we went there, so the rates were considerably cheaper than travelling in March or April).

Laurie

We also are going in May, for 8 days. Thats probably why it's a little more. What company did you rent from? Thanks! Laurie

Laurie

Also, how close by was the "community" pool?

J T Kirk

Someone on this site recently mentioned that the city is cracking down on Truman Annex rentals. I don't know the particulars, though. I'd check. I'll be in Key West in about 4 weeks and I'll try to find out what's going on.

susan

I just had an email from someone who has dealt with At Home in Key West and was very satisfied with them. She'd tried to rent a loft in Duval Square but when that fell through, she rented in Truman Annex. And I agree about checking to see if the property owner has a license...the new law is causing some radical changes in vacation rentals.

Karen

Hi -

I dealt with At Home In Key West, Inc. and highly recommend them to anyone. Yes, the $500 deposit is customary with them. I know that I had to send a copy of my credit card to have the security deposit charged, and they never did.
In their new rental contracts, they are adding on a "travel insurance" fee, but they also state to minus that cost from the total if you do not want it. We will be driving down from New Jersey, so I will not take the insurance. That extra 10% can buy a few really nice dinners in Key West!! But, if you are making flying arrangements, in this day and age, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea. I was to rent the Duval Loft, but hubby's work schedule cancelled that out. I rented in Truman Annex last summer thru AHIKW, and they place was exactly as represented on their web site. Any more questions, feel free to email me. Have fun!!

Laurie

Thank you to everyone for your prompt responses. I am still thinking about this, as I would need to cancel the guesthouse where we now have res. A condo would save us a total of $360. Thanks again for all your help! Laurie

grglnswsh

Yes a law was passed but so far I have not heard too much about anyone cracking down. The homeowner is the one who will be fined if caught renting out without a licence short term but it needs to be a neighbor to complain. Which brings up my next point, It is possible to rent one of these places and not know they didnt have the licence if you didnt check. Now, if that owner has a pissy neighbor who wants to bust them every chance he gets, you could have the cops/or some city official at your door asking how long you rented the place for. An even nastier but possible senario is the neighbor calls the cops and complians about anything he can from noise to the trash. Just make sure you get a place with a Short Term Rental License.