Momddtravel2

Great house - no input on the area - but the 1.5 bathrooms could be a drag?

Suki

Thanks, MomDD!

Yes, 1-1/2 baths is a drag. But it's only for 2 nights so we'll manage.

AJPeabody

I am very familiar with this area of Long Island. Sea Cliff is not Manhasset. It is not adjacent to Manhasset. "Car not necessary" in listing is sheer nonsense. There is no significant transit other than automobile in this area.

Suki

That is weird, AJ, and is making me a little nervous. Another odd event happened after I sent the deposit check. I received an e-mail from an e-mail address that I didn't recognize asking me if I had decided to book or not. Here is the text: "Hello,
I am contacting you again to confirm if you received my previous emailregarding my property "Sea Cliff" VRBO.com # 441198 or whether you've decided on another?
If you are interested in my property and if you are going to book you will get 25% discount on fees and rates!
Get back to me asap!"

Notice no mention of dates, or any other details. I contacted the person who did respond to my original inquiry and to whom I sent the check, and she said that there must be spam e-mail coming from vrbo and to ignore. There is some info about the owner on the vrbo listing that does jive with results I get when I googled them.

Anyway, the Manhasset thing is weird and I wonder why it is listed like that as they reference Sea Cliff several times in the write-up.

nytraveler

Cannot agree TOO strongly that without a car you will have essentially no transit options except taking cabs (few available) everywhere.

And Sea Cliff is NOT Manhasset.

I grew up within a couple of miles of Manhasset - and it sounds as if this listing is deceptive to say the least.

AJPeabody

Another itch. The two reviewers are somewhat suspect. One has only this place reviewed and the other has only reviewed twice. All are 5 star reviews. This place is represented as a vacation rental but Sea Cliff is not a vacation destination. It is an older residential community. I doubt anyone goes for the beach, as it is not much. There is nothing to do in Sea cliff except hang out in the pub, which is a pretty good local place if you live within a mile or two.

Also, doesn't payment for VRBO properties go through VRBO and not directly to someone who sent you an email? I have never heard of VRBO sending "spam."

Suki

As I've stated a couple of times, I will have a car, nytraveler. I agree that saying a car is not necessary is misleading.

I also agree that the reviews are somewhat suspect, AJ. Payment does not go through vrbo. You e-mail through vrbo, but once contact is established, you make all payment arrangements directly. I've used vrbo many times in the past, and that has always been my experience. I took a chance and sent the check once I had the owner's name in an e-mail and googled it and it seemed to check out. I might get burned - we'll see.

AJPeabody

I stand corrected on the payment method.

Do you have an actual street address? Maybe one of us locals can swing buy and see what the place is like.

AJPeabody

"The Google is your friend."

The address is 120 prospect Avenue, sea Cliff, NY.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12...31150280_zpid/
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Se...1b2b7069?hl=en.

The picture on VRBO matches real life. I went to a street fair along Sea Cliff Ave today and saw it. There were cars in the driveway. Zillow says it can be rented out. It was built in 1928 and was last sold in 2003. So, if the person you are paying is in fact the owner, it looks kosher.

AJPeabody

Oh, that Google street view is from across the street, so the address in the upper corner is wrong.

Momddtravel2

AJ - that is cool for you to do

AJPeabody

I could say I was the epitome of cool, but I can't pronounce it.

Suki

AJ, thank you! (As usual, I didn't notice that this thread had any activity until today. Better late than never.)

AJPeabody

You're welcome. Let us know how it turns out.

Suki

I'm back to let you helpful folks know how it turned out. The house was really pretty charming, and had a spectacular view of the water. It is old and not modernized at all except for having first rate appliances in the kitchen (a 6-burner Viking stove, a new dishwasher, etc.) Having one old bathroom and another half bath wasn't ideal, but it worked out since we were only there 2 nights. There are bars and restaurants and small stores to which one can walk, so I guess it's possible that you wouldn't need a car there if you only wanted to relax. We had dinner Saturday night at the Metropolitan Bistro which was a few blocks from the house, and it was very good.

jubilada

It sounds like a great solution

AJPeabody

Good to hear.

Momddtravel2

thanks for reporting back! So glad it went well.